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We had a new deck installed around march of this year. I am noticing that the planks used on the deck are already starting to curl and warp a bit when it rains. It's to the point where rain lays on each separate board and I have to sweep it off so it doesn't just sit there all the time. It looks like when the weather is dry it doesn't look as warped, but as soon as it rains they curl up again. This also happens on the top boards of the hand rail, and a couple of the spokes are actually curving. I'm really concerned that this will cause the wood to rot. I also noticed that they used nails instead of screws, and I wondered if that was a problem.
When they were done installing it, I asked them if I should seal the wood. I was told that they usually advise people to wait a year, but that if the water was not beading on the surface of the boards, to go ahead and seal it. Since there was zero beading, I sealed it with Thompson's. The deck really looks nice, and the city approved and ok'd it. But it just doesn't seem like this warping should be happening.
When I asked them to come back out and have a look at it, the guy said that I shouldn't have sealed it for a year. I told him what I was told about sealing it, and he said he didn't "mind" replacing a couple of boards. That was the last I've heard from him.
Does this sound like anything was done improperly? I've attached a picture of the deck right after it was completed. (It was a mudhole at the time.)
