Unexpected new project: What round for Trailer Deck?

[dnw64]

...like fried, expect the trailer deck to outlast me.

Not sure if that's an optimistic or pessimistic outlook...

 

[mcfarmall]

I'm not going to read through 5 pages of replies to see if anyone has said this yet so I'll go ahead anyway.

PT pine from any consumer grade lumber yard is junk...all of it. Since they changed the treatment chemicals to get rid of the arsenic it rots just as fast as untreated lumber. You can't get creosote treated lumber unless you are the Government.

Use rough sawn white oak from a local Joe Schmoe sawmill and be done with it....it will last for many years, even longer if you seal it with something like Thompsons Water Seal.

 

[FTG-05]

I'm not going to read through 5 pages of replies to see if anyone has said this yet so I'll go ahead anyway.

PT pine from any consumer grade lumber yard is junk...all of it. Since they changed the treatment chemicals to get rid of the arsenic it rots just as fast as untreated lumber. You can't get creosote treated lumber unless you are the Government.

Use rough sawn white oak from a local Joe Schmoe sawmill and be done with it....it will last for many years, even longer if you seal it with something like Thompsons Water Seal.

There's only 41 posts (until yours), not 5 pages.

39 of those posts all said that today's PT is just fine and dandy and will last 50 years longer than any white oak.

Prove me wrong.

 

[FTG-05]

I went to my local sawmill today to pick up a bunch of Black Walnut, Cedar and White Oak planks. He said the WO planks were worth about $100 each (I have 8 of them) and the Cedar planks were in the $150-$200 range (about 12 or so of them).

While I was there, we discussed trailer decking and he (obviously) recommended White Oak planks. I asked him for price and he said $2/board foot. Typical PT from the BBS is about $1.25/bf or so last time I checked.

Seemed an easy decision: I ordered about 200 bd ft of White Oak from him.

 

[Rustyiron]

So just regular board lumber from the Big Box Store or equivalent?

If you go that route, go to a lumber yard and spec out Douglas Fir, and I'd go with 2x8. Doug. Fir is much more weather tolerant than your normal spruce-fir framing material.
I also have used and agree with the others on white oak although I've also been told that Gum if available is also a good choice.

 

[fried1765]

If you go that route, go to a lumber yard and spec out Douglas Fir, and I'd go with 2x8. Doug. Fir is much more weather tolerant than your normal spruce-fir framing material.
I also have used and agree with the others on white oak although I've also been told that Gum if available is also a good choice.

PT Southern Yellow pine is good, and not crazy expensive.

 

[FTG-05]

I edited post #44 to make it clearer.

Some pics of the wood I picked up yesterday:


From top to bottom: White Oak, Cedar, Black Walnut. Ignore the long Black Cherry slab, that's waste that he gave me to cut up for smoking BBQ.

Top of the White Oak; the top two pieces were cut offs to get to the good stuff inside the log.

Closeup of the Cedar and Black Walnut. He said the Cedar had a broken end. All this wood was given to me by local Power Company tree service contractor.

 

[dnw64]

If you go that route, go to a lumber yard and spec out Douglas Fir, and I'd go with 2x8. Doug. Fir is much more weather tolerant than your normal spruce-fir framing material.

I've never seen building grade doug fir around here. All I can get is CVG, which makes KD white oak look like a dollar store item.

 

[FTG-05]

I picked up just over 200 bd ft of White Oak lumber yesterday at my local sawyer (Eager Beaver Sawmill, Harvest, AL).

Stacked and stickered at the sawmill:

Unloading it from my trailer at home:

And getting ready to set it down in pole barn; note the stack of White Oak and Cedar slabs right behind it: