Rehabbing an old deck

DennisC — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:35:50 GMT

We're rehabbing a 20+ year old deck on a house in Northern Arizona. Very hot in summer; often subfreezing in winter. The original deck was nailed doug fir and a constant headache with popping nails and splitting planks. We hope the original substructure can be redecked; its very heavily built but the 4x8 joists are on 24" ctrs. The original deck was 25 x 40 feet, we're reducing it's size to about 10 x 40 ft.

We'd appreciate help with following questions:
1. Are there any composite plank systems that will stand up to the AZ sun better than wood, not make the deck a hot griddle, and can be installed on 24" ctr joists?
2. Are concealed fasteners practical when much of the deck has limited access from beneath?
3. If we stick with douglas fir, is "select" the proper grade?
4. Though rot isn't an issue, is there any advantage to treated wood regarding checking or spliiting?
5. If we stick with 2x6 fir and conventional top-screwing, what's the most effective screw type and material?

Thanks

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Rehabbing an old deck