We may take all the proper and professional installation steps for a very flat deck and still end up with waves down the road as the lumber dries. The problem is we are unable to ensure perfection due to moisture content. Grading the joists prior to installation.īoth of these help the minor waviness that can occur.Up until now, it has been our opinion and practice to build with pressure-treated fir lumber and minimize leveling discrepancies in 2 ways: So even paying for premium kiln-dried lumber, you will still have the minor waves you see with #2 lumber and pressure treated. While this is a better option than the common lumber grade of #2 or better, it still has milling discrepancies in width, degree of moisture. After that, there was the option of #1 select fir joists. While this is a fine frame upon which to place your 30 to 50 year warrantied decking, it has the disadvantage of increasing the cost of the deck by 30% as well as limiting some design options. Prior to 2019, the only option for a deck that is as flat as the floors inside your home was steel frame deck construction. This offers the professional deck builder the ability to eliminate the waviness that can occur in traditional lumber framed decks.
With LVL now being offered with pressure treatment, it is approved for outdoor decks. Laminated veneered lumber provides uniform widths and strength, as well as the elimination of shrinkage and twisting typically found in traditionally milled, forest-grown wood lumber. The beauty of LVL is it is built to engineered specifications in a factory. LVL is not new, it has been a staple of indoor and unexposed building construction for years specifically for headers, beams, rim boards, and columns. And then the introduction of 2nd generation capped composites have we seen a game-changer such as this: pressure-treated Laminated Veneered Lumber or LVL joists for outdoor deck construction.
LVL MENARDS UPDATE
Not since 2009 when we saw the badly needed International Residential building Code update to address the construction of decks. It’s not too often that an industry such as deck building can say with all confidence that a newly introduced product will truly be a game-changer.
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