Hi everyone,

Will a wooden patio require a lot of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these maintenance costs?

On 9/23/2013 8:19 AM, Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?

Everything requires maintenance...

One _extremely_ important piece left out -- _where_ is this proposed
patio going to be? Local climate has much to do with how much or little
maintenance one may expect.

Probably the most significant thing one could do cut down on maintenance
would be to use one of the wood substitute products instead of wood
altho selection of which wood itself were to be used (at a cost, of
course) can make a big difference as well.

--

Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?

Click on the "Contact Us" link on that page and ask them.


--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeros after @

On 9/23/2013 9:19 AM, Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?


Maybe it is just me, but saw a photo of a grill on the website and saw
SPAM cooking.

What is interesting, the web site looks loke a decent design, but they
give no clue as to the area they serve or where they are located. How
dumb is that?

On Monday, September 23, 2013 11:26:45 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 9/23/2013 9:19 AM, Qqueen wrote:

Hi everyone,



Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot

of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these

maintenance costs?





Maybe it is just me, but saw a photo of a grill on the website and saw

SPAM cooking.



What is interesting, the web site looks loke a decent design, but they

give no clue as to the area they serve or where they are located. How

dumb is that?

+1 Spam detected. Spam rejected!

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 9/23/2013 9:19 AM, Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?


Maybe it is just me, but saw a photo of a grill on the website and saw SPAM cooking.

What is interesting, the web site looks loke a decent design, but they
give no clue as to the area they serve or where they are located. How dumb is that?

It's in the name. "woodlands", as in The Woodlands, TX.

Read the home page.

"We began serving the Katy community and from there expanded to serve other
homeowners in Sugar Land, Fulshear and the whole Houston area."

" wrote:
On Monday, September 23, 2013 11:26:45 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 9/23/2013 9:19 AM, Qqueen wrote:

Hi everyone,



Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot

of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these

maintenance costs?





Maybe it is just me, but saw a photo of a grill on the website and saw

SPAM cooking.



What is interesting, the web site looks loke a decent design, but they

give no clue as to the area they serve or where they are located. How

dumb is that?

+1 Spam detected. Spam rejected!

It might be spam, but they do discuss the area they serve and where they
are located. Per the home page:

"We began serving the Katy community and from there expanded to serve other
homeowners in Sugar Land, Fulshear and the whole Houston area."

On 9/23/2013 11:58 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


It might be spam, but they do discuss the area they serve and where they
are located. Per the home page:

"We began serving the Katy community and from there expanded to serve other
homeowners in Sugar Land, Fulshear and the whole Houston area."


I did miss that. It should be ont he Contact page though. I won't by
from a company that does not give the actual address of the main office.
Nothing is guaranteed, but you are a little less likely to be scammed
by a real business.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 9/23/2013 11:58 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


It might be spam, but they do discuss the area they serve and where they
are located. Per the home page:

"We began serving the Katy community and from there expanded to serve other
homeowners in Sugar Land, Fulshear and the whole Houston area."


I did miss that. It should be ont he Contact page though. I won't by
from a company that does not give the actual address of the main office.
Nothing is guaranteed, but you are a little less likely to be scammed by a real business.

No argument, but I think there's an element of safety in this case. The
Contact Form does say "Woodlands residents are encouraged to drop by our
office for a consultation at no cost to them." **(More on that statement
later)

While the address of the office does not appear to be listed on the site,
they are inviting people to stop by. I assume that if you were to fill out
the contact form, they would be in touch with you to set up an appointment,
first at their office if that will make you feel more comfortable, and
then, obviously, on-site where you want the patio built.

In this case, I think the issue is more of a web site that is lacking some
information rather than an attempt to scam people. Granted, if you set up
an appointment and they are reluctant to have you stop by to see their
facilities, you would have cause for concern.

** I think that that sentence is kind of a typo. On their home page they
say that the serve a number of towns around Houston, yet they only "invite"
Woodlands residents to stop by. I think that is just sloppy web site design
and that if it was pointed out to them they might have it fixed. I might
even fill out the form and let them know.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 9/23/2013 11:58 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


It might be spam, but they do discuss the area they serve and where they
are located. Per the home page:

"We began serving the Katy community and from there expanded to serve other
homeowners in Sugar Land, Fulshear and the whole Houston area."


