Many composite decking manufacturers feature curved decks in their marketing materials. When clients call you, they already have lots of design ideas. And most of the time, the curved features they have seen were created by heating and bending the deck boards – a labor-intensive process that usually requires an investment in heat blankets or an expensive special oven. If you’re new to that game, however, and haven’t quite figured out the temperature and timing, you can end up ruining and wasting a lot of decking, which – at nearly $100 for a 20-footer – can be costly.
Writing in JLC‘s sister publication, Professional Deck Builder, Michael Walter explains how he uses a few basic tools and carpentry techniques to cut extremely smooth curves. These techniques allow him to create rounded deck features without the steep price that comes with bending.