Wood Deck Building in Tempe, AZ

Wood deck building still makes sense in Tempe. Wood usually costs less up front than composite, it can be repaired board by board, and many woods stay cooler underfoot than composite in full sun. In one seller's outdoor test, teak measured about 120°F while many composite boards reached 140°F or more. The price of wood in the desert is upkeep: dry air and UV pull moisture and color out of unprotected boards quickly, so a finish schedule is part of every wood deck we build.

Choosing the wood

• Pressure-treated pine: the lowest cost and the usual choice for framing. It needs a penetrating stain or sealer soon after it dries out.
• Cedar: lighter in weight, naturally resistant to decay, with a warm color that fades to gray without a UV-blocking finish.
• Redwood: stable and handsome, at a higher price, and it also needs UV protection to hold its color.
• Tropical hardwoods such as ipe: very dense and long-lasting, but expensive, heavy, and harder to cut and fasten.

What desert sun does to wood

UV breaks down the surface fibers, which turns wood gray and rough. Daily swings between hot days and cooler nights cause boards to expand and shrink, which opens checks and loosens fasteners over time. Monsoon downpours after months of dry weather soak into unsealed wood and dry out fast again. A good penetrating finish slows all of that. Angi notes that a deck stain generally lasts two to five years and that dense hardwood may need restaining yearly.

Ground-level decks over Tempe soil

Many Tempe decks are low platforms that replace a section of gravel or extend a small slab patio. Low decks have less airflow underneath, so we use ground-contact rated lumber where the frame sits close to the soil, keep the frame off the dirt on footings or blocks, and slope the ground so monsoon rain does not collect under the deck.

Fasteners and hardware

Pressure-treated lumber is corrosive to plain steel, so connectors and screws need to be rated for treated wood. We use structural connectors at beams and joists and screws instead of nails for deck boards, which hold better as the wood moves through Tempe's daily heat cycles.

When wood is the better pick

Wood fits best when the budget is tight, when the deck is shaded for much of the day, when you want a natural look that matches older homes, or when you plan to refinish regularly. If you would rather never stain again, composite is usually the better fit, and we will tell you that at the estimate.