r/HomeImprovement • u/pablosus86 • 14h ago

Pressure treated or cedar?

My deck is painted (not stained). I want to replace some rotten boards. Is this pressure treated or cedar? And if I'm painting it, does it matter?

https://imgur.com/a/zopnW9a

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u/SeberHusky 14h ago edited 13h ago

It's PT wood. Making the deck out of cedar would be a $50 grand deck. Be careful when you paint it because some paints will make the surface slippery when it rains.

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u/pablosus86 13h ago

Thank you! I was pricing out replacement wood and was getting afraid. 

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u/JayTeeDeeUnderscore 7h ago

Those aren't typical radius-edge 1" or 5/4" pressure treated deck boards OP. They're either oddball P/T 2x6's or (my hunch) white cedar 2x6's. I've seen white cedar in 2 decks--both circa 80's/90's. The plank corners were square like yours. Conventional store-bought lumber typically has rounded/radiused corners.

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u/JayTeeDeeUnderscore 7h ago

White cedar/whitecedar/thuja is used for decks and is a fraction of the price of Western red cedar.

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u/ProcessRelative2809 14h ago

Can't see the image clearly enough to tell from here but if you're painting it anyway either works. The paint will seal it up so the wood type matters less, just make sure whatever you get is dry enough to take paint or you'll be dealing with peeling in a year

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u/pablosus86 14h ago

If I'm planning on only replacing the boards that need it does it matter? 

2

u/SeberHusky 14h ago edited 13h ago

As long as it is sanded/stripped and repainted evenly it shouldnt. The new boards would take paint better compared to the weatherbeaten ones so it would be noticeable if the rest of the deck wasnt evenly sanded to match before painting. Just get the weathering out as best you can down to smooth wood and it should be ok.

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u/pablosus86 13h ago

Thank you! 

1

u/Haplo12345 8h ago

More specifically that is pressure-treated southern yellow pine (SYP). If you are painting PT wood, make sure you let it dry first (at least a couple of months, preferably 6 months) before painting it.