DECKS by JRW uses only the finest building materials available. It is for this reason that we use Dunn Lumber in Bellevue as our primary supplier of materials. The Bellevue store is a member of the Dunn family of lumber stores, which includes 10 locations in the Puget Sound area. Family owned since 1907, Dunn Lumber is known throughout the industry for providing extremely high quality and "hard to find" lumber products. We may pay a little more for our materials but we feel the quality justifies the cost. Please feel free to visit Dunn Lumber (2350 140th Avenue NE in Bellevue) to view and discuss all the different types of building materials available for decks. In short, we insist on the finest products available for use on your deck. We only build 100-130 custom decks per year and guarantee that each of our customers are 100% satisfied.

Framework

The wood used in the framework of all JRW decks is called "ground contact" pressure treated wood. The framework is the skeleton of the deck (what holds everything up) and local building codes require the use of treated lumber in all frameworks. There has been a lot of discussion lately regarding pressure treated lumber and the products used to treat this lumber. Dunn Lumber supplies us with Natural Select Wolmanized treated lumber. This lumber uses a process known as CBA and does not contain any arsenic. This particular type of treated lumber is also the least corrosive to the metal connectors used in deck construction. All supporting footings are hand dug and poured with new concrete on site.

There are many different types of products available for the decking surface.

Natural Materials

Western Red tight knot cedar
The most popular decking product in the Northwest. A soft wood with natural beauty and an abundant supply. Most tight knot cedar is a harvested product with second and third growth trees reaching the market place. The most popular size for decking is 5/4 x 4. Requires a protective stain regularly. Also available in clear cedar (no knots).

Outdoor Wood
This is an appearance grade version of the pressure treated lumber used in the framework of the deck. This wood is hem-fir and is known for its durability and long life. This product requires a protective coating of water seal on a regular basis. The most popular size is 2 x 4. This product is used a lot on trellis work and overhead pergolas.

Hardwoods
These would include products such as Epee, Ironwood and Mahogany. These exotic hardwoods are popular for their toughness and durability. They do require a maintenance program to keep them looking good. If a protective stain is not used, they simply turn an attractive silver color but still need to be cleaned to prevent algae growth.

Manufactured Decking

In today’s market, manufactured decking is, without a doubt, the most popular choice for consumers.  There have been many technological advances made with these types of decking and railing materials over the past 15 years.  The best news is that these types of materials just keep getting better and better!  The main thing to remember is that while these products are very durable and are usually less maintenance than a traditional wood deck, they are NOT bullet proof and still require diligent cleaning and some limited care. 

This information will deal with the decking or materials that make up the surface of the deck.  There are currently two main types of manufactured decking available: composite and PVC.  There is also a third type of decking, a hybrid product, which combines a composite core with a PVC (or similar) outer coating or shell.   

Composite decking has been around the longest and is usually more economical.  There are many different manufacturers of these products, many of whom offer multiple grades or versions in their product line. The differences between the different versions are usually cosmetics and/or price point.  Most of the major brands will perform somewhat the same over time as far as color loss, durability, and susceptibility to staining, scratching, etc. 

A few things to remember about composite decking are:  

1)     Since these products are all man made, there can be some differences in color batching between boards.  This is especially true with any product line that uses recycled or reclaimed raw materials.  Don’t be surprised if you see some slight color difference between some of the decking boards when the product is brand new.  We have found that the sun will cause all composite products to fade to a lighter shade and most, if not all of the color difference, may blend together. 

2)     If it is necessary to replace a board or boards on your deck for any reason, it is unlikely the new board or boards will color match the existing boards exactly.  They may fade in to be a closer match over time, but they may never match completely. 

3)     Scratching and scarring of the decking may also be a concern.  With some composite decking, it is possible to scratch the boards simply by sliding one over the other off the stack or by moving tools and personnel around the deck.  We try to use extra care when constructing composite decks and any scratches or marring of the decking made during construction should fade with exposure to sunlight.  This will also be true of scratching caused by furniture, pets, children’s toys, etc.  Sunlight is a great healer of composite decking.   

4)     It is possible to stain composite decking with foodstuffs, wines, grease, etc.  Follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for removing stains.  Some stains may not be able to be removed. 

5)     It is possible for composite decking to absorb some moisture and swell up slightly.  For this and other reasons, we always gap our decking side to side at min. ¼” spacing.  Some manufacturers are ok with a smaller gap, but we have found the decks easier to clean at ¼” gap. 

