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I would do cedar for real wood if composite is not in the budget. I live in the PNW and my cedar fencing is 23 years old and still hanging in there in good condition (without ever staining it).
I used Ipe for our front porch. Left it plain, and let it go grey, so no stain or preservative needed. Very dense wood, it would sink in water. No checking, no splinters, should last 20-50 years. This is what they use for example for the Coney Island boardwalk.
I would do cedar for real wood if composite is not in the budget. I live in the PNW and my cedar fencing is 23 years old and still hanging in there in good condition (without ever staining it).
Western Red Cedar is suitable for outdoor purposes, it's clear, not prone to rot or splintering, and widely available/affordable on the west coast...not so much on the East coast. Eastern Red Cedar, while rot resistant and available on the east coast is not usually available in large project quantities. Unlike the western variety, Eastern Red Cedar is not a large tree, tends to be knotty, and thus quantities of dimensional lumber are low.
K'ledgeBldr, do you have any links to pressure treated T&G? Did you mean something like this? https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-in-x-6...8817/100062545 . ETA: well, I SEARCHED for pressure-treated and that came up, but it looks like it's mostly for interiors.
If I can find some for exteriors, that would definitely make installation go faster (and my contractor's rates have close to doubled since they were last at my house, but he has lots of terrific workers so he's worth it).
AND AGAIN ETA:found this online -- https://www.vintagewoodworks.com/yel...-flooring.html -- and it looks good and not even THAT much more expensive than the regular deck/porch flooring I was seeing on HD. Hmmm ... Any thoughts on this type?
Also: any suggestions on piers for the footings? The frost line is, alas, 48" deep in my area. I was going to go with these -- https://www.homedepot.com/p/EZ-Tube-...UBE5/300649621 -- but my contractor said there are better alternatives. He's coming to my house next Thursday to get a closer look at the front porch area and the front-of-the-house repair (from when a DIFFERENT contractor ripped out the concrete stairs when doing sewer work, then didn't fix anything) and I will ask him what he means, but I'd like to do some research beforehand.
Back in 2018 when I was GOING to have the porch done, I had a guy come who sells piers that his company also installs -- at that time, they were 2.5 times the price of the EZ-tubes (which were then $109 each, now $204 each). Of course, now I can't find his contact info. If the ratio still holds, though, they'd be about $500 each now so $2,000 for the 4 that I will likely need. They would save a huge amount of digging and concrete work for the foundation, though.
And P.S.: it was actually very fortunate that I didn't have the porch done in 2018 or 2019 -- I had to have major sewer work on my 1960 house in 2020 or 2021 and my new porch would have had to be at least half destroyed!
I built a front porch in PA around 1988. Underside of the flooring is about 18" off the ground.
Used untreated T&G fir for the floor. It is still there, and looks good.
I painted the backside and the tongues and grooves while putting the flooring down.
But, I really like the looks of that Yellawood in your link, and it would be great for a front porch.
It would be a definite classic look for a porch floor.
I agree with Knowledgebuilder that 5/4 deck boards would likely look out of place for a nice front porch.
I have slipped and fallen on a couple of different composite floors. Kind of soured me on the materials.
Footers:
Cannot tell from your posts if you are building a covered or uncovered porch. Bear in mind that the footers that you install will have enough bearing to support a roof, if the floor is under roof.
I'm not too crazy about specifying the footer size without knowing the structural demands.
The stain you get is as important as the wood you choose. I would opt for cedar given your climate as pine can be too prone to swelling and contracting which creates wear faster. For stain Thompson's Waterseal carries a six year guarantee on decks. https://www.thompsonswaterseal.com/e...or-wood-sealer
I was gonna ask about this ...... I went to Lowe's to buy Thompson Water Seal (the gentleman who built our deck recommended it...). The paint goddess at Lowe's said Thompson would peel, so I purchased Valspar deck sealer instead - twice the cost~ Min-Wax was even more!
I'm doing clear...just want to seal it and don't mind the light color of the wood now.
Anyone have experience with ValSpar? I haven't opened it, waiting for a warm stretch here.
I was gonna ask about this ...... I went to Lowe's to buy Thompson Water Seal (the gentleman who built our deck recommended it...). The paint goddess at Lowe's said Thompson would peel, so I purchased Valspar deck sealer instead - twice the cost~ Min-Wax was even more!
I'm doing clear...just want to seal it and don't mind the light color of the wood now.
Anyone have experience with ValSpar? I haven't opened it, waiting for a warm stretch here.
Yep!
Thompson's is crap- and that so called warranty/guarantee ain't worth the paper... uh, I mean can it's written on!!!
I've been spec'ing TWP for over 20yrs- haven't found anything better!
I was gonna ask about this ...... I went to Lowe's to buy Thompson Water Seal (the gentleman who built our deck recommended it...). The paint goddess at Lowe's said Thompson would peel, so I purchased Valspar deck sealer instead - twice the cost~ Min-Wax was even more!
I'm doing clear...just want to seal it and don't mind the light color of the wood now.
Anyone have experience with ValSpar? I haven't opened it, waiting for a warm stretch here.
My experience is that ValSpar is junk for most anything I've used of theirs. Not positive about their stain, but considering their paint is so bad, I wouldn't trust it.
I'd go with Sherwin Williams which Lowes partners with now.
I finally replaced my large wood deck with PVC. Should have done it years ago. Yes, it's a bit more expensive than wood, but not that much more, and you then remove the cost of regular maintenance (staining/painting) or replacing decking due to rot, insect damage, splintering, etc. It actually costs less in the long run.
There should be similar places all over the country.
My deck at first back in 2005, trying that crap deck Restore10X after there were a lot of splinters and some bug damage (never again with that stuff) in 2016, and in 2020 when I replaced it all with Fiberon PVC:
After ripping out the rotting wood decking (was unstained when we bought the house) I chose to go with Trex from Lowes. It looks good and will last longer than me. I'm getting older, and staining no longer appeals to me. I was able to do it myself, using their hidden connectors. I am very pleased with the results. I didn't consider it to be that expensive compared to a good wood and repeated staining.
Actually, years ago I was definitely thinking composite, but I am 90%+ leaning toward wood now.
Can you tell me why you liked composite a lot better?
Easy. NO maintenance. I was tired of staining my old deck and the wood was starting to rot in a few places.
My composite deck stays clean all by itself. I love it.
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If the ratio still holds, though, they'd be about $500 each now so $2,000 for the 4 that I will likely need. They would save a huge amount of digging and concrete work for the foundation, though.