Los Angeles Decks
We are one of the premiere deck builders in the Los Angeles and Santa Monica areas.
Custom built decks are something we have been perfecting for many years.
We can work with any space to fit your needs and budget.
- We mostly use redwood, (common redwood or conheart redwood)
this is the best quality wood for deck building.
Conheart redwood is the best because of the all heart (all red color) and it is much strnger adn harder than the common Redwood. When you see the common redwood you will notice that it has a bit of sapwood (white wood) with the red. This sapwood is actually more prone to infestation of insects. This wood is also much softer than the conheart.
- Mangaris, Ipe and Ironwood are the highest quality available and this is for people with a higher budget and houses in hillside areas. All 3 of these hardwoods have an A fire rating and a 25 year warranty. Mangaris and Ipe are the most popular but they do need continuous maintenance.
(We do have a spectacular method for refinishing if you are in need of this maintenance service please CLICK HERE for more info. The methods and sealants that we use for our deck refinishing are proven to actually last for several years instead of 6-12 months like you will most likely find with other products and companies around Los Angeles.)
When using the hardwood to construct a larger structure the process of using this type of wood goes way further on the time it takes to complete. This is because of the assembly using the harder wood. When you build with this type of wood you have to pre-drill every hole and also use special screws that also add the cost of building with this type of material. This is because of all the extra time it takes. Hardwood is much more difficult to work with but once complete it seems to be worth it because of the amazing beauty that you get.
The Douglas Fir decks are on the lower end and the Mangaris, Ipe and Ironwood decks are on the higher end. We still go through all of the finishing techniques to make sure that the Douglas Fir lasts for many years. Harwell Fencing and Gates are one of the few builders in Los Angeles that actually pre-seals thebottoms and the sides of all the boards before installing on top of the framework. You may notice that on most decks there is a gap in between all of the boards and most likely you will see where the stain is dripping along the sides of the deck boards and this does not look nearly as nice. This unfinished side of the boards also makes the wood less protected against moisture and insects.
This is the main thing that you will notice about the finish on any wood deck or wood fence.
It is the unfinished sides of the boards in between the tight gaps. When this step is skipped you notice it every time.
We never skip any of these steps.
We also use pressure treated 2 x 6s whch is the best type of wood when building a structure that will not be see for 15 to 20 years. You will most likely never see underneath and definitely not see the bottoms of the boards.
When you enclose the structure on all of the sides by the strs etc this locks the entire under belly up so the wood can never be protected. This is why we take the time to pre seal all of the pressure treated framework and even under neath the entire deck. We do all of these steps before we install any wood on top.
- Douglas Fir is a great option for people who are on a budget. We still use the same finishes as we do on the higher end projects and after this process we still assure you of a very beautiful and high quality product. Please see the photo gallery below and see the captions marked Doug Fir.
For add on services we also design and build steps, stairs, wood benches for comfortable seating, wood railings of any type and also storage benches.
Call us anytime to discuss your project further.
310-601-6616
