Choose Beauty and Durability in Wood Porch Decking

When it comes to the options available for material to construct wood porch decking, there are a variety of good looking wood choices depending upon your design preference.

Redwood is among the best known and most popular woods available, with a natural beauty and a resistance to decay and insect infestation. If you purchase grades that include sapwood, however, termites can be problematic. Clear Heart Redwood with no knots is the most expensive grade available but has the least amount of drawbacks.

Those who prefer a handsome looking blond deck can consider Cypress wood with smaller knots than most grades of redwood. It accepts colored stains easily, but like redwood, tends to be at the premium price range. Imo cypress is ranked the most resistant to decay.

Western red cedar is an easy lightweight wood to work with, colorful and good looking, but can rot, decay or become insect infested in as little as seven or eight years. If your deck does not ventilate or is subject to the accumulation of leaves drifting in from nearby trees, take a pass on using cedar. Cedar does not hold up well for low to the ground deck projects as ground moisture causes quick deteroriation.

Take a pass on using treated yellow pine wood, which is not stable enough to create durable wood porch decking and has a habit of cracking and splintering. Douglas fir is usable for creating wood porch decking, but sap leaking from the boards create problems.

For a hardwood that combines beauty and durability with none of the drawbacks associated with domestic woods, imported Ipe deck wood, also called Brazilian walnut, is an excellent value for decking projects.

Ipe is prized for its extreme hardness, actually five times harder than treated yellow pine. Grown in South America, Ipe is impervious to decay, rot and termite infestation, and is slip resistant even when wet.

Ipe deck wood is fire resistant, an important safety feature especially in fire-prone states, and when left untreated, will last four decades or more. If maintained with deck oil, wood porch decking using Ipe has been known to stand up to the elements for 100 years. Its rich brown color accented with golden hues makes a deck that offers elegant beauty without the hassle of high maintenance.

About the Author

Ronnie Tanner is a contributing writer at Everlasting Hardwoods. He writes about best decking material, ipe wood and other industry specific topics.

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Wood Porch Q&A

What is the best kind of wood to use when putting on a porch? A good rainproof wood i guess.?

You get more bang for your buck with composites.It is virtually maint free and lasts a lifetime.

Visit your local outlet such as Home Depot,Lowe's,84 lumber.They have cad programs to help you design a lasting,good looking deck.For ascetics you can intagrate the different colors for a more dramatic look.

How do I clean my front porch steps?

We bought our house 8 years ago. We have three or four wooden steps that lead up to our front door and recently the wood has gotten dirty and it looks uninviting. There's usually dirt and green stuff [mildew?]on the steps.

How can I get rid of the mildew and dirt properly and make them more inviting?

A simple bleach and water solution is probably your best bet. Use a scrub brush and the bleach solution to scrub the steps.

A lot of people are not aware of this, but plain sand also makes a good cleaner for bare or treated wood. Sand is abrasive, and can get down into the cracks of the wood to remove dirt buildup.

Wet your steps with a bleach solution, then sprinkle some sand onto the steps. Use a brush, or even an old broom to scrub the steps with the mixture. The sand will only help get the steps cleaner and can be rinsed away with a hose. Once you have removed all the mildew stains, you may want to consider giving your steps a "sand scrubbing" about once a month. You would be surprised at the difference in appearance after you scrub the steps with plain sand and water. The abrasive property of sand helps remove dirt from those little crevases and cracks in your wood.