Whats the best material for an outdoor deck in the mid-Atlantic region of the US?
I used to live in the D.C. area and all the decks I remember seeing were wood not synthetic. I know that’s an area that sees both extremes of the weather. It can get hotter there in the summer than it does here in Miami, and it snows and can drop to around zero in the winter. Pretty harsh. So you’d need a wood or material that is very resistant to weather, and I think that would probably be Ipe. Here’s a little info on it: http://www.woodfinder.com/woods/ipe.php I was reading this forum which does a very good job of making the case against synthetics. Note this quote in particular: If it is better than wood—why are they trying to emulate the look of wood. The new products are quite convincing. Big hunks of plastic with wood grain and variable colorants to emulate the look of wood perfectly. Sure, it will fade out, but when it is installed it looks just like wood. I suggest that only wood is wood. Ipe or Mahogany will
I used to live in the D.C. area and all the decks I remember seeing were wood not synthetic. I know that’s an area that sees both extremes of the weather. It can get hotter there in the summer than it does here in Miami, and it snows and can drop to around zero in the winter. Pretty harsh. So you’d need a wood or material that is very resistant to weather, and I think that would probably be Ipe. Here’s a little info on it: http://www.woodfinder.com/woods/ipe.php I was reading this forum which does a very good job of making the case against synthetics. Note this quote in particular: If it is better than wood—why are they trying to emulate the look of wood. The new products are quite convincing. Big hunks of plastic with wood grain and variable colorants to emulate the look of wood perfectly. Sure, it will fade out, but when it is installed it looks just like wood. I suggest that only wood is wood. Ipe or Mahogany will
