Future Decks..?

[Guest rfitz]

I went to a new subdivision today, they are the new hit of the community,

the attached duplex's, better than a condo, because it is closer to homeownership, but still attached, each one has it's own 2 car garage,

they start at $300,00 they are about 1800 sq ft with a basement, and

of course all brick, which leads me to the new future decks..

They are constructed of white vinyl rails, and some type of brown very

hard plastic, seems as though harder than wood, I see more and more of this type of construction, maint FREE this or that, vinyl fences, vinyl decks,etc..

I would think people would rather have wood, but I remember a carpenter

telling my Dad about 30 years ago, when my Dad asked, what do you know about this new plastic, siding, the carpenter said, oh yeah it's some type of new plastic, or some type of vinyl plastic material, but nothing will replace wood siding, it is just a fad, it wont be here in 5 years.. WOW was he wrong.

The Future is coming...?

[Paul B. 523]

One thing about our world is that it changes with or without us.

As a business owner, we have to make adjustments when the world around you changes (unless you are the one causing the change) otherwise we can become obsolete or non-competitive. We continually need to be aware of new competition, new products and service need opportunities. The faster we learn to adjust the less competition we will have (in the beginning) and have a better chance of becoming the "Go To" business.

Anyone that believes that there is such a thing as "Maintenance FREE" has been sold a bag of goods that are full of surprises down the road. Hearing the words "Maintenance FREE" makes me retreat faster than horse spotting a rattle snake.

As a customer, one of my first few questions is always "What does it take to maintain it?" and if I hear the words "Nothing", I quickly find another salesperson. As a salesperson, we should always think of what questions a customer should be asking and have the answers and at times provide answers even if the question was never asked.

Plastics will get dirty (from the birds, from spills, from the environment), will be scratched or nicked, it will age or fade (one way or another). As a wood-care specialist, we need to learn the new products real advantages, disadvantages and maintenance requirements so we can intelligently discuss it with our customers if and when questions arise. Also, if we choose, we could be the "Go To" company that provides the service for cleaning, maintenance and/or repair.

If we think of it as a "problem" it will be. If we approach it as challange or opportunity, it could become a goldmine. Ignoring it will not make it go away, but possibly make it spread faster.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

There are various types of trex and composite . I'll add some links. It's important to know what they are when you see them, and how to care for them since they too need care.

http://trudecking.com/materials.htm

http://www.trex.com/universal/product_info/workingwithtrex/careandcleaning.asp

http://www.geodeck.com/

I'm attaching an article below, and have also added it to the library. One of the reasons The Grime Scene is set up the way it is, is becuase change is inevitable and we all need to be able to learn and to diversify. We're trying to help to make it easy to add another service and to adjust to a changing service sector.

Beth

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Decks: Repair or Replace?

By Jim Cory

Hidden substructure damage often turns a repair job into a full-blown makeover.

The deck's far from new, but the client's only interested in having some boards replaced. What now?

Rick Parish, of Decks Appeal, Dallas, looks at the substructure. If that's starting to go, replacement is his first suggestion. "If they want me to put a thousand-dollar Band-Aid on, and it means spending another thousand the next year, I'll be up-front with them and say that the deck's seen better days." In the Dallas market, Parish points out, 15 years is a typical life span for a pressure-treated pine deck.

Low resistance

Suggestions that the deck be replaced rather than repaired rarely meet with resistance, Parish says, especially if he can point to substructure damage. In the San Francisco Bay area, Gary Marsh, owner of All Decked Out, agrees that crumbling substructure is the determining factor. "It's foolish to put money into repairs if the joists are 20- to 30-year-old untreated Douglas fir," he points out.

Naturally such news is not welcome to clients who hadn't banked on a new deck. But Marsh leavens the bad news by pointing out that he can design a deck -- of any size, in any material -- that will last 40 or 50 years. "Using the correct pressure-treated wood, stainless steel fasteners, and sealing all potential [water] penetrations," he says, can go far in extending the life of the deck.

High maintenance

For Tom Resek, owner of Archadeck of Minneapolis, maintenance issues are often paramount. Typically, deck owners put maintenance work into the structure three or four times, then lose interest, which contributes to the rate of deterioration.

"The obvious thing is if the deck boards look worn," he says. "If the deck boards are rotten, you don't know what the joists are going to look like." Other repair issues that point the way to replacement include weak or loose railings, code violations, and poor initial design or construction. Resek says he replaces 65% to 70% of wood decks with composite materials. When a possible repair job becomes a replacement, 90% of clients use composites, which require minimal maintenance.

The value of maintenance in extending the life of a deck varies with local weather conditions, but one thing that doesn't vary is that the older the deck, the less interested the homeowner seems in maintaining it. "It's like a car," Parish notes. "You wash it a lot less after five or six years."

Source: REMODELING Magazine

Publish Date: 2003-02-07

Arrival Time: 2003-02-07