The Mountain is Out!

I am so grateful for the several beautiful days we recently had, punctuated by the 2 glorious, perfectly sunny and warm days that followed. We Seattleites really appreciate our good weather like no other.

Back in the day, there was an episode of Northern Exposure where one distinguished elderly gentleman found himself longing for more sun and the happiness that went with. His doctor astutely prescribed a visor that housed a special artificial light that would provide the ailing fellow with enough vitamin D to set him on the path to normalcy (or some form thereof). Said poor soul found entirely too much delight in the visor and abused his prescription by wearing it constantly. He ran around for 3 days and nights making jam and delivering it to everyone he could.

My last year at college someone had, on one fine spring sunny day, made use of the systematically aerated 40 x 40 ‘ section of campus lawn, by plunking fully formed carrots 1/3 of the way down in each uniform hole. Each spring I think of it and giggle a bit. Quirky humor. Why is she talking about the weather’s effects?…I thought this was a green building blog… you might be saying to yourself.

Great weather eventually leads to thoughts of where best to soak up the sun. Decks are an American favorite. In this past week, people have been liberated by warm thoughts of lounging on a deck, favorite beverage in hand, perhaps surrounded by friends and family, the sweet smell of barbeque wafting through the air and quintessential summer sounds (baseball, kids running wild, birds singing). A great deck is the ultimate stage for these common themes.

One client on Queen Anne had Tait, our contractor, build them a beautiful deck using FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified tigerwood. It was sustainably harvested and untreated, so that the surrounding soil and/or water remained uncontaminated. Tigerwood is a pleasing wood in both how it’s sourced and what it looks like. It’s a warm, deep brown with a gold and red hue. It reminds me of Brazilian cherry, but somehow seems more substantial. Feast your eyes on this wood and lovely craftsmanship. Steady on.

Suzanne in Edmonds recently went with the more commonly requested composite decking material (sorry- no pictures, yet). It, too, has many benefits including being made of recycled plastic, exceedingly durable, doesn’t splinter, crafted in various colors and is easy on the eyes. The debate rages between wood purists and composite lovers, as to which is the more environmentally friendly material. One camp points out that no new trees are harvested for production of composite. The other contends that composite can’t be earth friendly since it ultimately ends up in landfill, anyway. That’s the tame debate. Digging deeper, plastic lumber’s content varies widely and some are much more hazardous than others. Try to avoid PS (polystyrene) and PVC (poly vinyl chloride). Polyethylenes are better- though no plastics are desirable, since the common origin of all is fossil fuels. Some recycled plastic decking also contains fiberglass and wood fiber. Best to ditch those, as well. Bottom line is you need to do your research and make your own conscious choice.

At the end of your discoveries, I hope you are blessed with a great deck- upon which can be made a most northwest declaration- ‘The mountain is out’.