Laying out a deck board pattern

Question:  Hi Jake, I am trying to decide how to lay out a pattern for my new deck flooring. My new deck will be 12.5 x 20\'. I can not get PT deck Boards in 20\' lengths in my area. The longest is 16\'. I am trying to figure out what size boards I should purchase so that once installed the seam pattern doesn\'t look funny. I like simple designs. Nothing fancy. Can you help?

Jake's Answer:  Would it work to run the boards in the 12'5" direction and avoid any seams all together?  This may require a re-thinking on how you do the beams and joists layout.  It will also produce a fair amount of waste - like 9 boards total - Ouch!!!  A diagonal pattern may reduce the impact of the seams.  Otherwise, I would stagger the seams randomly, one seam per board run.  And, I would make the length of the boards a little random as well.  Lay it out on paper and you will be able to figure out a nice pattern.