Desert Weather Resistant Wood Species

Bailey_Builder

Most of my building experience has been involved in the midwestern states, Michigan / Ohio, where your first concern is wet-rot protection. Now that I've moved to the southwest I've noticed that not many folks are as interested in wooden decks / patios unless the framing is completely sealed with stucco or a fiberglass and epoxy sealer.

Is there a reccomended species of wood that will stand up to the desert dryness better than others or should I plan on using a good sealer on the support framing? Back home it was just treated (wolmanized) board and HDG connectors.

The finished decking will most likely be a brand of composite that, according to your posts, I will be researching further.

Thanks in advance for your support.

PressurePros

For a real wood deck that will hold up look into ipe (pronounced ee-pay). The stuff is like iron. Materials should run about the same as composite. Most people use PTP for the supports.

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Ken Fenner
Pressure Washing PA
Roof Cleaning Services PA

Bailey_Builder

I'll look into it, thanks Ken

Mike Finley

You're kind of on the right track, but you've got some misconceptions too.

Dryness that you are referring to is referring to the humidity in the air or more specifically the low humidity. Low humidity in itself is not going to be a problem with wood species, the air is not going to suck the life out of the wood or make it turn to dust. Low humidity is actually good.

The issues that you are facing because of the southwest environment are UV and sun exposure. Those are the elements that will deteriorate a wood species. Any framing that isn't exposed to direct sun light will not be effected by UV and will virtually last forever. There are lots of examples of people who have even framed with pine with no ill effects decades later.

The reason you are seeing so many people with reluctance to use wood for decking is because the UV exposure causes you to have to annually recoat any and all wood species, include Ipe if you want to preserve that new look and color.

You'll find that most deck builders and even homeowners are aware of what direction their deck will face and the proportional sun exposure there will be as a result. (West facing decks will take the most abuse).

Bailey_Builder

So i might look into a UV blocking sealant?

roofwiz74

when I lived out in Oklahoma when I would put up a fence or a deck the GC would always go with pine and/or cedar.I put up one green board fence and it dried real quick and everything warped especially the pickets.
I'm no expert on fencing or decking but I've seen alot of pine and cedar still straight out there.

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You have ONE advantage over me.....you can kiss my butt and I can't!!

Mike Finley

UV blocking capacity of stains are always a factor in choosing them. If they don't have some sort of UV blocking in them they aren't going to be in the running.

Keep in mind the UVs are so powerful here that 1 year is all you get out of a stain if you want it to keep looking new. After about the third year of using Penofin every year you might be able to skip a year and get away with it. (Maybe)

What I used to tell people is you have 2 choices, no maintenance and let the wood silver and except that you have cut the life of the wood in half. Or stain it every year.

Once somebody makes the commitment to stain the only question then is lessening the pain of restaining it every season. That's why I always stuck with Penofin. Easy to appy each season, scrub with Simple Green and reapply.

thom

Mike and I work in similar environments. Dry, and a mile above sea level (that's why the high UV). We're a little hotter and I think a little dryer (I think) in Albuquerque.

UV is certainly an issue, but I think the bigger issue is drying time. It rains (on rare occasions) and the moisture soaks into the decking. The sun comes out 5 minutes later and the deck is steaming. Because the lumber dries (and shrinks) from the outside in the lumber will split and check badly. So, use a sealer that will really seal out the water.

You would think humidity is a problem. The real problem is the variability. During a rainstorm the humidity might hit 95%. The next afternoon it could be 5%.

With real lumber, redwood seems to hold up better than pine. Treated lumber just doesn't hold up at all.

I build a few balconies on the houses I build, no decks anymore. The balconies are small and I use redwood. I try to cover the balconies and make them shallow with 42" parapet walls to protect from the sun.

Decks just aren't as popular here as they are in the midwest (I left the midwest in 1981 and never looked back). They last longer and get more use there, even though the season is shorter.

John Hyatt

Baildy like where are you in the SW? anyway the frame is the same no matter where a Carpenter is. Some Folks think us Okie Folks are in the SW.

I did spend some time in New Mexico and that is a whole nother smoke. My Dad livied out there and man to pitch an out door area Shade has got to be included. Far as the decking goes ipe is a good choice no matter but Man it will get hot in direct sun.

I tell you mon, try to bid Trellis,Gas E boes, things like that with a deck. The coolest to walk on in direct sun is TimberTech T&G because its not a solid material. Pitching decks in the dry SW is a real chalange. J

Bailey_Builder

Hey guys thanks a lot for all of your help, you've painted a very good picture to go by.

As far as trying to sell people on uncovered decks in Las Vegas, I don't plan to make it my main sales pitch. The project I'm working on right now is for a pre-existing deck / patio cover combo. It looks more like someone tried to slap a cheapy together just before selling the home, and now the homeowner wants to try and restore it.