re: Is this lumber picture accurate?

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Yes. I have a couple of older rent houses and the lumber is much more substantial than anything built in the past 30 years.

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Substantial in this case does not equal superior. OSB is infinitely better for roof decking than old growth figured maple and is about 1/10th the price per board foot. 20 year old Douglas Fir is infinitely better for structural members than anything available other than engineered products which usually consist of some form of OSB or laminations.

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I was told you can't build stuff from fir anymore because "it doesnt meet code"

The old guys i knew loved fir because it held nails so tightly.

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Fir is just about all you can readily get that is grade stamped. Douglas fir and SPF is what most builders build with because it is what is readily available. If it is kiln dried and graded it meets code...if an engineer designs a structure without kiln drying and grade stamped it "meets" code because no AHJ will claim to have any superior credentials to a PE because the former has no liability while the latter certainly does.

I am pretty certain that Douglas Fir is considered the best fastener holding species available. I do not know that for certain though.

Have y'all not purchased any lumber in the past 50 years?

I've purchased lumber that looked similar to that 1918 lumber, but I've never seen anything that looked like that 2018 lumber.

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FYI
Wise old long gone uncle told me this.

When laying decking all boards should be laid down like the 1918 picture with the grain turned down, not like the 2018 pic with the grain turned up.

If you lay the boards out like the 2018 pic with the grain up, it allow water to get between the grains easier.

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The frown/smile down or bark side/pith side down has been debated since man started laying straight-sawn lumber down horizontally. The wood scientists tend to give the opposite advice of your uncle in that you should go with the smile/bark side down.

You will see this debated all over the internet and IRL. I came to the opinion that it mostly doesn't matter in practice and go with whichever side has the best cosmetics up; if both sides are equal, I go with smile/bark side down.