Eco Friendly Product

There are several different types of pressure treated wood available in retail lumber yards today. A discussion involving all of them would result in an alphabet soup of acronyms for the various types of treatment formulations.

At Universal Forest Products, we treat our ProWood Micro CA pressure treated lumber with a formulation known as Micronized Copper Azole, or MCA. And its makeup is simpler than you may have guessed.

The finished product contains two active ingredients to stop decay and termite attack: copper and a non-metallic “organic” called tebuconazole. “Azoles” are used in several everyday personal care products such as foot creams and fungal ointments. Copper is, of course, a common metal used for drinking water pipes, wiring, and other applications that humans come in contact with every day. These two ingredients are applied in a mixture of water at a solution strength of less than 1% active ingredients (99% or more water). The  EPA has registered this preservative and deemed it appropriate for the protection of wood from rot and termites where used as directed. The result is pressure treated wood that is an eco friendly product and servicable for decades.

Your home center may have several options when it comes to pressure treated lumber for landscaping. You should know a few basic facts about each before you buy.

3”x5”x8’ landscape ties (nominal measurement)
Most 3”x5”x8’ pressure treated landscape timbers (LST’s) originate as the center cants from plywood veneer peeling mills. Logs are kept wet to make peeling easier and the peeled cants arrive at the pressure treatment plant without benefit of kiln or air drying. Lumber that is not dried before pressure treatment cannot be fully penetrated by the treatment solution during the treatment process. This will be reflected with a shorter term warranty—in the case of ProWood Micro CA treated lumber, one year—than would have been otherwised offered by lumber that had the advantage of full preservative penetration. These ties are not recommended for applications that call for in-ground, structural performance over several years, such as fence posts.
 
4x4 and 6x6 timbers (nominal measurements)
ProWood Micro CA timbers carry either a lifetime limited warranty or a one year warranty, depending on their intended end use. The surest way to know the difference between a timber made for landscaping and a timber made for a structural application is by the warranty. If the timber carries a lifetime limited warranty it means it was dried before pressure treatment and can be warranted for structural use. Generally, these timbers are building code approved and carry an Evaluation Service Report from ICC-ES, a third party testing agency. You can use timbers for fence posts, raised garden beds, retaining walls and any other projects that call for high performance over a long period of time.

End tags
Every piece of treated lumber in the store has an end tag, on which you should find the following:

• Third party testing agency
• Standard to which it is treated (ESR-2240 in ProWood Micro’s case)
• End use (ground contact or above ground, for instance)
• Wood preservatives used (ProWood Micro uses micronized copper azole)
• Treating company’s name
• Warranty
• Handling information

Eco Friendly Products
ProWood Micro treated wood products use the MicroPro treatment process which is certified under SCS's Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) program. In addition to EPP status, the technology has earned Green Approved Product certification from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center.

Knowing the above information will help you make the informed choice when specifying your next outdoor landscape project.

Making your home the hub for fun and entertainment can be as easy as creating the space and inviting folks in. But it’s important to make sure your outdoor living spaces are as safe as they are fun. If you already have a deck, give it a thorough spring checkup. See if you have any loose railings or balusters, and inspect the structure of your deck for rotting wood, corroded or loose fasteners and any mold and mildew.

If you find that your deck needs repairs, consider updating it with new composite decking and railing. Latitudes, a leading composite decking brand, offers several unique decking and railing combinations, each offering superior strength and resistance against the rotting, fading and warping that typically occur with wood due to varying weather cycles.

Low-maintenance composite decking never requires staining or sanding, and is available in several natural-looking colors. Latitudes Capricorn composite decking offers the rich look of tropical hardwood. From a safety standpoint, all of the deck surfaces are slip-resistant and splinter-free—definitely a consideration when you’re designing a space to entertain.

Are you planning to build a new deck this year? Before you begin construction, think carefully about how you’re going to use your deck. Create a space for an outdoor kitchen or barbecue area, and perhaps a place for relaxing and keeping an eye on the kids. You might even want to consider a place for dining.

You could also consider installing deck stones by Latitudes. Use these self-draining, real stone tiles to create a fire or grease barrier under your grill. You can also use these stones if incorporating a fire pit into your deck plans—making it a favorite hangout for teens and late-night marshmallow roasting.

When safety is paramount, be sure to plan for lighting. There are many new products that provide direct or ambient lighting to help make your deck and outdoor living area safer for you and your guests, even late into the night. Latitudes and Deckorators both offer low-voltage, LED recessed deck lights, which can be set to turn on automatically at dusk, adding a measure of security to your home.

