For decking outdoors in Sweden, pressure treated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is used, on account of its treatability. The feasibility of using instead the refractory Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) is tested in a field trial. The spruce decks were treated together with pine decks with an ordinary Bethell process. As yet, after more than four years of exposure, neither in the battens nor in the slats of the treated spruce decks any visible sign of decay has been observed. The status of the deckings is followed up with observations of the moisture content and with Pilodyn measurements of the depth of penetration of the striker pin. The pressure treated spruce material has a consistently lower moisture content and mostly also a lower penetration depth of the Pilodyn striker pin than other untreated material.

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