Useful Deck Information

A subscriber recently inquired if Weatherbest decking was still being produced, and if so, was it under the same name or is it being manufactured as a different brand?

 

I called Fiberon, the company who purchased the Weatherbest line from LP Building Products.  They said that they were continuing to manufacture Weatherbest under the name “Fiberon Premium Grain Decking.”  Upon taking over the decking line from LP in December of 2007, they have corrected some of the flawed manufacturing processes by LP but refused to give any detail saying it was strictly proprietary information.

 

What they could tell me was that some color and texture changes were made when they took over the composite decking.  I was told that the even though these manufacturing processes were changed as soon as the decking line was purchased from LP, the Weatherbest name was not switched until just recently.  Therefore, “Fiberon Premium Grain Decking”will match exactly (color and texture) of Weatherbest decking that was made after December 2007.  Any Weatherbest made before December 2007 would not match, but would be off just slightly.  Hopefully that makes sense.

 

For more information on the new Fiberon Premium Grain Decking, you can go to www.fiberondecking.com and click on “Decking” and then scroll down to the “Premium Grain.”  I’ve also put in a direct link: “Fiberon Premium Grain Decking”

 

 

Hope this helps,

Dan Milford (DW Elite Decks - Kansas City deck builder)

Sorry guys, I should have found and posted this much earlier.  I pulled this news release straight of NADRA’s (North American Deck and Railing Association’s) website.  It’s a statement from LP Building Products concerning Weatherbest,  Veranda, and ABTCo decking products sold after January 1^st, 2005.

 

NEWS RELEASE

Release No. 117-08-08

Contact:

Mary Cohn (Media Relations)

615.986.5886

 

FOR RELEASE AT 8:00 A.M. (ET) THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2008

LP Issues Product Advisory for Composite Decking;

Premature Deterioration Poses a Risk of Injury

Includes decking and railing made at LP’s Meridian, Idaho, plant and sold

as WeatherBest®, Veranda®, and ABTCo after Jan. 1, 2005

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 7, 2008) – Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP Building Products)

(LP) (NYSE: LPX) today issued a product advisory for composite decking materials purchased

after January 1, 2005, and made by LP at its Meridian, Idaho, facility.

 

Some of the product can prematurely deteriorate and break, posing a risk of injury to

consumers. LP decking products, including deck board and railings sold under the names of LP

WeatherBest®, WeatherBest®, ABTCo, and Veranda® are subject to this advisory.

The products are used for building outdoor decks. LP has received claims of premature

deterioration of a small portion of its decking product due to variations in manufacturing

processes in this time frame.

 

LP Executive Vice President of Specialty Products and Sales Rick Olszewski said, “We want

consumers to be aware of the potential risk of injury, and to contact us. Though only a small

portion of decking sold has been affected by these issues, we urge people who bought or

installed these composite decking products after January 1, 2005 to contact us for an inspection

through our decking notice Web site or customer service line.”

The decking advisory Web site is at http://www.deckingnotice.com/.

 

Products Affected

WeatherBest, ABTCo and Veranda are composite products that look similar to natural wood

and are sold in several different colors including Driftwood Grey, Pacific Cedar, Tuscan Walnut,

Western Redwood, Chestnut and Greystone.

 

The affected products were sold after January 1, 2005 under the WeatherBest name at building

products dealers nationwide, and under the Veranda and ABTCo brands at The Home Depot

stores in the western part of the U.S.

 

Only those Veranda decking and railing products manufactured by LP are the subject of this

advisory. WeatherBest products manufactured after LP’s sale of the Meridian plant in October

2007 are not affected.

 

What Consumers Should Do: Check Decks for Safety, Arrange

for Inspection, Stay Off Decks with Deterioration

Consumers should check their Veranda, WeatherBest or ABTCo decking materials for visible

cracks or deterioration on the surface, and/or chipping of the surface layers. If the deck or

railing is deteriorating, do not use the deck. Contact LP Decking Customer Service to promptly

arrange for an inspection of the deck.

 

Even if there is no visible sign of deterioration, if you purchased Veranda or WeatherBest

decking or railing products after January 1, 2005, please visit the decking advisory Web site at

www.deckingnotice.com or contact LP Decking Customer Service to register and determine if

your deck is among the products affected.

