Ken Moiarty wrote:
I'm trying to decide whether to go with inexpensive pressure-treated
evergreen wood decking or low cost 1" thick (approx.), radius edge, cedar
(which is must less expensive than standard patio grade cedar decking). I
kind of prefer the cedar option, but I'm unsure about whether it's wise to
go with cedar that is only half the thickness (hence, half the strength) as
standard patio grade cedar. My concern is not about safety per se so much
as it is about structural rigidity, solidness, etc. I don't want it to feel
like I'm 'bouncing on planks' when walking on the deck. Any suggestions,
advice, experiences? Thanks...

Ken

How thick exactly is this cedar, and (very importantly) what's your
joist spacing? There is stuff called 5/4 ("five-quarters") which is
very close to 1.25" thick and meant especially for decking on standard
(16"?) joist spacing. It is radius edge. If this is what you've got,
you should be fine. Nominal 1" planks will be probably 3/4 and probably
unsuitable, but I have not seem them in radius edge. I'm not sure what
you mean by "regular patio grade cedar", as the 5/4 stuff seems to be
"the" boards for decking. But it's been a while since I built a deck
and availability of lumber varies regionally.

On bouncy decks a lot of the problem is the substructure, so the
decking may be the least of your worries.

Some folks think that pressure-treated wood is death at 100 yds and
some think you can make tea with the sawdust from it. I figure that if
there's one place it's nice to avoid it it's where your kids might be
walking barefoot on it.

Chip C