Summertime is here! While you break out the board shorts, we’ll break out the short boards! We do everything we can to eliminate waste, so we keep cutoffs to sell at bargain prices. Many lumber companies sell shorts at a discounted price, but few will call 7 FEET a short board. We do!
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It is that time of year again. Old man winter has finally decided to make his annual retreat leaving us with warm days and warmer thoughts. This month w shake off the sweatshirt and trade it in for a bathing suit. Before you put the hot coffee down and run out for a cold beer there’s a couple things you should double check. The thing that may take the spring out of your step the quickest, is a sprained ankle.
May is NADRA’s (North American Deck and Railing Association) “deck safety month” for good reason. This is the time of year we really start to use our decks often. Based on data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 6,000 people are injured each year in incidents involving the structural failure or collapse of a deck or porch. The worst part of these accidents isn’t that they ruin a spring and summer but more that they are preventable with a little bit of forethought and diligence. You are going to want to make sure that everything is sturdy instead of appearing sturdy. One of the most common failure points is the ledger. Here’s a couple things to look for on a ledger.
The alluring pictures of beautiful decks and other outdoor retreats have driven many homeowners to rethink and remodel their outdoor spaces in order to create the ideal escape within their own backyard.
The pictures show an idyllic retreat made with beautiful, uniform wood. Typically, the woods used in the pictures resemble the look of Ipe and more often than not, it is Ipe. The bad news is that Ipe is an expensive wood but lucky for you, there are other equally beautiful alternatives like Tigerwood.
Unlike many of the woods that are uniform and may make many decks very similar in appearance, Tigerwood is a lot more unique in character and grain pattern. Tigerwood decking is the very definition of exotic with dark streaks lining the boards that provide an amazing contrast to the grain colors that range from light-brown to orange. You can see the look for yourself here:
The most important thing, and the reason why you’re reading this, is that Tigerwood gives you an amazing value for the money! For many, Ipe is an excess, a luxury that comes at a steep price for a 75+ year lifespan that you may not even really need.
Tigerwood on the other hand, offers a more modest lifespan of 30+ years, but it’s a lifespan that’s much longer than most other “typical” decking woods or synthetic materials and still provides a unique and exotic beauty not found in any other decking product.
This lifespan is sufficient for most homeowners that have lived in their house for many years, or those tired of replacing the same old pressure treated or redwood every 5 years, or simply for people looking to resell their home later down the line. After all, an exotic hardwood deck significantly raises the value of a home.
Amazingly, despite the much lower price of Tigerwood when compared to Ipe, it still retains all the wonderful properties of an exotic Brazilian species such as rot resistance, bug resistance, mold and fungus resistance, and slip resistance. Strength wise, it’s about 3x harder than your typical decking woods and almost 4x as hard as Redwood or Cedar!
It’s easy to get lost in the mesmerizing beauty of pictures in magazines, but instead of being dissuaded by the cost of woods like Ipe, look for alternatives that’ll give you the best value for your money while still maintaining the properties of an exotic Brazilian hardwood.
Wood is amazing. It can be twisted, bent, shaped, turned, and crafted into almost anything you can imagine. This natural material has played an immeasurable part in the development of our world. Unfortunately, the categorizing of this beautiful product has led to many assumptions like decking boards are only for decking.
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Cumaru, also known as Brazilian Teak, is an excellent hardwood that many have never heard of. Its botanical name is Dipteryx Odorata, and is primarily found in the Northern regions of South America. The Cumaru tree’s seeds have been used to create a vanilla extract substitute and are highly sought after. The heartwood of Cumaru is very dense and filled with silica particles making it denser and stronger than softwoods and most hardwoods . The most common use for Cumaru is in decking and outdoor furniture because of its strength, density, and lifespan.
2014 International Builders Show in Las Vegas, NV
AdvantageLumber.com recently returned from exhibiting at the 2014 International Builders Show in Las Vegas, NV. IBS is the nation’s largest annual residential housing construction trade event for manufacturers and suppliers of home construction products and services.
A Tigerwood deck highlights how wood decking is beautiful, versatile, & eco-friendly.
These days, being green and using eco-friendly products is more than a trend. Our whole economy is starting to recognize and value materials and items that have been manufactured and/or promote a healthy, green, and eco-savvy lifestyle. Even the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has shown us that there can be a heavy price to pay when we rely too much on environmentally problematic and damaging resources and materials.
What does this have to do with wood decking?
Well, there is a huge marketing push led by composite decking companies to cast all wood decking as non-eco-friendly. These companies want you to believe that all wood decking comes from illegal logging and that it decimates the world’s forests. Here’s the truth, as an FSC certified lumber supplier, the wood decking that we sell here at Advantage comes from eco-friendly forestry practices.
Here are 5 things you need to know about Green Decking: Continue reading