Replacing deck boards on a 16x20 ft deck

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Greekshooter

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Replacing the deck boards. Lot of labor to remove old deck boards that were screwed in. Over halfway done. How long before I should stain? Boards are 2x6".
 
I tore a free deck down a couple years ago and used all the materials to build a new deck by flipping the decking over. I stained it right away but the wood was good and dry. I have always heard wait and do it the next year. I don’t know if that is still correct as the process of treating the wood has changed over the years. New deck wood is always heavy and I would assume that is moisture I would want out before staining.

Lets see what the pro say.
 
Thanks for the reply Bud. Yes. My wife and I turned the boards over and stained the deck a few times. We built the deck in 1984. The wood was still in pretty good shape as we kept it stained. I just felt it would be a good idea to replace the boards due to age. They are
20ft long sections. Since I'm alone now I am replacing with two 10ft sections. Did not to wait until I was too old to do it (69 now). I agree about the moisture. Just curious if a year or less is good enough. I already bought some semi transparent stain.
 
I turned 60 last year so I kind of started thinking the same way about projects. I noticed the 16’ 2x10’ had gotten quite a bit heavier than they were 20 years ago. All my decking was 5/4 stuff sounds like you have one sturdy deck there.
 
Why 2 X 6's and not 5/4?
How long to wait depends on where you are. (no location in your profile)
Big difference from AZ to Canada.
I've only built about 100 decks but never once used 2X anything for decking.
 
Thank you Joe for the input. My deck is on 2x10s with 24" centers. I live in VA. Deck has been good since 1984 except that when I built it with my wife there were two of us and we were younger. We used 20 ft long 2x6s. turned them over once. Since my wife has passed and I am alone I am using two 10 ft sections since I can handle those at my age. The only hard part is getting the old boards off.
 
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