Decking bark side up or down?

Decking bark side up or down


  • Total voters
    11

Ryan Mooney

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
8,106
Location
The Gorge Area, Oregon
So as not to hijack Brents more general construction thread... what say you decking bark side up or down?

Weirdly I had been thinking about this after looking at the situation on my back porch the other day. I ended up with a few opinions but then some further research confounded the issue somewhat..
 
I found this reference:

In 1995 researchers in Wood Surface Chemistry at the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Lab, R.Sam Williams and Mark Knaebe drafted “The Bark-Side / Pith-Side Debate” Most of the points they make about wood behavior supports orienting deck boards “bark-side up” however at the end they state “These factors, although important, can be overridden by a third factor-the quality of the pith side compared to that of the bark side. If the pith side is clearly better, place this side up.”


But I solved the issue on the last deck I built by using composite boards. :thumb:
 
can be overridden by a third factor-the quality of the pith side compared to that of the bark side. If the pith side is clearly better, place this side up.”[/I]

Ah, you're giving away the surprise reveal early :rofl:

But I solved the issue on the last deck I built by using composite boards. :thumb:

Some of the new composite stuff is pretty interesting indeed.
 
Wow! A tie. I find that when you put it with the rings curling upwards (brk side down) the boards tend to dome rather than cup as they adjust, allowing them to shed water better.

I'm with Roger on this one. These steps I replaced about a month ago have cupped upward. They shed water lengthwise, so all is not lost, but had I put them on bark side down they would have domed and shed the water both ways. I still might swap them around since they're only temporarily fastened.
steps 006.jpg
 
bark side up for the water problem, but pithside is ok if you have best face. screw not nail. composite is nice but pricey.. and has its own problems its not fool proof

i put vote in wrong spot, correct it if someone can on mood staff
 
Last edited:
I would have to say that no matter what you do, up or down there are always a few wayward boards that do it their own way. Twisty or cupping the opposite of what you hoped. In general I go with up and hope for the best.
 
Bark side down has a better chance of producing a domed appearance. In our part of the world water issues do not come into play very much. Domed has a better appearance, to my limited artistic eye.

Bill
 
Last edited:
Top