I did miss that. It should be ont he Contact page though. I won't by
from a company that does not give the actual address of the main office.
Nothing is guaranteed, but you are a little less likely to be scammed by a real business.

No argument, but I think there's an element of safety in this case. The
Contact Form does say "Woodlands residents are encouraged to drop by our
office for a consultation at no cost to them." **(More on that statement
later)

While the address of the office does not appear to be listed on the site,
they are inviting people to stop by. I assume that if you were to fill out
the contact form, they would be in touch with you to set up an appointment,
first at their office if that will make you feel more comfortable, and
then, obviously, on-site where you want the patio built.

In this case, I think the issue is more of a web site that is lacking some
information rather than an attempt to scam people. Granted, if you set up
an appointment and they are reluctant to have you stop by to see their
facilities, you would have cause for concern.

** I think that that sentence is kind of a typo. On their home page they
say that the serve a number of towns around Houston, yet they only "invite"
Woodlands residents to stop by. I think that is just sloppy web site design
and that if it was pointed out to them they might have it fixed. I might
even fill out the form and let them know.

I used their contact page to let them know about the lack of a company
address and the fact that they only invite Woodlands residents to "drop by"
their office.

It'll be interesting to see how responsive they are.

On 9/23/2013 8:19 AM, Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?

After installing mini wood patios under my lawn swings that held up
for many years, I went ahead and laid a full size wood patio made from
squares of treated decking lumber. I liked it so well, I installed an
even larger patio linked to the original patio a few years later. The
patios are on a simple sand base. I didn't bother with sealing or
staining, I just let them weather to gray.

Advantages of wood vs cement or brick pavers:

Lighter weight pavers, which makes for easier handling and
installation/removal
Much cooler surface in hot weather - wood doesn't absorb heat the way
brick and concrete do
Has a smoother surface, with a tiny bit of 'give', making it more
comfortable to walk upon
More permeable (due to the spaces between the planks) than brick
pavers, which makes them a better choice for installing in close
proximity to trees

Disadvantages:

Underside not smooth, making installation a little more tedious since
the center (between the crosspieces) is that little bit deeper
Some pieces of planking may be prone to cupping, which is exacerbated
during lengthy dry spells

Neutral:

If it isn't stained or weatherproofed it will weather to grey
More informal looking than bricks or pavers

It works very well for me. OTOH, I have neighbors who had an elaborate
and very beautiful brick patio installed. They love their patio and I
admire it immensely - but for myself, I prefer wood.

Moe DeLoughan wrote:
On 9/23/2013 8:19 AM, Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?

After installing mini wood patios under my lawn swings that held up for
many years, I went ahead and laid a full size wood patio made from
squares of treated decking lumber. I liked it so well, I installed an
even larger patio linked to the original patio a few years later. The
patios are on a simple sand base. I didn't bother with sealing or
staining, I just let them weather to gray.

Advantages of wood vs cement or brick pavers:

Lighter weight pavers, which makes for easier handling and installation/removal
Much cooler surface in hot weather - wood doesn't absorb heat the way brick and concrete do
Has a smoother surface, with a tiny bit of 'give', making it more comfortable to walk upon
More permeable (due to the spaces between the planks) than brick pavers,
which makes them a better choice for installing in close proximity to trees

Disadvantages:

Underside not smooth, making installation a little more tedious since the
center (between the crosspieces) is that little bit deeper
Some pieces of planking may be prone to cupping, which is exacerbated
during lengthy dry spells

Neutral:

If it isn't stained or weatherproofed it will weather to grey
More informal looking than bricks or pavers

It works very well for me. OTOH, I have neighbors who had an elaborate
and very beautiful brick patio installed. They love their patio and I
admire it immensely - but for myself, I prefer wood.

I'm going to look into these for a walkway and even maybe even refacing a
stoop.

www.azek.com/landscape-pavers

With the forms, it seems like it would be tough to screw up.

On 9/23/2013 2:55 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
....

I'm going to look into these for a walkway and even maybe even refacing a
stoop.

www.azek.com/landscape-pavers
....

I'd get a couple samples and check 'em out for the heat
absoprtion/temperature thing.

The Azek and the other composites as well will burn as badly as a car
door in the hot sun out here in W KS if anything but the lightest of
colors and even those you can't walk on w/ bare feet unless they're
shaded...

