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Authentic Deck Guide
The 411 on your real wood deck – information on the benefits and maintenance of building your next deck with authentic pressure-treated pine. As if you needed a reason.
Five Creative Projects Brochure
Download these five simple projects and give your back yard a facelift! Includes designs by DIY Network’s Brad Staggs for a birdhouse, an arbor, a raised garden bed, and a storage locker, as well as the columned doghouse.
Video: Chattahoochee Chair
DIY Network host Brad Staggs gives simple, step-by-step instructions to create this front porch or back yard masterpiece.
Video: Southern Living Garden Bench
Brad Staggs demonstrates how to build a beautiful and comfortable garden bench. It's not only a great excuse to use power tools - it's the perfect place to relax when you're done.
Video: Progressive Farmer Machine Shed
The editor of Progressive Farmer magazine discusses the planning and construction of a large, but relatively low-cost, machine shed with a homeowner.
Check out our podcasts!
Click to check out our podcasts featuring videos and Brad Staggs interviews.
Chattahoochee Chair
A variation on the classic Adirondack, this comfy chair is a great beginner project for woodaholics! Comfortable and durable, this simple wooden chair provides a great place to kick back and enjoy real outdoor living.
Southern Living Pergola
Straight from the 2008 Southern Living Idea House ‘Davidson Gap,’ this pergola design offers a lovely focal point for your yard.
Picturesque Planter Bench
The perfect place to plant flowers – and then take a break after all of the hard work! Equally functional and beautiful, this planter bench dresses up your back yard and provides additional seating. A great project for weekend warriors!
Dazzling Deck
The easiest way to expand your home and add new living space – woodaholics everywhere crave the ultimate deck! Invite your fellow woodaholics over for a weekend of construction, then relax and enjoy!
Grand Gazebo
Serve dinner, take a nap, or just enjoy the outdoors in this versatile outdoor living space. Adding to the beauty of your home for years to come, this gazebo provides a perfect getaway in your own back yard.
Growin’ Greenhouse
Plant this idea in your favorite woodaholic’s mind and you’ll reap the benefits! A sturdy 8- by-8-foot greenhouse is just what every amateur landscaper needs to make real outdoor living a dream come true.
Tremendous Tree Bench
Sitting in the shade has never looked so good! This project is not only functional, but adds architectural interest to your landscape. Dress up a favorite tree and spend more time under its branches.
Progressive Farmer Machine Shed
Originally created for Progressive Farmer, this 40- by-60-foot shed was designed with open sides for flexibility and features a spacious 20-foot walkway and two secure storage areas.

Fact or Fiction

Composite, plastic, and vinyl are the only materials you need for your deck.
Composite products are generally not designed for structural support and direct ground contact. Real pressure-treated wood is best for framing and supporting decks, docks, and other outdoor structures.
Zuckerman, David. “Getting on Board.” Remodeling Jul 2007.
Pressure treated pine is at least four times stronger than artificial composite products.
Composite materials are generally not designed to frame a deck without the reinforcement of real wood. Wood is strong enough and durable enough to support itself.
The Southern Pine Awareness Network. SPAN. 2009. Apr 17, 2009.
Composite decking lasts forever.
Plastic shopping bags take over 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill – it stands to reason that something made out of those bags would last 1,000 years as well. Long after you have tired of your composite deck, it won’t be recycled; it will go to the landfill with the plastic patio chairs and the rest of the plastic packaging.
Green Living Ideas. Sean Daily. Dec 17 2007. Apr 17 2009
Wood is the only material that can be sanded and stained to restore its original look.
Real wood is the only decking material that can be refinished through sanding and staining. Composite decking must be replaced in order to restore the original look.
“Composite Decking vs. Wood Decks.” Improvement Web. Aug 16 2007. Apr 17 2009.
Composite decking is more durable than natural wood.
Composite materials tend to be soft and will scratch under normal wear. Scratches in plastic material look far more visible than natural wear marks on real wood decking.
The Southern Pine Awareness Network. SPAN. 2009. Apr 17 2009.
Composite decking is maintenance free.
No deck is maintenance free: the weather, scratches, spills, charcoal, and dirt affect all decking materials. Recently, composite decking manufacturers have stopped using the term “maintenance free” when describing their products. In fact, many refinishing products are marketed for plastic decking to hide scratches, remove difficult stains, and restore faded color.
GardenStructure. Lawrence Winterburn. 2009. April 17, 2009.
Wood decking needs to be replaced every few years.
