2005 Highlights and Trends

This was an extremely busy year for us. We were booked far ahead all year and expect 2006 to be equally busy. Decks, spa decks, arbors, pergolas and screened porches were again our main projects. Our clients continued to lean toward a more finished and less weathered look. We did a somewhat greater proportion of Deckorators railings in ipe, composite, cedar and painted wood frameworks as well as stainless steel cable and aluminum railing systems. Cedar remained our most popular decking; but overall plastic, composite and ipe constituted a little bigger portion of our sales. (For information on decking, see “How To Select An Appropriate Residential Deck Flooring Material.”) We used two more “blind fastening” systems for our decks so that no nails or screws showed; and we also used decking designed so that the fasteners are concealed. We have long used steel posts and beams where appropriate but last year first used steel for the floor joists.

After visiting our website, many people have contacted us not only to design and build projects in our local area but also to get information for their projects around the country. This resulted in several “away” design jobs in addition to the occasional design/consultation clients in our usual trade area.