Not Pining Away Nobody’s ready to write off pressure-treated wood just yet, however. Despite recent price increases and the EPA-mandated elimination of arsenic-based treatment compounds, pressure-treated pine retains a cost advantage. That and new ways of treating wood to enhance its look and life may prompt a resurgence of interest, say some.
Betts, for instance, insists that the growth of composites is much more about consumer preference for low maintenance than any desire for the composite look. “Wood wasn’t falling out of favor because of the aesthetics,” he says. And thanks to new coatings now available, wood can be preserved with products that are effective and easy to apply. He predicts “a comeback that’s going to surprise a lot of the composite people.”
However, beyond maintenance, one barrier to a resurgence in the market share of pressure-treated wood is the corrosive effect new treatment compounds such as copper azole and ACQ have on fasteners. ACQ-treated lumber contains a lot of copper, Gravely explains, “and copper sits on one end of the galvanic scale and carbon steel and aluminum sit on the other, so they’re highly corrosive to one another. If you put a carbon steel nail in an ACQ-treated deck, it’s going to eat up that nail in a heartbeat.”
Many contractors, Gravely among them, have switched to stainless steel fasteners, and they generally screw rather than nail down wood or composite deck boards for better performance and appearance. Unfortunately, stainless steel can double fastener costs for a job. Nicholson, for example, estimates that by switching to stainless steel, average fastener costs for a deck jump from $150 to $300.
The requirements for fastening composite materials and hardwoods are also different than those for traditional pressure-treated lumber, and contractors have adjusted their methods. Working with hardwoods that must be pre-drilled inflates the labor component.
There’s also a learning curve with any composite. If you’re not careful in your pricing, you can find yourself working for nothing on some of your biggest deck jobs.
Specialize to Succeed All these changes — in materials, fasteners, and consumer taste — suggest that specialization may be the best way to achieve lasting success. According to Nicholson, deck building is very much a specialty business. Why? “Because when people want a professional to build a deck today, they don’t just want a 12-by-16-foot rectangular deck with four steps,” he says. Not only must you build more complex structures — “tri-levels and box steps and circular landings and gazebos on one end and a hot tub on the other” — but you’ve got to do it within the consumer’s price expectations and make the margin you need, he explains. “Unless you are a specialty guy who does the same thing every day, you’re not going to succeed.”
Another reason to consider specializing is the demand for ever-more elaborate projects, a demand not just any company can fulfill.
“We see people moving to outdoor rooms,” Brown says. “Now we do a lot of overhead structures. Shade structures. Pergolas. In fact, our mission statement is that we design and develop outdoor living spaces,” he adds.
After 17 years in the business, Gravely says only some 40% of his work is decks. “It was all decks when we started. But as time went on, a lot of people who were thinking about building a deck decided they wanted a screened porch instead and those turned into enclosed screened porches, then into three-season rooms, and eventually a lot of those turned into full-blown sunrooms.”
Franchises such as Archadeck and DeckMasters are one possible approach for the contractor who decides to specialize. “Consumers are looking for brand names, so there are a lot of people who believe that franchises are going to start to take more market share,” Nicholson says. Others don’t see it that way. “If you’re already a contractor, who needs them?” asks Hyatt. “I love bidding against them because they are so high after all that overhead,” he says.
But Brown says the value of his Archadeck franchise is “hard to put a number on. It’s a huge advantage. There’s a broad, deep institutional knowledge base that’s almost 100% transferable.” He benefits from the association with the other franchisees, too.
Whatever the approach, the numbers make it clear that deck builders prepared to respond to market demand will be making money for many years to come. —Jay Holtzman is a freelance writer based in Jamestown, R.I.