Shore Driver, PT is nasty stuff and is not at all what I was refering to when suggesting wood decking. But you are correct, if that is really what the owner wants they can have it, but not after a quick lesson on what they are actually getting. Just as an FYI mahogany decking costs half of what trex does and has all of the same properties as composite, you do not have to apply a finish if you do not want to. Ipe costs about 20% more than Trex, so give or take a $1.00 or 2 per square foot.
Birchhaven, they don't call it "Iron Wood" for nothing. Ipe will actually throw sparks when you cut it, as it is ripping the metal off your blade. The wax end coating is what actually prevents the checking in Ipe and Mahogany, without it it will split out. In most respected builders opinions, an exotic hardwood decking, harvested from a sustainable forest enterprise is the greenest decking material on the market. But big money is paid to push composites from the manufacturers and big box retailers.
Birchhaven, next time you do an Ipe deck, request Ebty fasteners. They install using a biscuit joiner slot in the side of the deck board. No fasteners on the surface and no pre-drilling. One fastener holds two boards at each joist. Only the breadboard gets surface screwed and that should be plugged and sanded over to hide that fastener as well.
We are going to be repairing some trim on a home built in my area that cost over 500K to build 8 years ago, but because they used pre-primed finger jointed trim and did not paint the end cuts prior to installation, it is literally rotting off the house. Pulled off a 2 ft long section by hand. The price tag has nothing to do with the quality of construction. This company is still building homes in our area like gangbusters. This is not the first one we have gone back to repair from this company.
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