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Over
the past eighteen years we have been focusing our sights on stronger,
longer lasting and more durable deck products. Although we still
construct a full line of products made with real woods such as
Redwood, Cedar and hardwoods. Our clients are finding themselves
with less free time on the weekends and too many obligations with
the time they do have to be spending their discretionary time
sealing and staining the outdoor living space; they increasingly
request products that require much less time and maintenance with
greater durability.
Many
new composite materials, solid plastics, vinyl coverings and even
fiberglass products have recently flooded the market and have
some very lofty promises to limit or even eliminate the normal
maintenance problems. It has been our experience that a lower
density mixed composite material can provide the longevity, durability
and can limit the maintenance, while staying in a similar cost
range. More expensive PVC coated composites can offer stain, fade
and mold resistance that makes life easy and your deck much more
beautiful.
Allow
us to share the positive and negative
aspects from our perspective of the most popular choices in today's
retail decking and railing markets.
TimberTech,
EverGrain, Trex and Fiberon materials top the list.
These
companies offer multiple levels of materials in a wide variety
of colors and textures. They will differ in quality, shape, color,
density and longevity, and although each product has it's limitations,
each one of these products does have an optimal application. Allow
one of our representatives to help you determine which product
type and color blend will work best for your deck or patio project.
Having first hand knowledge of the benefits and draw backs of
each system, we can give you advise on a Company and product type
that will encompass all that your family requires and that will
look nice as well.
Cedar
- has been widely used in the United States in various
applications for hundreds of years and is growing in popularity
in today's decking and structural landscaping markets. Cedar is
milled for so many different applications and textures making
it the most versatile wood used in America. Rough cuts are produced
for fencing, siding, facing and trims. Timbers of all sizes are
cut for both structural and architectural uses such as roofs,
pergolas, arbors and gazebos. Smooth cuts of Cedar are so beautiful
because of their grain and knot configuration and are milled for
many deck and rail applications. They can be cut, routed and milled
easily on the job site to fit any purpose. The strength of its
grain allows it to be used in almost all structural uses. Cedars
softness allows it to age well in very dry climates, paints well
and resists the normal cracking of denser woods, and dry very
quickly in wet climates. Cedar has a very pleasing natural aroma
and is resistance to rotting. Cedar will oxidize and gray if not
treated properly and will mildew or even get burned by the sun
if it is over sealed. In Colorado's dry climate, Cedar needs to
be sealed yearly or bi-yearly to maintain its natural beauty or
should be primed before being painted.
Redwood
- has been American's primary choice for decking products in the
past, but is quickly losing its charm and popularity because of
its rising cost and high maintenance. It has a natural lasting
beauty in its grain and knot configuration, mixed colors of common,
B-grades and heart grades. The nature of Heart Redwood allows
it to be very resistant to decay and can be used for many applications
in the most humid of environments. In more arid environments,
it can crack, split and raise its grain when not protected properly.
The changing laws and management of the Redwood forests in the
United States has greatly increased the cost and limited availability
of products. Redwood should be sealed every year in the early
fall.
Hardwoods
- such as Mahogany, Ipe and Cypress have been widely used in the
construction of decks and other landscape structures for many
years in other countries, but have just recently been gaining
in popularity in our area. The true beauty and consistency to
a real hardwood product is very attractive to the consumer in
this market. The durability and longevity are clearly acknowledgments
of the hardness and extreme density of hardwood trees. The strength
of a drying board of this density often requires a stainless steel
screw (costly) application to hold it firmly in place and will
also require high grade steel or titanium drill bits to bore pilot
holes. The hardwoods require more intricate and involved construction
applications, and in turn requires a more experienced and talented
carpenter. The additional labor involved with this type of construction
can be as much as double the normal time and can cost between
double and triple the normal fees. In our climate, normal oil
based sealants may take several additional days to soak into a
hardwood product and specific ones may require a special type
sealant.
The
opinions expressed here are those of Denver Decks and more specifically
of Philip R. Tussing, the owner and your "Deck Answer Man".
Note: The consumer should always
thoroughly investigate a product before choosing to purchase a
material or product for use in their construction project. It
would also be prudent to test every opinion in order to determine
its factual nature.
We
have determined that products such as vinyl, solid plastics and
fiberglass decking materials have too great a financial or health
risk, or some type of liability we are not willing to undertake.
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