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  1. #1
    Senior Member CathyA's Avatar
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    Getting long deck boards home from the store

    I have a van. I can easily fit 10' boards into my van, if all but the front seats are removed. But we need about 20+ of 16' and 18' ones. I think the 18' is pushing it, in having 8' stick out the back. I'd have to drive home (back roads for 11 miles) with the hatch back door open.
    Or........for $50 we could have it all delivered. I'm thinking the $50 would be worth avoiding the hassle.
    I could also try to put them on top of the van (have those 2 luggage rack things), but I'm afraid it would slide out the front or the back.
    Any experience with this?
    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
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    I've done this before in a small pickup.

    I'd put the 18' ones on the bottom and the 16' ones on the top, then find a was to secure the boards to the van from the inside. Also, remember to put a flag on the end of the boards sticking out so that the people behind you can judge your length.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  3. #3
    Senior Member mtnlaurel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CathyA View Post
    I have a van. I can easily fit 10' boards into my van, if all but the front seats are removed. But we need about 20+ of 16' and 18' ones. I think the 18' is pushing it, in having 8' stick out the back. I'd have to drive home (back roads for 11 miles) with the hatch back door open.
    Or........for $50 we could have it all delivered. I'm thinking the $50 would be worth avoiding the hassle.
    I could also try to put them on top of the van (have those 2 luggage rack things), but I'm afraid it would slide out the front or the back.
    Any experience with this?
    Thanks.
    We broke our Thule Rocket Box (luggage box for cartops) putting some heavy boxed patio furniture in it one time and really regretted it.

  4. #4
    Helper Gregg's Avatar
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    Not sure what product you are using for your deck. If its actual wood as opposed to a synthetic product you may want to check out the long boards before you decide. We have a very hard time finding long, straight boards that don't have heartwood in them. In the past those came from old growth trees which have either been harvested or are preserved now. Most of the 16' boards we get now look like a dog's hind leg and we can't even get 18' without a special order. If it is a synthetic product you have no such worries, but more than about 6' hanging out your back end might be pushing it. Can you buy 8' and 10' lengths instead of 18'?

  5. #5
    Senior Member CathyA's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone.
    Hmmm Gregg.......thanks for the heads up. Its red cedar stuff. I bought a 10' one last week, to make sure it would fit in the prior boards spot. It seemed like good wood..........but alot of it is heartwood. I should have checked out the longer ones then. Anything has to be better than the boards we're replacing. We haven't been good stewards of our deck.
    Always seemed to be more pressing things going on. But now I'm afraid someone is going to break a leg, so we're a little more motivated.

  6. #6
    Helper Gregg's Avatar
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    It's not cheap, but if you can afford to replace the whole deck with a good composite material its the end of maintenance. Just a thought from someone who is working very hard to enter the maintenance free zone. For cedar, heartwood isn't all bad, just make sure the boards don't have any soft or very porous spots on them. Cedar is usually available in 2' increments from 8' long up to 16'. Eighteen foot boards might be hard to come by.

  7. #7
    Senior Member CathyA's Avatar
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    We're trying to limp along for a couple more years and then have the entire deck replaced. I also made the mistake of planting heavily all around the deck. Now, if we have it replaced, it will need to be in the Fall, so not as much plantstuff is destroyed.
    I don't care for the composite stuff.

    I saw some literature at the store on better wood that lasted longer, but once I started reading it, I realized it was wood like Teak, Mahogany, etc., which I refuse to buy.
    If we just took care of our deck, like we were supposed to, it would probably still look great. I told my husband "we're just white trash". haha

  8. #8
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    Yes, what Alan said. I don’t know what kind of van you have but I can say from experience that luggage racks on mini-van type vehicles are not meant for heavy loads.

    I also agree with Gregg in that trying to get a straight, long board (any board) is difficult. I’ve got on the last nerve of many a lumber yard employee refusing the bowed boards they try to load. I’m glad to see you don’t like composite decking. I like the composite for the durability and strait factor but it is cost prohibitive for us so I tell those who suggest it that we are ‘purists’ and prefer a wood deck.

  9. #9
    Senior Member CathyA's Avatar
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    I'm insisting on picking out the boards myself, so there won't be any bad ones. If there aren't enough long ones, we'll just put a few seams in. I'm thinking of asking them at the lumber yard entrance if I can go check them out before I go out there, having paid for a certain number of them and can't find enough good ones and have to go back in the store and redo everything.
    Unfortunately, our joists are starting to rot.
    We'll put a few "sister" boards in, but if they're nailed to the rotting joist, how strong can that be??
    I think with new top boards though, we can get a couple more years out of it.

    You know, I didn't even think about the weight of all these boards on the top of the van! Duh! My van may have ended up much shorter.

    I have relatives with composite decking and there are chunks out of it. I prefer the look of rotting real wood. haha

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by CathyA View Post
    I'm insisting on picking out the boards myself, so there won't be any bad ones. If there aren't enough long ones, we'll just put a few seams in. I'm thinking of asking them at the lumber yard entrance if I can go check them out before I go out there, having paid for a certain number of them and can't find enough good ones and have to go back in the store and redo everything.
    Definitely choose your own boards, you're paying for it so get what you want. I've ordered lumber and have had it delivered only to send back a portion of it back because it was of such poor quality. I don't know what the employees are thinking loading and delivering inferior quality stock. I have also ordered/paid, went to the loading area to pick out lumber and not found enough acceptable materials and gone back and changed the order. If you pay for it you should get what is acceptable to you.

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