Building outdoors in this sun: what actually lasts

A deck, a pergola or a fence here has a harder life than it would almost anywhere else. Sun that does not let up, a big swing between sunrise and mid-afternoon, rain that arrives all at once, and ground underneath that moves with the season. Nothing built outside here sits still.

Material, honestly

• Pressure-treated pine. The workhorse, and the right answer for anything touching dirt or doing structural work. It moves as it dries, so it wants to be fastened well and finished once it has settled.
• Cedar. Steadier, naturally resistant, and a good deal better looking. Leave it alone and it goes silver. Some people want that and some are appalled by it. Decide which you are before it happens.
• Composite. No splinters, no annual finishing, and it holds heat like nothing else out there. One in full afternoon sun in July gets genuinely too hot to walk on barefoot. Worth knowing before you pick it for a west-facing deck.

The details that decide how long it lasts

• Fasteners. Treated lumber is corrosive to the wrong screws. Use what is rated for it. This is not the place to save.
• Drainage and gaps. Water needs somewhere to go and boards need room to move. Anywhere water sits is where the rot starts.
• Ground contact. Posts want to be set properly, and nothing untreated should touch soil.
• Flashing where it meets the house. The ledger connection is the most important detail on a deck and the one most often done badly.

The maintenance you are agreeing to

Wood outdoors here wants cleaning and refinishing every couple of years, sooner on boards taking direct afternoon sun. Skipping it does not blow up on you. It just quietly takes years off the whole thing. Same idea as prep on a paint job: the dull part is the part doing the work.

If you know you will not do that, say so at the start. That is not a confession, it is information, and we will pick materials that suit how you actually live instead of how the brochure assumes you do.

Related: Patios & Decks

I get asked for patios & decks most often in Jarrell, Jonestown, Volente, Lago Vista.

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