# Perennial wood, anybody use this.



## Martyroc (Feb 1, 2012)

I just saw a commercial for Perennial wood, and then visited their website. It seems this wood has had its molecular structure changed. Based on what the website says the trees go straighter & taller, the wood cut from these trees resists cupping and cracking and is garunteed for 25 years. I have provided a link so you can check it out.

http://www.perennialwood.com

Any thoughts on this? Apparentley my local lumberyard is a carrier of this wood and I was interested in getting some to try it out. If anybody here has used this please chime in, I did a search on here and nothing came up for this lumber.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

Sounds interesting Marty. I wonder what they'll charge by the BF?


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## JR_Dog (Jan 18, 2012)

Thanks for the info; the next time I visit my local lumberyard I'll see if they carry it and try it myself.

Have a good one


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## jaykaypur (Oct 22, 2011)

Interesting product. I think this will catch on and be big once it's out for a while and more readily available.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

It is impregnated w/ acetic anhydride. You can read about it here. It must be somewhat corrosive as they recommend using only stainless fasteners.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Nothing at all new about the wood. It is likely plantation grown radiata pine from New Zealand. I saw it being produced there about 6 years ago. They put the wood in a treatment cylinder and impregnate it with an organic resin. This plasticizes the wood. Makes it harder and more durable and more stable. It is like taking real wood and making plastic wood out of it.


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## Martyroc (Feb 1, 2012)

Jonathan, thanks for the info, I have several outdoor project and although I've used pressure treated lumber outsid err years I was interested in what other options were out ther, and if anyone had an experience with it.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

*"Made in the USA from Southern pine-"* quote from their site.


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## Gregn (Mar 26, 2010)

If your needing Southern Yellow Pine that is treated it be alright. If your looking for renewable resources with certain characteristics. You may want to look at hybrid grown trees that offer the kind of character qualities that you seek. For instance Lyptus wood is a hybrid tree that grows fast and straight that acts much like Hard Maple does. It is a renewable resource that helps to protect our forests and still meet our lumber needs. I'm able to get it through my local lumber yard, and if they don't have it in stock it they can order what I need at a reasonable price.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

*Lyptus* is *not recommended for exterior applications.* 
It is *grown in Brazil *and imported by Weyerhauser .


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## Martyroc (Feb 1, 2012)

Thanks for the info GregN & Dusty56, too bad its not recommended for outdoor use, I would have given it a shot, but seeing that my project will be outdoors 24/7 it's no longer an option.


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## mcjam (Mar 1, 2013)

I put down a PerennialWood deck, gray prefinished, in November in Midcoast Maine. SS screws face applied and used proprietary touch-up paint all exposed edges. Used 3/16" gap between boards. Had some rain, had snow that came and went. How surprised I was to find that my gaps were almost uniformly gone - boards so tight together I could not pull out a leaf stuck between 2 boards. How can this be with "superstable' treated wood.
I have emailed their Market Development Mgr whom I met at a trade show in Boston last November; I have emailed Tim Svarczkopf, their tech advisor, emailed the home office with my simple tale but I have not heard back from any of them. I would think my problem would be really important to these folks trying to get a new product off the ground. I was hoping to use it on a rooftop deck on a Historic District house in Portland under renovation now, but boy do I need some input from PerennialWood.


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## Techrep (Mar 7, 2013)

MCjam., please contact me to discuss your Perennial Wood deck. I am unaware of your complaint, and we are very interested in addressing all of our customers concerns.

Tim Svarczkopf
Technical Representative 
Perennial Wood
978-514-4443
[email protected]


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## HollytheHomemaker (Jul 27, 2013)

Hey MCjam, How's the Perennial Wood deck holding up? Did you ever get a response from the Tech Rep? Did whatever solution he proposed work?

I'm looking to replace a deck on my parents' home on Cape Cod. It's near the shore and the deck is on the south-facing side of the house. PW sounds like a dream come true, but not if you have to open up the space between the boards with a circular saw after less than a year. I have seen other reviews complaining about wood expanding into the gaps between the boards. Any updates?


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## mcjam (Mar 1, 2013)

Re the Perennial Wood my story is: their tech rep, Tim Svarczkopf came to inspect my deck when he was in Portland, noted the good workmanship, measured the width of every board and asked me to send him the scraps if I had any. Got some from my builder and sent them on to be analyzed at the factory. Report came back that these boards ( which came from Lowes ) did not meet mfg spec. Tim authorized me to replace the deck with product from Hammond Lumber ( a 12 store outlet in Maine) after requesting a price quote for labor from the builder, and assured me that I would receive a check for the new labor and material cost. Had to wait a bit for the check to arrive but it did as promised. The Builder laid the new deck with a tad wider spacing than the usual 3/16" and it has performed as expected. It looks very nice, clearly a wood product. We used the prefin grey
and used a proprietary touch up paint for cut ends etc. It rained nearly the whole month of June here. Deck is stable and good to look at. Good outcome. Hope it all works out for them. PS lot's of dopey advice from Lowes.


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## Hood (Aug 15, 2014)

Perennial Wood porch decking:
I installed aprox 1000sqft of TG Perennial wood porch decking on my bosses house, applied 2) coats of solid Acrylic stain (recommended by Perennial manufacture specs) and have an issue of efflorescents (crystals) forming on top of the stain. I have been trying to contact Perennial Wood to help figure it out, but have had no help.

Here is their statement. "I spoke with my Perennial Wood contact and they stated that crystals that formed may have come from a reaction with the acetic anhydride or acetic acid that is in the wood. They have not come across this issue before and stated as long as the residue came off, there should be no other issues. 
I am sorry that I do not have a more specific answer but that is what they told me.
Hope that this helps.
Thank you,
Danielle
Perennial Wood Customer Center"

Just because it wipes off, it comes back the very next day when the dew dries. Has anyone seen this issue with this material before?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Sure makes me wanna buy some of that stuff. Yeah! Right.
Bill


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