I’m installing a 5/4 x 6 tiger wood deck this weekend in Seattle and need to know how much space to leave between the boards. The decking boards are being screwed in from the top. The boards are kiln dried and have been aclimating for about two months. The deck gets plenty of sun and rain being on the south side, which should max out the movement throughout the year. I’ve received recomendations anywhere from 3/32″ to 1/4″. Does anyone have experience with tiger wood?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story

The Titan Impact X 440 offers great coverage with minimal overspray.
Related Stories
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
I don't know anything specifically about tiger wood, but I gave this matter of spacing a lot of thought regarding a couple of decks I was recently building. Probably any space at the time of contsruction gets larger after the passage of some time. And also, it seems to me that 1/8" looks like 1/4". So I went with 1/8" spacing. Leaves and pine needles get trapped in the gaps, but you can just clean them out once a year with a putty knife. They would probably get trapped in larger gaps as well.
Expansion and Contraction
Thanks for the feedback. After asking around the Seattle area for the past week, it appears that this question is ofen anwered with a guess or past experience. I have been told that in this area there have been tiger wood decking failures because this wood moves a lot more than other woods. Not having the experience and not wanting to guess, I'm looking for something a little more science based. The supplier of the 5/4 x 6 tiger wood deck boards told me that this wood has a 7% rating for expansion. This 7% rating didn't really come with a definition. Does that means from a dry 15% state, the wood could grow 3/8" maximum? Does that assume kiln dried wood? Installing wiht a 3/8" gap seems way too large.
The wood has been covered and aclimated outside for 8 weeks now and has likely gained some moisture. If I were to use a 1/4" gap, it could very well open up when the wood gets some drier weather, which wouldn't look very good. I'd like to have a 3/16" gap, but am not sure how much the wood will grow when it gets soaked from the rain.
Are there industry standards for range of expansion/contraction for different wood species? Something similar to the Jenka hardness ratings.
MGF
Expansion and Contraction
Thanks for the feedback. After asking around the Seattle area for the past week, it appears that this question is ofen anwered with a guess or past experience. I have been told that in this area there have been tiger wood decking failures because this wood moves a lot more than other woods. Not having the experience and not wanting to guess, I'm looking for something a little more science based. The supplier of the 5/4 x 6 tiger wood deck boards told me that this wood has a 7% rating for expansion. This 7% rating didn't really come with a definition. Does that means from a dry 15% state, the wood could grow 3/8" maximum? Does that assume kiln dried wood? Installing wiht a 3/8" gap seems way too large.
The wood has been covered and aclimated outside for 8 weeks now and has likely gained some moisture. If I were to use a 1/4" gap, it could very well open up when the wood gets some drier weather, which wouldn't look very good. I'd like to have a 3/16" gap, but am not sure how much the wood will grow when it gets soaked from the rain.
Are there industry standards for range of expansion/contraction for different wood species? Something similar to the Jenka hardness ratings.
MGF