Decking - grooved side up or down?

One a webiste for rougher headed treated pine (laser grooved) it was saying taht it is done to reduce splintering and splitting. Maybe the same applies for decking.

My old house I put the treated pine reeded side up. It had a roof, but when it got wet at one corner that was exposed to wind and rain, it was great for grip, but only if you walked across the boards. When walking along them like it had been greased up. My current deck is Merbau smooth up, and smooth down, no reeding. No complaints about grip and it is fully exposed.

I think it looks better, especially when nicley oiled and the water is beading.

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do you really think there is any gap left at all after you nail them down? Answer, no.

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What are nailing them down with? A sledge hammer and railway spikes?

Should I call for the pizza and beer agin???? :shrug:

This thread intigues me despite the fact that I don't have a deck and have no intention of getting one. A quick research of Google revealed the following:

Down
Pine Solutions
http://tinyurl.com/2r3fnw
<O:p"We recommend the smooth side up as the reeded side has been designed to aid water run off when placed side down. Having the smooth side up also makes your deck easier to clean, prolonging the life of your deck".

<O:pUp
<O:pHome Base
<O:phttp://tinyurl.com/26wm7y
"It is a common thought that reeded decking is designed to be face down to allow air flow through the timbers which reduce the chances of rot, this is not really the case, as while airflow does reduce the chance of rot, the bearers (timbers that sit on the stumps) and joists (timber that sit on the bearers) do not have grooves, and if the correct timbers are used, moisture should not be a problem. The real reason for the reeded decking it to provide greater grip for users, especially around pools, spas and saunas".

Either
Gunnersons
http://tinyurl.com/2guuk4
"Decking is supplied in reeded profiles to provide a non-slip surface or they can simply be reversed to create a smooth surface".

It seems that there is no real answer. I guess that it's personal choice.

Just goes to show you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet...

I think I may have mentioned this here somewhere else, but for what it's worth -

A local building supplier, who has been in the industry since Moses played halfback for Dead Sea Scrollers, reckons that the grooves up or grooves down thing was originally a regionally based issue.

Apparently builders in Melbourne were installing the decking with grooves up because it stopped slippage around pools and spas, but builders in Sydney preferred the look of smooth decks. And he goes on to say that, if a company is milling timber for Sydney they will make sure the best face is the smooth side, whereas if the timber is destined for Melbourne they will mill it, so the best face is the face with the grooves in it.

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they will make sure the best face is the smooth side

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That's certainly the case for all the reeded decking I've ever bought.

Doesn't surprise me at all that Victorians would have it asre about :wink:

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Originally Posted by silentC

What are nailing them down with? A sledge hammer and railway spikes?

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:D haha, thank you Silent, best laugh I had all day!

However I pulled out a pine decking recently and the joists had squashed the reeds leaving no gap to speak off.
Yet I did not witness the nailing down procedure. Perhaps it was on the heavy side yet the surface did not have any particularly nasty hammer marks.

Yes, I could understand that happening with pine, it's pretty soft and usually sopping wet. I doubt that a hardwood deck would compress enough to flatten out the grooves. If I ever have to pull a bit of mine up, I'll check it out and let you know!

At the risk of opening up an old wound... just one more time !!!! Im all for grooved side down. Apart from liking the look of the smooth side facing up, I lived in a place where the decking all around the house was Groove Up. Held moisture, grew moss, became damn slippery and nearly caused multiple FOA issues (Fall On A'hole) no matter whether summer or winter.