Deck Tools

In today's housing market and economic downturn the home remodeling business is saturated with contractors eager to find work.  The challenge for the consumer, in the deck and porch business, is to find the contractor with the proper deck building experience who will build you the deck or porch of your dreams, using best building practices.  While there are a number of criterion and tools to assist you in the decision-making process, the design appointment is normally the most significant portion.

A contractor that can help you navigate the decision process and also has the ability to guide you with experience and industry knowledge is paramount. All other things being equal, if a contractor can successfully help a potential client visualize the product they are trying to sell, they will land the job. 

In my opinion, the most critical advancement in the deck industry is a program called DeckTools, a software suite that enables you to design a deck before a customer's eyes and make changes with a click of a mouse.  DeckTools has increased my close percentage by at least 75 percent.  Customers just love to see a realistic 3D rendering of the deck project they have been dreaming about.  There is no comparison between drawing a 2D sketch and being able to render a design down to the manufacturer, color and texture of  the selected composite decking.  The renderings are so accurate that the shadows are displayed accurately based on the sun location. Instant estimates and professional proposals are generated from your design, so you can close on a project before you leave the customer's house.

The power of DeckTools in this industry is undeniable and they continually add more features that are unsurpassed by any other software program.  One of DeckTools greatest benefits is the community of users real time ability to directly impact future enhancements. This forum is populated by industry professionals who routinely share ideas and expertise which help solve project-related issues.   So whether you are a deck builder or a prospect looking to build a deck, you should not proceed without the incomparable advantage of DeckTools.

Adam Schrager, Managing Partner
Schrager General Contracting, LLC

(703) 615-1450  |  www.SchragerGC.com  | Ashburn, VA

Symmatrix Scenic Series and Classic Elegance Railings

I'm not familiar with all the composites and their counterparts, so I actually had to research Symmatrix, but my overall concensus is it seems to be a quality product that would be an easy sell to a homeowner. Symmatrix, I learned, is a hybrid of wood flour and PVC resin that makes for a great weather-resistant product that never needs to be sealed. They do recommend you clean it periodically, but only with soapy water, and not some product they try to upsell you on. This is an important selling point, because it's virtually maintenance free which is the reason to upgrade from cedar to a composite. 

A deck built with SYMMATRIX composite products, they boast, is it's designed to stand up to wear, as it resists water absorption, cracking, splitting and warping. I took this to mean it will always look good and show little wear. The SYMMATRIX Scenic Series comes available in Redwood, Cedar, Driftwood and a new Mocha color in the boards, but also includes Pearlescent White in railings which was beautiful in the pictures. These seem to be popular color choices that most homeowners could pick from. 

One design function I thought Dow's SYMMATRIX was smart to include was the deck boards are reversible. On one side is a handsome wood grain textured finish, and on the other side is a "contemporary brushed" finish. With the popular colors the boards come available in and a choice of finishes on both sides, there are endless possibilities of design for the more expert installer to try to sell to the homeowner. If the installer, when doing a bid, would show a few pictures of decks done with the different design elements availabe in the SYMMITRIX Series, he could probably impress the homeowner into obtaining his services, even if they go with a more simpler version of design . In my opinion, a deck done with SYMMITRIX is easy to sell, because it's attractive, low maintenance, and has many design capabilities. It gets 2 thumbs up from me.

Steve Harris, President

Correct Deck CX 

I am Dan Troxel, owner of Decks and Design by Dan. Ten years ago in 1998 I started looking at and doing research on composite decking.  Customers were asking for input about what was called maintenance free decking at that time.

My research was focused on the trim problems or as I found out the lack of trim for composite decks, for us builders who have very unique designs trim is a must.  So I went to some manufacturing facilities to ask about and make them aware of what I believed to be some standard minimums.  They were attentive to my requests but their focus was on marketing the decking to recover the start up cost.

I stayed out of the composite market for seven more years because I couldn't find a way to design without any attractive trim.  In 2006 a customer I had done four previous projects for had a deck to replace around his existing pool.  The size of this project was twenty five hundred sq. ft., he was adamant about finding a composite to reduce the continuous maintenance work.  I went to my lumber yard that I've been doing business with for twenty five years and they had just started stocking Correct Deck CX, it has a water proof, stain proof surface.  Then the foreman at the mill told me they could make any trim I wanted with the molding machines due to the density of the Correct Deck CX.  Also, where we exposed the edges Correct Deck has a matching stain sealer to water proof the edges.  We are providing a photo of our finished product; please note the details of profiles.

Dan Troxel
Decks By Dan
www.DecksAndDesignbyDan.com