Similarly, Southern Yellow Pine is less common on the West coast. For instance, California Redwood, Hemlock, or Douglas Fir are less common in the Southeast.
Not every species of wood is widely available in every region. The location where you live plays an important role in choosing wood for your joists. To learn more about deck joist sizing, spacing, and allowable span, reference this chart. For example, joists spaced 16 inches from the center of the joist next to it can span 1.5 times in feet the depth of their inches. As a rule, the larger the deck, the larger the joists. If you just asked yourself “ do I need a permit to build a deck?” remember that the answer is almost always yes. As a critical part to a deck that will last you for years to come, it’s important to find out just how many joists you’ll need to safely support your decking - and that depends on the size of your deck and approved building permit plans