I had to replace 2 5/4 x6 PT deck boards at a customers.
However the decking was laid fairly tight. And the gap is about 5 1/2″
The replacement boards are wet and measure about 5 3/4″.
They are in my garage drying. But I am wanting some kind of guess about how long it will take for them to shrink.
I suspect that I will have to plane there edges any way.
But don’t want to plane them and then have a big gap next year.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Replies
The stuff can easily shrink 3/8" across the width so if you plane it now, it'll gap terribly when it's dry. How long it takes depends entirely on how wet it is and how dry your garage is. I'd let it dry just until it can just be 'persuaded' into position on the deck, butting tightly, then allowed to dry the rest of the way in place. If you let it dry completely in your garage, it's liable to twist.
I did this last summer with some PT wood that was too bloated. Now the gap looks pretty consistent with the rest. The weird thing is that the replacement boards are still a bit thicker than the surrounding boards, so i make have to take a plane to them and then treat the exposed part with preservative if it stills bothers me next year. The client isn't irked, just me. <G>
I would go to a lumber yard and pick through their stock to find ones that measured the width you need.
Your boards unfastened to any structure will warp and twist as it dries out.
Matt
In June or July I built a 53 ft privacy fence in my back yard. I bought 1 X 6 X 6 pressured treated at HD. This was the cheaper fencing material ($1.59 each) that is dripping wet when you buy it.
I installed the 1 X 6's with no gaps.
About a month later I had 1/4 to 1/2 gaps which had resulted from the 1X6's drying out.
^^^^^^
busier than a pair of jumper cables at a redneck funeral