The poly fences will sag and take a permanent set after a couple of
summers--just don't have the necessary high temperature resistance for
100+ F full W KS sunshine. AZ and the like have to be even worse.

--

dpb wrote:
On 9/23/2013 2:55 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
...

I'm going to look into these for a walkway and even maybe even refacing a
stoop.

www.azek.com/landscape-pavers
...

I'd get a couple samples and check 'em out for the heat absoprtion/temperature thing.

The Azek and the other composites as well will burn as badly as a car
door in the hot sun out here in W KS if anything but the lightest of
colors and even those you can't walk on w/ bare feet unless they're shaded...

The poly fences will sag and take a permanent set after a couple of
summers--just don't have the necessary high temperature resistance for
100+ F full W KS sunshine. AZ and the like have to be even worse.

--

Thanks for that warning. Where these will be going doesn't get a lot of
direct, all day sun, nor do we have many (any?) 100+ days. However, I will
heed your warning and get some samples.

Qqueen:

You want the wood to be pressure treated to avoid the problem of wood rot occuring in your patio.

However, pressure treatment only addresses the issue of wood rot; it doesn't address the issue of the wood splitting at the end grain due it absorbing rain water there. If you ever look at wood that's been left unprotected outside, the end grain of the wood will be split and the wood will be grey in colour. The grey discolouration comes from UV damage to the wood from the Sun, and the splitting of the end grain is due to the absorbtion and evaporation of liquid water at the end grain of wood. Water is absorbed into the end grain of wood 15 times faster than it is into wood across it's grain, which is one of the reason why wood rot almost always starts at the end grain of wood.

If the end grain of the wood you're using to build your patio isn't treated somehow to prevent water absorbtion, one of the most effective ways to treat it is with a liquid epoxy meant for use on rotted wood. Basically, you paint the end grain of the wood with epoxy to prevent it from absorbing rain water, Then, the only way your wood could absorb water is across it's grain, and it's unlikely that will ever result in the wood ever splitting because absorbtion of water across the grain of wood is very much slower than at the end grain.

So, if your wood is pressure treated, and even if it's not, then my suggestion is to buy some two part liquid epoxy for strengthening rotted wood, and paint that on every end grain of every wooden patio paver to prevent the absorbtion of rain water and snow melt at the end grain of your wood.

On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 11:26:45 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 9/23/2013 9:19 AM, Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?


Maybe it is just me, but saw a photo of a grill on the website and saw
SPAM cooking.

What is interesting, the web site looks loke a decent design, but they
give no clue as to the area they serve or where they are located. How
dumb is that?

Yeah, strange. Looking up the area code of the phone number I found

Texas Atascocita, Baytown, Bellaire, Channelview, Friendswood,
Galena Park, Houston, La Porte, League City, Mission Bend, Missouri
City, Pasadena, Pearland, Spring, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, West
University Place

So maybe people in Houston have heard of The Woodlands and would
associate it with this company.

Still, strange.

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?

They have some really nice patio designs on their sight. I like to
get something to replace my present patio shown at right of my current
home in this photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ljguita...n/photostream/

I wonder which I should get?
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On 9/23/2013 9:56 PM, nestork wrote:
Qqueen:

You want the wood to be pressure treated to avoid the problem of wood
rot occuring in your patio.

However, pressure treatment only addresses the issue of wood rot; it
doesn't address the issue of the wood splitting at the end grain due it
absorbing rain water there. If you ever look at wood that's been left
unprotected outside, the end grain of the wood will be split and the
wood will be grey in colour. The grey discolouration comes from UV
damage to the wood from the Sun, and the splitting of the end grain is
due to the absorbtion and evaporation of liquid water at the end grain
of wood. Water is absorbed into the end grain of wood 15 times faster
than it is into wood across it's grain, which is one of the reason why
wood rot almost always starts at the end grain of wood.

If the end grain of the wood you're using to build your patio isn't
treated somehow to prevent water absorbtion, one of the most effective
ways to treat it is with a liquid epoxy meant for use on rotted wood.
Basically, you paint the end grain of the wood with epoxy to prevent it
from absorbing rain water, Then, the only way your wood could absorb
water is across it's grain, and it's unlikely that will ever result in
the wood ever splitting because absorbtion of water across the grain of
wood is very much slower than at the end grain.

