Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - Decking spacing

I have a question regarding decking, and the spacing of it. I bought 5/4 x 6" pressure treated pine for the decking. It is pretty wet. I have heard 2 different ways to space between the boards. One is to space it with a nail in between each row of decking. The second way was to not space it at all, to butt the boards together. The rationale for that was the decking is wet, and will shrink a bit when it dries out. My first thought was to space it with the nail as that was the only way I had heard to do it. Then my neighbor told me about a deck that he had built and the boards shrank creating a large space between boards. Any thoughts regarding this? Thanks in advance!

Making the spacing between boards creates some degree of uniformity and allows for drainage. Butting the edges of the boards together can create a place for water to collect and stay to damage the wood over time. Straighten the boards as you go to keep the spacing uniform.

Let the boards dry on site for a couple of days to make them easier to work with. You may see 1/16 to 3/16" change in width over time. Wood is a natural product and gives natural results. Moisture coming and going will change the width.

Hope this helps.

Yup, that is a big help. I will lay the boards out on the deck before I install them, and will leave them for a couple days to dry out. Then I will space them as previously mentioned. chfite, thanks for your input!

I have installed a good number of decks here in western NY with the same type board you are using. My first installation, an installer told me to space them a nail apart. What a mistake that turned into. The gaps turned into a 1/2" or more from a nails width. Since then, I butt them as tight as I can get them. Within a few weeks you have a gap of 1/16"-1/8" depending on how wet the lumber is. I have not had any water problems where the butted lumber meets. There is not one board that doesn't shrink where you will still have a minimum of 1/8" gap. I REPEAT DON'T SPACE THEM AT ALL if you don't want large gaps. Good luck?:cool:

Don't tell people that before someone screws up. It depends on the wood you are using and the moisture content at the time of install. If the wood is DRY, space it as you want it to look, if the wood is wet space it less. If the boards are extremely wet, still space it with atleast a finish nail. You need a gap to avoid trapping water. If you install wet wood without a gap during a rainy period and it never dries enough to seal it, it will not be doing the wood any favor.

I am sorry pressure treated lumber if purchased at a good lumber yard should be installed on the wet side or your lumber will look like a snake ir you allow it to dry. I have installed enough of these "pressure treated decks" as tight as I could get them with 100% of them shrinking enough to leave a reasonable gab after a week or so after installation. Letting the typical pressure treated lumber dry before installing is a bigger mistake as you will be tossing a good portion of them out because of severe warping. Sorry guy my experience says it's better to butt them tight than leave them gapped at installation. Again I am only commenting on "PRESSURE TREATED PINE". Cedar and Redwood must be gapped during installation.;)

Another option when your purchasing is kiln dried ptp. There is a lumber shed here which carries that exclusively and not that much difference in cost. Something I've also learned is if installing under tree(s) I prefer a bit larger space to allow easier cleaning of collected debris such as leaves, twigs, etc.

Thanks for the input guys. The pt pine is pretty wet for the most part, so it looks like I will be installing it as is and not pre-drying it. That is if I can't find kiln dried first. Thanks again, you have both been a big help.