Each year, deck builders, remodelers, manufacturers, and other industry professionals gather together at the co-located Remodeling Show and Deck Expo to learn new building techniques, share new ideas about how to grow their businesses, and showcase new tools and products. This year, the 2019 edition of the show was held in Louisville, Kentucky, which was not only a new venue, but also a cool city to visit (especially for those among the group who enjoy bourbon).
Photo Courtesy Monarch Technologies
MonaDeck's 12-inch-wide planks are manufactured using the same technology that the company uses to make ultradurable skateboard ramps.
I kicked off my visit with a tour of the show floor, where one of the new products that caught my eye was a 12-inch wide deck board from Washington-based Monarch Technologies. Company CEO Joel Klippert was there to explain that MonaDeck boards are made with recycled bamboo and wood fibers and a biobased resin in a process that is similar to the one used to produced high-pressure laminate panels (think Formica). Klippert told me that he originally developed the process a couple of decades ago to make RampX, an extremely durable and weatherproof material used to build skateboard ramps.
Clemens Jellema
Neb Jovanovitch discusses the merits of Trex's Enhance value-priced composite decking with PDB editor Andrew Wormer.
Of course, the big players – companies like Trex, Deckorators, MoistureShield, Fortress, and Azek among many others – were there at the show too. You can get an idea of what the show floor looked like by taking this video tour, recently posted by Steve Kleber.
I was also able to sit in on a couple of conference sessions this year, among the 40+ offered during the show. And in what was for me a bit of a foray into unfamiliar territory, I moderated a breakfast discussion on the topic of transparency, where business expert Shawn McCadden and Minnesota contractor Michael Anschel discussed the pros and cons of disclosing pricing and other detailed project information to clients when trying to sell a job. The takeaway? There’s no right answer. If you missed this session but want to take a deeper dive into the topic, a good place to start is by reading David Gerstel’s JLC article, called “Transparency: An Idea Whose Time Has Gone? Or Come?”
Clemens Jellema
NADRA president Matt Breyer congratulates Joel Maendel of Maendecks, winner of the third-place honor in the $25,000 to $50,000 wood deck category in NADRA's 2019 national deck competition. Master of ceremonies Bobby Parks (at the podium) looks on.
Along with the familiar faces, new offerings, an updated list of conference sessions to choose from, and a continuous parade of live presentations on the show floor, one of the highlights for me is always NADRA’s annual awards banquet, where the winners of the deck association’s national deck competition are revealed. The projects, as always, were an amazing testament to the design skills and craftsmanship of the folks who built them. This year, I was thankful NOT to be one of the judges; it’s always hard to evaluate and rank the entries. You can learn more about the contest and view a photo gallery of the award winners by clicking here.
If you’ve never attended this show, you should definitely make plans now to catch the 2020 edition of the show next year, when it returns to Baltimore.