 

Veranda is produced by several manufacturers, but only product produced by LP is affected by

this advisory. Visit www.deckingnotice.com or contact LP Decking Customer Service for help in

determining which product you may have.

 

To ensure deck owners’ safety, LP will arrange an inspection to determine if your deck is

affected by the deterioration issue in this notice and will remedy the problem, up to replacement

of the entire deck if needed.

 

Contacts

For more information, help identifying the products, or to arrange an inspection, go to LP’s

decking advisory Web site at www.deckingnotice.com or contact LP Decking Customer Service

at 1-888-325-1184.

 

LP, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., is a premier supplier of building products,

manufacturing innovative, high-quality commodity and specialty products for its retail,

wholesale, homebuilding and industrial customers. LP no longer manufactures decking or

railing products. Visit LP’s Web site at www.lpcorp.com for additional information on the

company.

 

Hope this helps,

Dan Milford (DW Elite Decks - Kansas City deck builder)

We’ve recently been receiving some interesting emails and phone calls from our fellow Kansas City Deck Builders.  Some of them are “less than pleased” with our blog post “Not all deck builders are the same.”  In this article, we show poorly built decks with major code and cosmetic issues. 

We listed the photos anonymously and would never put any deck contractor names next to them.  We simply wanted to inform the public of what kind of deck they may end up purchasing if they’re not careful and don’t do their diligent research.

One contact received through our website goes like this:

First Name: 

deck company

Last Name: 

in the metro

Daytime Phone: 

555-1234

Evening Phone: 

555-1234

E-Mail 

snake@dwdecks.com

Preferred method of contact: 

Best time to contact: 

now

Details of project

Brief description: 

Taking pictures off another deck company’s website and trashing them is a very poor business practice. You may not build decks a certain way but you have no idea what transpired between the builder and the home owner. Maybe there is a reason things were done the way they look in the picture. Karma is a b**** and it will get you.

 

If this brave soul would have left his/ her contact information, I would respond something like this:

1. First of all, “very poor business” is not pulling a permit on the deck you’re building.  I can tell because those decks have so many glaring major code infractions they would never pass in any jurisdiction or rural community within a fifteen hundred mile radius of Kansas City.  Yes, that covers the entire continental United States.  Alaska and Hawaii are also included because there is such a thing as the International Residential Code (IRC) which covers all fifty states.  All local state, county, and city code enforcement agencies use the IRC as a guideline to form their own specific handbooks.  The IRC is updated every three years and you should be familiar with and follow the codes in it.

2. You’re right, “I may not build decks a certain way and have no idea what transpired between you and that homeowner.”   All I really know is what “should have transpired” between a responsible and professional deck builder and the potential buyer.  You should have informed this person of why things are supposed to be built a certain way.  Codes are generally born from unsafe practices which have injured are killed someone.  A licensed builder has an ethical responsibility to pass his or her knowledge onto those they’re serving.  Any future homeowners, family, friends or neighbors are now susceptible to injury because you failed to build your deck with safety on the forefront of your principles.  You were more concerned about seeing how you could give the lowest possible bid to win a job regardless of the outcome.  Yeah, the homeowner may have asked you to sharpen your pencil.  However, sometimes when you sharpen your pencil too much, there’s nothing left to write with. 

3. As for Karma, I am also a firm believer in its power.  However, I believe Karma is very relative to what one knows is right and wrong.  I do not think making faulty deck pictures public knowledge is a slanderous injustice.  I see it as a public service announcement that may prevent injury or even save someone’s life.   

Now don’t get me wrong, I’d also be pretty upset if someone used my craftsmanship as an example of “how not to build a deck.”  However, I would never build some of the unsafe and erratic structures as some of these guys are building.  I’m by no means trying to insinuate that we are the only good deck builder in the Kansas City metro area.  I’m just trying to expose those who aren’t.  There are way too many handymen and general carpenters trying to get by in this economic strain by offering up “too good to be true” deals.  Unfortunately, naïve and uninformed consumers are innocent victims left with a deck that isn’t even worth half as much as that great deal they thought they were getting.

Please make sure you choose a licensed, insured, and bonded deck builder.  Check to make sure they have pulled and passed all necessary permits and inspections.  Your family’s safety depends on it.

 

Hope this helps,

Dan Milford (DW Elite Decks - Kansas City deck builder)