6)     Composite decking usually will not crack or split.  However, it is possible to have small cracks appear near the ends of a board where there is a decking screw or a tight cut around a rail post.  These cracks can occur even with pre-drilling of the boards for the screws. 

7)     Composite decking (or for that matter, all decking) must be kept clean.  It may be necessary to clean your deck at least once, perhaps two or three times a year, depending on how nice you want it to look.  Moss and algae will grow on composite decking just like anything else here in the Northwest.  You may contact our office or the manufacturer of your product for cleaning tips.  We can also recommend a company that will clean your decking for a very reasonable fee. 

PVC and hybrid decking have a few advantages over composite decking.  Most of these types of decking offer color loss (fading) and/or stain warranties.  These types of decking are also more resistant to scratching and marring.  Up to late 2009, PVC decking was only available in plain, light colors and limited textures.  However, it is now possible to get these ultra-low maintenance products in multi-chromatic colors that have true wood tones and deeper, richer palettes.  We have also found these products to be very durable and stand up to cleaning and normal use better than composites.  Also, these products do not experience the same splitting problem on the board ends that composites sometimes have.  The only down side is that most of these products may be slightly more expensive than composites.  

Under most residential applications, either composite, PVC or hybrid decking will perform quite well and meet the consumer's expectations.  Of course, the real advantage of all manufactured decking products is that they never need staining or any application of a protective coating.  These products will not rot or decay and most are expected to last 30 or more years.   

We feel that knowing this information about “what to expect” from your manufactured decking product is important.  We also feel that manufactured decking is a great value and will provide a long-lasting, beautiful deck surface for many years to come.

This is the most popular composite product available. TREX is a wood fiber-recycled plastic composite product. TREX offers a low maintenance, high durability surface which requires only cleaning, no painting or preserving.. The product is uniform in color and size. There are currently four colors available with three of those colors — Saddle, Madeira and Woodland Brown — being relatively color fast, losing perhaps 10%-20% of it's original color. The fourth color is Winchester Grey and it does come a dark grey and fades to a light grey. TREX now comes in three versions; Contours (grey, madeira and saddle), Accents which has a wood-grained finish (all four colors) and Brasilia in two colors. TREX Brasilia has a streaked finish similar to hardwood. TREX has had a lot of success in the decking market and is currently our most requested synthetic product. The most popular size is 5/4 x 6. Railing systems are also available including the new "Artisan" white rail.

TimberTech.
TimberTech is another popular composite product which uses virgin plastics instead of recycled plastics along with wood fibers. The virgin plastics allow for great consistency in the product colors and profile. TimberTech is available in a "twin finish" plank with a wood grain finish on one side and a brushed finish on the other. TimberTech is also available in a tongue and groove system known as Floorizon. Both products are available in three colors. Matching rail systems are also available. Visit their website at www.TimberTech.com.

Monarch Exotics
Monarch Exotics is also a composite product that uses virgin plastics instead of recycles/reclaimed plastics. Exotics has a nice "streaking" pattern to it that comes very close to replicating the look of hardwoods. Exotics is also heavier and denser than most composites. We have found that a lot of people really like the four colors available in Monarch Exotics. Matching rail systems are also available.

Fiberon Topics
Fiberon Tropics composite decking is one of the most attractive products on the market.The look of tropical hardwood combined with a durable wear surface make this product a very popular choice.This product is available in 5/4 x 4 or 5/4 x 6 widths.

Azek
Azek decking is on the cutting edge of synthetic products. This is not a composite but rather a PVC (all plastics) product that stands up to scratching and staining far better than most other composite deck products. Available in 5 colors, this product is lightweight and very durable.

Additional Products

Waterproofing Membranes
Decks by JRW uses a couple of different waterproofing membranes for decks that require a complete waterproof (solid) surface. These are usually decks over living areas or decks over a patio, both of which need to stay dry. Weatherdek Vinyl is a sheet material system glued down to a plywood subsurface and sealed at the seams via a heat weld. Gacoflex is a liquid applied, paint-on type product available in a variety of colors and textures.

There are many other fine products available for decking surfaces not listed above. We will be happy to provide a bid on any products you may find on the market.

DECKS by JRW offers many different railing materials and styles. Most of our wood railings are built with Western Red Clear cedar. Some other railing materials would include composites, aluminum, glass, pipe, cable and wrought iron. We are also finding that combining different materials (i.e., aluminum and wood, composites and wood, composites and aluminum, etc.) makes for a very attractive and low maintenance railing system.