Learn how to Prevent Problems and Future Decking Maintenance

The best way to prevent decking problems is to ensure that your deck was installed correctly in the first place.

Here are five crucial steps that will prolong the life of your deck:

1) Buy decking that is premium grade. When shopping for exotic hardwoods like ipe, it’s important to know the difference between premium/clear grade and common grade.

• Common/Select Grade – Contains sap wood and visible knots & worm holes. Common grade also can be poorly milled (called hit and miss planing). Common grade also has a huge color variance from very light blond to almost black wood.
• Premium/Clear – Best grade, period. All heart and no sapwood. Zero knots, or worm holes. Carefully milled material which highlights the well-blended colors with some boards showing their natural accents.

2) Use an  end sealer prior to installation. This is a critical part of decking installation and will help prevent future problems. Learn more about end grain sealer.

3) Apply deck oil. Choosing the right deck oil finish for ipe or any other hardwood decking will be prevent many problems including warping, checking, splits, and cracks.

4) Use a deck fastening system. Using hidden deck fasteners not only make your deck surface more attractive, but they also allow your new deck to expand and contract throughout the course of its life without much impediment.

5) Properly straighten bowed deck boards. Installing bowed boards, or forcing them in with flimsy tools and methods might save you some install time, but in the long run, you might also be decreasing the overall structural integrity and look of your deck. Nothing is a bigger pain that having to repair boards that get loose from the joist. Using deck tools like the Hardwood Wrench® will save you the headaches (and backaches) of having to make future repairs.

6) Don’t rush. When you take care in the installation process, you’ll find that you:

• Get more enjoyment out of installing wood decking
• End up with a stronger, and better looking deck
• Gain years of personal enjoyment out of using it

If you breeze through any of these steps, or skip one of them, you might end up having to put more time and work into maintaining your deck. Ultimately,these decking products will greatly enhance the look and performance of your future deck. If you have any other questions, or would like to speak to a professional, contact us:

What are the best screws to use on ipe decking? Star drive screws work great when installing ipe decking. Remember, with hardwoods as dense as ipe, we highly recommend pre-drilling. Trust us, it will save you loads of time and aggravation and will prolong the life of your deck.

We recommend Star drive screws for many practical reasons:

• Excellent durability
• Extreme holding power
• Long-lasting corrosion resistance
• Easily resists cam out & stripping

Another great reason to buy Star drive screws? You less of them and end up saving more in the long run.

Check out our selection of premium stainless steel deck screws.

Do you need to convert square feet to linear feet?

Check out our handy Wood Decking Calculator. It works perfectly for both standard & pre-grooved decking. You’re also covered covered when it comes to converting square footage of tongue and groove decking into linear footage.

When completing your deck design, having decking calculators and square footage converters at your disposal will save you time, and money.

At Advantage Trim & Lumber our goal is to always make your buying experience smooth and easy. This is why we provide the tools you need to build your deck successfully. If you can think of any deck tools that you’d like to see us create, contact us and let us know!

I’ve talked about deck fasteners before and why they are the best tool you can use to ensure a long lasting and clean deck for years to come. I have gotten some wonderful feedback emailed to me from people who wanted to learn more and to see a demonstration of how the Ipe Clip® brand of hidden deck fasteners work. The guys over at the Ipe Clip® have been kind enough to share with me a video they posted that shows just how one of their exclusive brands of deck fasteners, the Ipe Clip Extreme™, makes installing air-dried wood easier than ever before. Without further adieu…

If you’re getting ready to build a deck, I can’t recommend these hidden deck fasteners enough. They have helped a great number of deck builders and homeowners save time and money. Best of all, they all have a blemish free deck surface that looks clean and elegant.

Building a deck is something that you want done right the first time without any regrets. One sure way to have a deck that you can look at years from now and still feel great about is through making sure that your initial deck installation is done correctly and efficiently.

Let’s face it…how awesome would it be to take that first step out onto your deck and see a clean

and smooth deck without any nails or popups?

If that’s the deck you want to have, then using deck fasteners are highly recommended. One of the most cost-efficient and effective deck fasteners systems on the market today is made by the Ipe Clip® brand.

Ipe Clip® deck fasteners have the following features:

• Created with High Strength UV Resistant material
• Build a deck without laborious and time-consuming “face screwing” methods
• Complete deck fastener kits with screws are available
• Quickly and efficient deck installation
• Deck fasteners allow for proper expansion and contraction of deck boards
• Hidden deck fasteners leave no unattractive screw holes or splinters
• Less deck installation time = decreased labor costs
• Can be used with Air-dried decking, kiln-dried decking, and composite decking

The versatility of ipe clips makes them the perfect option for domestic hardwoods, exotic hardwoods, softwoods, synthetic decking, or composite decking materials.

So, if you’re looking to deck fastening to ensure that your deck looks clean and attractive for years to come, check out the folks at Ipe Clip®. They even have a great deck fastener calculator that will show you exactly how many deck fasteners you will need to build your deck. How handy is that!?!

If you’ve ever tried building a deck one of the most annoying and agonizing things to do is deck board straightening. This is why Advantage Lumber offers the best deck tool on the market, the  Hardwood Wrench™ Deck Board Straightening Tool. This deck tool has been designed to straighten bowed decking boards without any extra effort on your part. I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a deck board wrench that has been engineered to straighten even some of the toughest hardwoods like ipe not too mention decking such as pressure-treated lumber, cedar, etc.

The Hardwood Wrench makes installing a deck really simple since it speeds up installation for a more precise and clean installation process. Plus, because the hardwood wrench cam locks into place and allows you to fasten the deck board while the wrench holds the deck board straight, there is no need for a second person to hold the deck board. I’m sure you can agree that freeing up that extra set of hands is important because they can be off doing something more productive. So, if you find yourself short on manpower, the hardwood wrench can deliver true hands free “one man” operation.

The Hardwood Wrench is a deck tool that has the following features:

• Anodized aircraft-grade aluminum
• A solid hardwood handle
• Adjustable deck tool that perfectly fits a variety of joist sizes
• A self-locking cam design for hands-free holding power

At a recent International Builders Show in Las Vegas, deck builders and general contractors spoke very highly of this Hardwood Wrench. Our loyal customers who have purchased a Hardwood Wrench also tell us that the tool’s quality, strength, and ease of use definitely made it a great deck tool. Unlike similar deck tools, the Hardwood Wrench is designed with you in mind. By purchasing deck tools that are easy to use, durable and long-lasting, deck builders and homeowners alike can save labor costs and precious time. Simply put, no other deck board straightening tool offers these features and benefits.

If you’d like to see this ground-breaking and easy-to-use deck tool in action, check out the Hardwood Wrench website to see a brief demonstration video. It take s just 30 seconds to see how easy it is to install ipe decking, or any other hardwood decking!