Acclimation

Prior to beginning construction on a new Florida deck, the boards must be put through an acclimation process for several weeks in an environment similar to where your deck will be built. A completed deck will be open to the environment, and the acclimation period will prepare the deck boards to deal with those circumstances. You would not construct your deck in a shed or smother the completed project with a tarp, so don't do that to the boards. Instead, stack your deck boards outdoors with spacers between each level, allowing for plenty of air flow across every side of every piece of decking. Skipping this process, or doing it improperly, will cause many headaches down the road, including warping and end checking.