Now that things are getting soggy outside, I'm looking to another summer project - replacing the decking/planking sections on our dock.

The guts/support system is perfect. The dock is actually a commercial-grade system for marina use. It uses galvanized poles/stringers, and cast aluminum joiner "hubs" to make the sub-system. Kind of like a kids "K-nex" toy.

The decking is what's shot. Imagine a shipping pallet without the 2 or 3 planks on the bottom. 3) 40 inch "pallets" drop onto the stringers to cover a 10' section between vertical poles.

Here's the rub - The "pallets" are six feet wide!

The engineered lumber only comes in the 5/4 decking planks, and I don't think it'll be strong enough for 6' span, even with a few "stringers" tying the deck planks together on the underside. The original decking was 2 x 8 cedar. I don't have the $$$ to replace in cedar, hence thinking about Pressure Treated.

I need to build 24 new 40" x 6' deck sections.

Anyone have any experience using the engineered wood?

My first thought was will the plastic woods be slippery when it's wet? Docks get wet pretty easily.

Are the original planks that bad that you can't go over top of them with something else? You can gain strength by laminating another thinner beam/plank over the existing one.

Yeah, the originals are totally shot. The ends of the planks are rotted in about 2 -3 inches, the wood is so soft there's no "holding power" for fasteners.

The pic with our dog shows the ends of the planks, the one with my wife is the boat slip. These are from 2 years ago and things are worse.

Weight is also a concern. I've gotta tote these sections up about 20 steps twice a year.

2052

2053

If you gotta carry them off the dock every year, you don't want the Trex type stuff. It wiegh's a ton.

If cost is a concern think I'd run a couple of stringers through the center to cut the span. Then maybe sheet it out.

One thing you might consider is use the 5/4 stuff and install a 1x2 down each one's centerline as a stiffener on the back side like a short "T".

5/4 should be stiff enough if done this way, I'd think..

OR add 1x3 side pieces to make 5/4 channels to each 5/4 plank.

Just a thought...

I donno???????????????? Weight is a killer...

pdq67