An industry-changing product is now available in the US. It is “treated” wood without any chemicals. Nature’s Choice Deck, distributed by Building Products Plus, is made of premium grade southern yellow pine, uses no chemicals, and comes with a 20 year warranty.
Think about it – “treated” wood with zero chemicals – 100% natural wood.
Thermally Modified Wood
Although thermally modified wood has been proven effective in Europe since the mid-90’s, it is new to the US where it took on the brand name Nature’s Choice. Developed in Finland, thermally modified wood is kind of baked (for lack of a better word) until the composition of the wood changes such that it is no longer attractive to termites, fungus, and other forms of decay. Using special kilns, the wood is heated for about a day to just below flash point and cooled using carefully timed applications of water to maximize its strength and longevity.
As Green As It Gets
Nature’s Choice (http://www.NaturesChoiceDeck.com) is as green as it gets. It is made of easily renewable southern yellow pine from managed forest land and produced in the heart of Amish country in production facilities that use relatively zero electricity. It’s seriously green from start to finish. It contains no chemicals so you don’t have to worry about your gardens, lawn, ground water, or kids. And, finally, since it is long-lasting the wood will not need to be replaced often. However, when you do replace it the wood can be thrown away, re-used, or even burned (unlike chemically pressure-treated wood).
This is the stuff dreams are made of, eco-speaking.
Physical Properties
Its strength is up to par, too. You can cut, drill, nail, screw, and everything just like regular wood. No special fasteners are required but you can use a hidden deck fastener system is you wish. In other words, it is regular wood – except, you know, with no chemicals.
Here are the stats from Nature’s Choice Deck technical info page.
- Uniformly Darker Color
- Increased Surface Hardness
- Resistant to Decay
- Decreased Absorption of Moisture
- Moisture Deformation Decreased by 30 – 90%
- Splitting Strengths Reduced 0 – 50%
- Bending Strength Changes -15% – +20%
- Resins Dry Out or Evaporate
- Equilibrium Moisture 10 – 50% Smaller than in Untreated Wood
- Overall Increased Stability
- Increased Longevity
Beautiful Appearance – Darker Color
Nature’s Choice is made of premium grade (better than #1) southern yellow pine so the boards are about 100% free of wane and nearly totally free of knots. The faces of the boards are different (one side smooth, the other grooved) and since the wood is so highly selected, the boards are essentially reversible.
The thermal modification process darkens the wood to a beautiful light-mahogany color. The picture above is unstained pine (really!). See the Nature’s Choice Deck website for more pictures. According to the guys at Building Products Plus, all of the pictures on the site (as of the date of this writing) are southern yellow pine. Hard to believe but see the comparison image here.
Dimensions & Availability
Currently, Nature’s Choice thermally modified wood is available in 1″x5″ (actual dimensions) deck boards. They say they will offer more in the future. In fact, they mentioned plans for large timbers made with the stuff and maybe even pilings. Yes, chemical-free pilings. These guys are kind of quietly leading their own green movement.
Expect to see more Nature’s Choice Deck in the future. People have been looking for this sort of thing and it’s finally here.