Lumber & learning
It Cuts Like Wood. It Behaves Like Plastic.
Everything you already know about building still applies. Four things are different, and all of them are easy once somebody tells you.
What is different
Four Things to Know Before You Start
Nobody needs a course in this. They need these four things, and then it is just building.
It moves with temperature
More than timber does. Gap it as the install sheet says for your run length and it takes care of itself. Fasten it tight like wood with no room to move and you will see it.
Joints want support
Butt joints should land on a joist or frame member so both ends are carried and fastened. The cut layout in a package works this out before anything is cut.
It is heavier
Noticeably heavier than the timber it replaces. Plan the lift, especially for long lengths or anything going up to a second storey.
Cut ends need nothing
No sealing, no end grain treatment, no waiting. The cut face is the same material as the surface, so you cut it and you fasten it.
Tools and handling
Nothing Special in the Van
Circular saw, mitre saw, ordinary drill, ordinary screws. There is no special blade to buy and no technique to learn. It cuts cleanly and it does not tear out.
What it does do is leave shavings rather than sawdust, which sweep up more easily than they blow away, worth knowing on a windy site near water.
Ask about a specific build
Detailed guides
In Progress
We are writing these properly rather than publishing guesses. Until they are up, ask us directly. You will get the answer from the people who make the board.
Expansion and contraction
What the board actually moves over a temperature range, and the gapping that allows for it.
Joist spacing and spans
What spacing we recommend for each profile, and how that differs from framing for timber.
Fastening and pre-drilling
Screw type, spacing, when to pre-drill and how to fix a board that has to move.
Building with it now and stuck on something?
Call the yard. Somebody there has either built it or supplied the person who did, and the answer takes a minute. It is a better use of your time than working it out from first principles.
Every Package Comes With an Install Sheet
Gapping, spacing and fastening, written for our board and your run, included with the material list, not sold separately.