You need strong, beautiful wood when building a deck. Truthfully, the average person doesn’t know much about what types of wood they should even consider, let alone what type will work best for them. You have more things to think about than the qualities of wood. You also have plenty of options. But one stands tall above the rest: Southern Yellow Pine.
Southern Yellow Pine: One Wood to Rule Them all
Southern Yellow Pine (SYP), as the name suggests, has a soft yellow color that looks beautiful in any environment. It looks attractive as a small deck off the edge of a cottage or a huge deck that wraps around a mansion.
Some woods look brilliant and fresh when you first build. Over the next couple of years, though, they lose that attractiveness by slowly turning gray or black. SYP resists the aging process better than most wood, so you get a deck that looks beautiful for years to come. It’s like the difference between a gray, rainy day and a bright day full of sunshine.
Paint It, Stain It, Make It Your Own
If you want to paint or stain your deck, Southern Yellow Pine is the right wood for your home. It has a slightly porous surface that eagerly accepts any color you want to apply.
You may have seen other woods reject paint and stains. The paint will pool on the surface. When it dries, it looks like colored mud. That doesn’t happen with SYP. Just apply a coat or two of high quality paint to get the color you want.
A Softer Side to Strong Wood
Southern Yellow Pine is technically a softwood. Many people assume that hardwood will make a better material for decks. After all, decks have to support a lot of weight, especially when you have people over for entertaining.
Don’t let the term “softwood” fool you. Southern Yellow Pine is an incredibly strong lumber that engineers and architects often use for support beams when designing homes.
That’s good news for you and your guests. It’s potentially not great news for ambulance-chasing lawyers.
More Money in Your Pocket, More Beauty in Your Home
When it comes to using real wood to build your deck, you won’t find an option much more affordable than SYP. Sure, you could use some of those composite woods or even plastic building materials, but you won’t save enough money to feel good about decorating your home with such unsightly kitsch.
Your deck is only as good as the wood you use to build it. Building with SYP lumber gives you an attractive, strong deck that doesn’t cost a fortune. Whether you want to build for your own home or you build decks for others, Southern Yellow Pine is always the best choice.
(Images via Wood. It’s Real., via flickr)
