PVC decking is another wood alternative and it’s taking a larger piece of the Canadian deck building scene. Unlike first-generation all-plastic lumber from the 1980s, today’s PVC is different ...

Alan Robbins, president of the Plastic Lumber Trade Association (Akron, OH), told the group’s annual meeting last November that the 2000 sales volume for Trex (one of the most successful producers of ...

A clear winner in the long-lasting wood category is ipe (pronounced ee-pay), an ironwood grown in Central and South America that the company sells in 1-foot by 6-inch lengths for $3.49 a foot.

ProFekt (www.ProFektDecks.com) installs directly onto deck and patio surfaces to eliminate direct air and water contact with the surface and give old decks a 'new' look without replacing the lumber.