Porches and Decks

USAFpj · Jul 3, 2015

s219 said:
That looks a lot better than I thought, which confirms my lack of architectural skills. The low ceiling could only help the shade. It looks natural -- I reckon that type of porch on a cabin is like butter on corn.

After debating the issue (and I'm still not done), I like the idea of the front porch protecting that wood, and the side gabled entrance as well. We're going to connect them together, so that the wife will have her uncovered portion. I think I'm also bickering about a total of 400sqft of wood, most of which will be covered anyway

. Not sure it's worth me stressing over for that small of an amount. Now finding cable railings at a reasonable price is another subject!

Craig, so your structural parts are PT SYP, and the decking DougFir. Are you staining/protecting the non DougFir portions on a different cycle, or the same?

KennyG · Jul 3, 2015

Here are a few pictures of my deck with Azek composite. This is about 4 years old and the only maintenance to date has been power washing a couple of times a year. As long as you don't mind a painted wood look and can handle the initial investment, it's a option worth considering.

s219 · Jul 3, 2015

USAFpj said:
Craig, so your structural parts are PT SYP, and the decking DougFir. Are you staining/protecting the non DougFir portions on a different cycle, or the same?

The joists and stuff that's not visible were left alone. The railings and posts are stained with Sikkens teak stain/sealer, which is used on other parts of the home too. It is not suitable for wear surfaces like floors or steps, but for other wood surfaces it works well and after 2 years still looks good. My builder swears by that stuff, but it was new to me. It's sort of thick and syrupy compared to stain, and leaves more of a smooth shiny finish.

USAFpj · Jul 6, 2015

Craig, so just to re-iterate; after looking at your set up, is your railing PT pine as well? If so, I think your, along with others' inputs, have made it a little easier for me deciding. I'm going to stick with PT pine for the steps, deck frames and structural supports, but am going with Ipe decking. That Sikkens makes a beautiful color on your railings, and the Cabot poly seems to be a no brainer. The only thing I may alter is to wrap the side entrance PT 4x4 vertical posts in cedar veneer, or is going to a full cedar 4x4 beam more optimal?

s219 · Jul 6, 2015

Yep, railings are PT yellow pine that were stained with Sikkens. May have been KDAT -- kiln dried after treatment -- which makes it more stable and able to take stain/paint immediately, whereas standard PT takes weeks/months to really dry enough to take stain/paint well.

Our main porch supports are 6x6 PT posts sitting on footings. Around that, they built up the stone columns with block and stone veneer for the lower part, and then the top part has the rough-sawn white pine planks nailed together to box in the 6x6 and give the tapered craftsman look. I don't see a need/benefit to do the whole post in cedar unless the post itself is what you see and it is to be unfinished or clear finished. If it's going to get styled or stained, may as well just use cedar (or other wood) boards around a standard PT post core. To me the main point of cedar for this sort of thing is when you will see/appreciate the wood directly, otherwise you can get the same or better longevity from PT pine.