Decks
Main Line Fence can provide you with your every deck need, from design and installation by our trained and certified crew, to repairs. We are a full service company. We can work with you or your landscape architect to create an ideal outdoor living space. No deck is too small.
Over the last six years, 180 people have died and thousands have been injured due to improperly installed and older decks collapsing. We are trained in the latest building techniques, to ensure that your deck is built to last and provides you with a safe environment for many years.
We offer a wide variety of decking, including pressure treated, cedar, composite and PVC. We are a proud partner with TimberTech decking manufacturer and are an Elite TimberTech Contractor. Please click their logo below to visit the companies website.
Deck Photos
Composite decking materials truly have improved over the last decade. Most old problems like mold and mildew have improved. Nevertheless it is important to find a product that has a good warranty in case of a problem. You can find the details and lengths of the warranties on all of the product's web pages. Composites are quickly becoming the most common choice in decking as they don't have many of wood's frequent defects including splitting, splintering, warping and deteriorating. Composites however are not strong enough to be structural members such as joists, posts and beams.
Most composite materials are made from recycled wood byproducts (like wood chips and sawdust) and plastics (like recycled plastic grocery bags). Molded and compressed under heat with other resins, they form a material whose surface is slightly matted to the touch or stamped in a wood grain pattern. Composites can be extruded and molded into all of the shapes associated with decking materials (rails, post caps, decking, etc). Many of our products we offer are warranted not to fade, rot or otherwise show signs of deterioration for 25 years. Installation is commonly not different than wood so labor costs will remain the same; however composite material will generally be 1.5-3 times the price of wood. You should consider, however, that you will be saving the time and expense of staining your deck every year. Most estimates show that the costs even out after about 4 or 5 years.
The appearance of the material is a very important and personal decision. There is a wide range of colors, textures and installation systems available. Composites will take paint and a few can be stained. Use latex-based paints and stains on these materials, oil-based products won't stick.
Cedar Decks
Cedar is naturally resistant to rot and insects, which makes it a fantastic choice for a deck building material because of its combination of unique properties. It is dimensionally stable meaning that it lays flat and stays straight. Even grain and consistent density make it less likely to warp, cup, or twist. It has a rich warm aesthetic quality offering a range of natural hues, tight grain patterns, and soft textures. It’s fragrant, dark-colored heartwood naturally resists rot and insect infestation in outdoor environments without the need of preservative chemicals.
The price and availability for different types of cedar wood will vary, though typically it is more available and less expensive than redwood and composite decking. Cedar is similar to redwood in many of its properties because both are from the same genus. Cedar however has more flexural toughness than redwood meaning that it can flex more without shattering and is also less dense and has less natural oil that make it easier to accept stain. Cedar forests are also more abundant and present somewhat less of an environmental issue for commercial logging if managed responsibly.
Cedar’s softness makes it easy to work with and readily accepts protective stains. You can seal or stain all these woods to retain their natural appearance; however you will need to repeat this process annually to maintain its appearance. Left untreated, it will weather to various shades of gray. Its thermal properties allow it to stay cool to the touch in summer heat.
Pressure Treated Decks
Pressure treated lumber is ideal for outdoor construction as it has a long, useful life span and is much less expensive than alternatives. Pressure treated is an ideal choice for the structure of the deck, but can also be used as well for the decking and railings if you are seeking a low budget deck.
Like all material choices, selecting lumber means striking a balance between beauty and budget. This job is made somewhat easier by the fact that aesthetic concerns can take a back seat when choosing structural lumber for posts, beams and joists.
Pressure treated lumber, usually pine or fir, is infused with chemicals that make it rot resistant. The chemicals also give the wood a colored cast, which you can hide with stain or paint. You can leave it untreated to let it weather to a dark gray. Treated wood can last more than 40 years. The treatment process involves placing a load of lumber in a huge cylindrical chamber called a retort with a door on one end that can be sealed airtight and then forcing waterborne chemicals into the wood under pressure. Copper-base compounds have replaced formulations containing arsenic for lumber treatment. Before December 2003, the primary treatment for wood used chromate copper arsenic as its preservative. The new alkaline copper quaternary or copper azole treatments are safer for people, animals and plants.