Project Tips

“Don't let your dream decking project turn into a nightmare - when building with manufactured decking, set yourself up for success by using material from a trusted manufacturer.”

- Jim Coshow

Most of us have heard the stories, some of them falling into the “horror” category. The consumer picks out a manufactured decking product that they really like, build their desired deck project and then at some point in the future they experience a product failure. This is a challenging thing to navigate in the best of circumstances. When you have someone other than a leading manufacturer involved, you run the risk of things getting exponentially more painful.

What Defines a Leading Decking Manufacturer?

While there is no set checklist to refer to, here are some things to consider:

• Do they have a comprehensive, modern website?
• Are they sold through any of your local “box stores”?
• Have you seen or heard about the product through traditional or digital advertising?
• Do they offer a comprehensive, in-house

In this episode, T.R. shares the number one rule for storing plywood and what to do if it gets wet.

Building stairs correctly requires understanding the building code as well as accurately incorporating that information when executing your build. In this real-life example, we tackle a front porch stair rebuild that posed multiple challenges.

Learn how to identify the different information contained in APA plywood panel trademarks—an informational mark stamped on plywood to convey its level of quality and show when the board was produced in case there are any future defects.

In today’s episode, plywood expert T.R. Cauthorn explains the differences between plywood and another popular manufactured wood product: oriented strand board, commonly called OSB.