Deck lighting using eco friendly solar lighted post caps come in styles ranging from the basic to the dramatic. The new Dynasty copper post cap light offers Asian flair in a Craftsman-inspired copper and gunmetal that offers illumination and high style. Post cap lights are designed to fit on virtually any railing post on your deck. And with solar caps, no wiring is required.

If your existing deck simply needs to be refreshed—or needs sturdier rails to make it safe—the easiest way to update is with new balusters or rails. Deckorators offers a durable, powder-coated aluminum exterior railing system that is sold in kits, complete with rails, post sleeves and post caps to help put a whole new face on a tired-looking deck.

This deck building season, consider spending some of your home improvement dollars on the safety of your deck and the outdoor living areas of your home. These entertainment spots not only beckon to friends and neighbors, but add safety and value to your home.

Wood fuel pellets are an eco-friendly product, providing a reliable and efficient option for home heating. With lower temperatures and thinning wallets, Universal Forest Products has the solution for your pellet stove fuel needs: Super-premium wood fuel pellets by Rocky Mountain Pellet Company.

Wood fuel heating pellets are a great alternative fuel source for homes and businesses. Heat from wood stove pellets is a carbon neutral, environmentally-friendly heat source that reduces greenhouse emissions, while at the same time providing exceptional comfort.

Use of wood pellet heat is on the rise and consumers should be sure they have a reliable supplier of wood pellet fuel—that's where Universal Forest Products and Rocky Mountain Pellet Company come in.

Super-premium wood fuel pellets produced by Rocky Mountain Pellet Company are made from 100% natural pine wood fiber with no additives, and produce less than one percent ash. With a moisture rating of less than six percent, our super-premium wood fuel pellets burn hotter, longer and provide better overall pellet stove performance.

These super-premium wood heating pellets provide an added environmental benefit. They are produced using dead lodgepole pine trees which were killed by an infestation of mountain pine beetles. The dead trees—over 1.5 million acres—create a fire hazard and impede the regrowth of new forests. Rocky Mountain Pellet Company is able to help solve both environmental issues by using the trees for producing wood fuel pellets.

With the real estate market slowly rebounding from its plunge and credit still tight, housing figures show that more homeowners are staying put. But that doesn’t mean they’re sitting idly by. People are investing in affordable home upgrades that not only make an immediate impact, but make their property more attractive should they decide to put it on the market later.

Today, when it comes to upgrades for your home, it’s all about bang for the buck. Homeowners are looking for the best return on investment as well as simple, inexpensive ways to make dramatic improvements to their homes. Outdoor living spaces, landscaping, decks and patios all make a big difference -- not only in how comfortable your current home is now, but how buyers see it when you’re ready to sell.

The trend in outdoor living space has moved toward creating outdoor living “rooms,” and the options available to homeowners have grown with the number of available products on the market.

When you’re looking at homes in a certain price range, you tend to see a lot of the same things. The features that make a home stand out and make people want to live there are often the outdoor spaces.

Outdoor living products, including composite lumber decking and deck and fence accessories, have continued to sell well in this economy, even as new construction remains slow.

Decking products, such as Latitudes Composite Decking, continue to be desirable for homeowners who are staying put and updating their existing homes rather than moving. Deck updates and upgrades are projects that make sense in this economy and that create added value for the future, as well as enjoyment and added living space for right now.

Composite decking products are low maintenance and eco-friendly. Latitudes is made from 70 percent recycled materials. And “green” home improvements can make a difference when buyers are comparing properties.

Homeowners who already have decks find that swapping out balusters or adding decorative post caps or lights can also make a dramatic difference that adds beauty as well as value to their outdoor living space.

Deckorators offers aluminum and glass balusters in a variety of styles to accent virtually any architectural look. Deck railing balusters can be installed on a new deck or can be used to update the look of an old one.

In neighborhoods where every home has a deck, the nicer decks can help sell the home faster. Typically, it’s about the details even more than the size. Designer rails, deck lights and finishes make all the difference.

Homes are sitting on the market longer, and that causes property owners to look for things they can do to set their property apart. In many areas, that means adding more living space to docks or replacing tired-looking wood decks with long-lasting composite material.

Whether you’re looking to update an existing home for personal enjoyment or preparing it for sale, outdoor living spaces present opportunities for improvement. Turning a generic deck into an inviting and attractive space to spend time sets a home apart, which is what real estate experts say home buyers will look for when the real estate market improves.

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