With careful product selection and proper installation and care, wood decking can provide decades of beautiful, natural satisfaction.
Articles Base. “The Simple Routine of Deck Cleaning.” Shane Hester. Jun 5 2008.
Pressure-treated wood decking is one of the most cost-effective decking choices available.
Compare the price of all alternatives: artificial decking may cost up to five times as much as treated wood!
Housing Zone. “Weighing the Pros and Cons of Decking Material.” Cullen, Cheryl Dangel. Jul 7 2005. Apr 17 2009.
Our forests and trees are renewable natural resources.
Wood is the only building material that uses the sun's energy in a continuous, renewable cycle. Proper sustainable forestry practices ensure that pine will be plentiful for many generations.
The Southern Pine Awareness Network. SPAN. 2009. Apr 17 2009.
Manufacturing wood products requires less energy than the manufacture of plastic and composite decking.
The manufacture of plastic decking can require up to eight times the energy needed to produce a comparable piece of pressure-treated wood decking.
The Southern Pine Awareness Network. SPAN. 2009. Apr 17 2009.
Artificial decking does not get as hot as real wood.
Artificial decking can become extremely hot when exposed to direct sunlight. So hot, in fact, that it can blister bare feet. Treated wood decking is a better insulator and rarely becomes hot enough to burn.
Southern Pine By Design. Southern Pine Council. 1995-2009. Apr 17 2009.
Young forests absorb more carbon dioxide than older forests.
Scientists know than when forests are old and overcrowded, trees begin to use more oxygen than they produce. Sustainable forestry practices keep our air, water and environment healthy.
Southern Pine By Design. Southern Pine Council. 1995-2009. Apr 17 2009.
Treated Wood is safe to use.
The EPA, which reviews the safety and effectiveness of wood preservatives, has never found any unreasonable risk to human health and the environment.
Moore, Dr. Patrick. The Southern Pine Awareness Network. “The Sensible Environmentalist.” Apr 17 2009.
Treated wood requires special use and handling precautions.
Just about every product requires certain use and handling precautions; treated wood is no different. However, nearly all of the recommendations for using treated wood are the same as those for untreated wood and other building materials. One exception from regular wood: Do not burn treated wood.
Moore, Dr. Patrick. The Southern Pine Awareness Network. “The Sensible Environmentalist.” Apr 17 2009.
Treated wood is “green”
Wood preservation supports forest conservation by extending the life of wood products in service.
Moore, Dr. Patrick. The Southern Pine Awareness Network. “The Sensible Environmentalist.” Apr 17 2009.
Wood is a less efficient insulator than other building materials.
Wood is six times more efficient than brick, 15 times more efficient than concrete, 306 times more efficient than steel, and 1,770 times more efficient than aluminum.
The Southern Pine Awareness Network. SPAN. 2009. April 17, 2009.
Wood is 100% renewable, recyclable, reusable and biodegradable.
Wood is the only 100% renewable, recyclable, reusable, and biodegradable building material, making the stewardship of wood products an invaluable step in conserving resources.
Moore, Dr. Patrick. The Southern Pine Awareness Network. “The Sensible Environmentalist.” Apr 17 2009.
Composite decking is recyclable.
Plastic shopping bags take over 1,000 years to decompose – if something is made out of these bags, how long will it hang around in a landfill?
Green Living Ideas. Slate.
Composite decking is more durable than natural wood.
Composite materials tend to be soft and will scratch under normal wear. Scratches in plastic material look far more visible than natural wear marks on real wood decking.
Landscaping Ideas Online. SPAN.
Composite decking is maintenance free.
Nothing is maintenance free; composite manufacturers have stopped using the term. In fact, products are now being marketed to hide scratches, remove difficult stains, and restore faded color on composite decks.
Remodeling. Garden Structure.
Treated wood requires special use and handling precautions.
Nearly all recommendations for treated wood handling are the same as for untreated wood and other building materials. One exception from regular wood: Do not burn treated wood.
Moore, Dr. Patrick. SPAN.
Manufacturing wood products requires less energy than artificial wood.
The manufacture of plastic decking can require up to eight times the energy needed to produce a comparable piece of pressure-treated wood decking.
Southern Pine Awareness Network. SPAN.
It's greener to manufacture composite than cut down trees.
Plastic and vinyl are made with petroleum, a finite resource. Once these finite resources are gone, they’re gone. Wood is made from carbon and water (C+H2O!).
The Temperate Forest Foundation