So, if your wood is pressure treated, and even if it's not, then my
suggestion is to buy some two part liquid epoxy for strengthening rotted
wood, and paint that on every end grain of every wooden patio paver to
prevent the absorbtion of rain water and snow melt at the end grain of
your wood.


Before going through all that aggro, I'd advise the OP to think about
how long of an expected life he wants from his patio. I've had wood
patios in place for nearly twenty years that are not yet showing signs
of rot, and I never bothered to seal any parts of the wood planking.
Frankly, if I did spot any, it would be much faster and simpler to
just replace the bad section, since they're just squares made of planking.

On 09/23/2013 08:02 AM, willshak wrote:
Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?

Click on the "Contact Us" link on that page and ask them.

I suspect that email wouldn't have to travel very far.

Jon

On 9/24/2013 1:47 PM, Jon Danniken wrote:
On 09/23/2013 08:02 AM, willshak wrote:
Qqueen wrote:
Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?

Click on the "Contact Us" link on that page and ask them.

I suspect that email wouldn't have to travel very far.

Jon


That's what I think too.

"Qqueen" wrote in message
...

Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?




--
Qqueen

You company a rip off. You want 592499 yen to move dirt pile, that $6000
dollar.

On 9/24/2013 6:50 AM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
....

... I've had wood
patios in place for nearly twenty years that are not yet showing signs
of rot, and I never bothered to seal any parts of the wood planking.
....

What kind of climate/installation/material must this be???

--

dpb wrote:
On 9/24/2013 6:50 AM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
...

... I've had wood
patios in place for nearly twenty years that are not yet showing signs
of rot, and I never bothered to seal any parts of the wood planking.
...

What kind of climate/installation/material must this be???

--

You sound surprised.

I have a deck that is over 20 years old that is in fine shape. Gray, yes,
rotting no. PT wood, eastern Great Lakes climate, standard installation, no
maintenance other than the replacement of 2 boards. One split lengthwise
(strange), another had a knot that fell out, exposing the interior. I think
the knot prevented good absorption of the PT chemicals, so the board got
soft around the knot hole.

I also have a set of three 3' x 3' PT "steps" along the side of the house
to make it easier to get from the driveway to the back yard (sloped lot).
There isn't any rot in that area either.

Maybe they made better PT wood back then.

On 9/24/2013 5:58 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
wrote:
On 9/24/2013 6:50 AM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
...

... I've had wood
patios in place for nearly twenty years that are not yet showing signs
of rot, and I never bothered to seal any parts of the wood planking.
...

What kind of climate/installation/material must this be???

--

You sound surprised.

I have a deck that is over 20 years old that is in fine shape. Gray, yes,
rotting no. PT wood, eastern Great Lakes climate, standard installation, no
maintenance other than the replacement of 2 boards. One split lengthwise
(strange), another had a knot that fell out, exposing the interior. I think
the knot prevented good absorption of the PT chemicals, so the board got
soft around the knot hole.

I also have a set of three 3' x 3' PT "steps" along the side of the house
to make it easier to get from the driveway to the back yard (sloped lot).
There isn't any rot in that area either.

Maybe they made better PT wood back then.

This dude described a patio of wood "pavers" laid on ground in just sand
base. I'm not only surprised, I'm amazed unless it's pretty doggone dry.

A conventional deck, sure, but on grade even out here wouldn't last that
long.

And, yes, previous presently banned PT was _far_ superior to anything
one can get currently, just as were creosote fence posts. I've got
pasture posts that are 50+ still serviceable; the crap one can get now
is gone to nothing in 10, won't hold a cow past about 4-5.

--

On Tue, 24 Sep 2013 18:09:36 -0400, "leza wang"
wrote:

"Qqueen" wrote in message
...

Hi everyone,

Will a wooden ' patio ' (http://www.woodlandspatio.com/) require a lot
of maintenance and can anyone share some tips to cut down on these
maintenance costs?




--
Qqueen

You company a rip off. You want 592499 yen to move dirt pile, that $6000
dollar.


Leza,

What happened to your dirt pile?

On Monday, September 23, 2013 6:19:11 AM UTC-7, Qqueen wrote:

Will a wooden ' patio ' require a lot of maintenance

Not if it's redwood.