I recently installed a mahogany deck, Why is it buckling?

Answer 1

Could be several reasons:
1. You installed the desk boards with a single nail at each attachment point. (My architectural plans always call out for 2 brass counter-sunk screws)
2. The top of the boards are drying out. My guess is that the wood was wet or, at least, beyond 19% moisture content, when you laid it. With reduction of the water volume in the board, the top is getting smaller than the bottom. This will even out over time but not 100%. It would have helped if you'd sealed the deck right away after installing it.

In old carpentry practices, the guys would cut a saw kerf into the backside to keep the front from "cupping". It gave the backside more surface area for evaporation by wind...

To solve the current problem:
1. Go the hardware store and get the following:
- a zillion brass, phillips head, countersink head, 3-1/2" long wood screws.
- a few gallons of deck sealer (Thompson's), a paint roller, pan and broom handle for the roller
- wood filler putty for mahogany.
2. rent a floor sander with at least two belts of varying grits (medium and fine)
3. Back to the house. Get your drill driver and install the screws. Countersink them 1/16" minimum below the surface and fill the top with mahogany wood filler.
4. 24 hours after the wood filler, sand the deck with the heaviest grit belt that you got at the rental yard, then the fine grit. Carefully and lightly, fill any new spots with your filler and use a wet sponge to smooth it out. Clean up the sawdust with broom and dustpan, then a leaf blower. (Remnant sawdust will screw up the finish of the sealer.)
5. Take the floor sander back and return to seal the deck. Do not stop from morning of step 4 to the end of step 5.
6. Next day, do another coat of sealer. Two coats seals the wood internally, 3 coats bring the sealer to the surface of the wood. It'll last longer but it gives the wood a slight dull gloss. Some people like it, some don't like it on wood (prefering to see the wood's natural grainy character - no gloss).

Good luck.
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Answer 2

Did you leave a small 1/8" crack between floor planks? Wood has to have room to expand with weather and moisture.

Answer 3

need info.width of the decking?.....how thick?.......new or aged/.......