If you built a deck three weeks ago with pressure treated wood using bright framing nails and they are already rusting on the top how long will they last?

Answer 1

Ouch, tough mistake. What you should have used was those high tech deck screws. If you ever need to replace a board it is a lot easier. The nails you used were not stainless steel and what that means is that they will stain. They will last a long time but will continue to rust. At this point my advice is to seal the whole deck with a water seal and try to prevent rust. I have done things like that and it is one of those things. Luckily, I learn from most of my mistakes. To fix it you have to disassemble the deck, remove the nails, put in the screws. You have to decide if you can put up with the rust. Good luck VBD If the pressure treated lumber you used was treated with an "ACQ" formulation, or a "CBA-A" or "CA-B" formulation, your nails will not last long at all. The new wood treatment formulations introduced in the past couple of years to replace the "CCA" treatment (which contained chromated copper and arsenic), are heavy to copper, which is corrosive to many dissimilar metals. Your deck needs to be fastened with stainless steels screws or ring shank nails (very expensive), copper nails (hard to locate and expensive), epoxy coated deck screws, or hot-dipped galvanized nails with a galvanized rating of G-185 (your lumber yard should be able to get them for you if they're not in stock). Personally, I prefer the coated deck screws...they're a little spendy, but your deck planks will stay put. I use a brand called "Trapeze" which were designed for composite deck planks such as "Trex" but work very well with other decking materials.