California Redwood is one of the best softwood options for a beautiful, natural wood deck. This American grown, sustainably harvested wood offers a reasonably priced decking lumber that is renowned for its resistance to rot and decay. A properly built and maintained redwood deck can be expected to last 15 to 20 years.
Redwood grades can be a bit confusing. There are two criteria used when grading Redwood, so the grade will generally consist of two words. One denotes the quality of the board (clear, B, construction, merchantable) the other denotes whether it is heartwood (heart) or sapwood (common). The heartwood is from close to the center of the tree and a red color. It has an exceptionally strong natural resistance to rot, decay and termites. Sapwood is from the outer edges of the tree, is a light yellow to white color and though it is structurally useful, it has very little rot resistance.
The most commonly used grade for Redwood Decking is “Construction Heart”. As the name implies, it is a heart grade. The construction part denotes that it will have some knots. Eastside Lumber & Decking has two options in the Construction Heart grade. There is a 2×6 dimension which has always been available and is a great option if your joists are spaced at 24” on center. The other dimension is 5/4×6. 5/4×6 was unavailable for many years and is now on the market again. The 5/4×6 dimension offers the same beauty at a lower cost for decks which have joists spaced at 16” on center. Either of these dimensions is available in 8’ through 20’ lengths.
Other grades that are useful for decking are “Heart B”, an almost perfect board in which each board will have one defect, and “Clear Heart” which is a perfect board, but has become increasingly difficult to obtain. These grades are less practical for decking because they are only available in random length. They are also considerably more expensive.
Redwood Decking will add beauty and value to your home for years to come. Please call Eastside Lumber & Decking with any questions you may have about Redwood Decking.