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CURVES, BABY! HOW TO BEND BOARDS TO BUILD A BEAUTIFUL DECK By Kim Katwijk
The ability to bend man-made decking materials is taking builders and homeowners to new heights of imagination and creativity. All you have to do is look at the last four year’s winners of NADRA’s (North American Deck & Railing Association) national deck competition to realize curves are where it’s at. If you are a homeowner thinking of upgrading, replacing or building a new deck, you might be wondering if you can create the deck of your dreams yourself, or will you need a professional? After reading this article, you should have a pretty good idea of what it takes to create a curvy deck.
A LITERAL LEARNING CURVE—MY JOURNEY INTO BOARD BENDING
I am in my 25th year of building decks full time. With that many years of experience under my belt, I guess I qualify to fill you in on how it’s done. But first, let me confess my failures. My first attempts at board bending were with Trex decking some twenty years ago. I had built a curved Cambara wood deck for a client. The client wanted a curved railing to match, so I thought I’d try to heat and bend a Trex composite deck board as the top railing board.
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Home Improvement and Repair | Issue: 03
