We have a 1930's Craftsman style house in central NH. We're restoring the front porch to it's original style (it has the most hideous sun porch you've ever laid eyes on right now!)

Our contractor has suggested using cambara wood with penofin to seal it. It's a south-facing but deeply covered porch (with 1-foot overhangs).

Reading through your site I'm wondering about a few things:

I think he intends to use the existing original porch as the subfloor - will this affect airflow and increase rot?

Our porch originally had tightly fitted floor planks (no gaps or spaces for airflow) which we'd like to keep - is this wood good for this? Do you only have to put gaps between the wood planks when it is an uncovered deck?

Should we make sure he finishes it a certain way? Is Penofin safe? I read on one of the posts that TWP 100 series is great, but being in NH we can only use TWP500. Penofin also has it's Verde product - any preferences or recommendations?

We're on a budget (who isn't?) and would like low low maintenance with high durability. We also have dogs, cats and babies, so low toxicity is important, too.

Thanks so much!
The Reno Newbie