With the recent destructive wildfires in Colorado, and as California is experiencing significant wildfires (500 more than compared to this time last year), it is important to learn about fire standards for building products.
According to the article “Homes for the Wildfire Threat” in the Journal of Light Construction, “The cheapest and most effective way to protect a community from wildfire is to reduce the flammability of the homes.” The first thing to do, for those living in the wildland urban interface is to create a “defensible space” around your structure, by removing and managing flammable vegetation. This may be required by local jurisdictions.
While there are no guarantees against a raging fire, using redwood for your decking material can be a step in the right direction.
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Redwood has a long history of excellent fire performance. In fact, redwood has sometimes been credited with slowing or stopping the resultant fires of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake because many of these fires stopped when they came to a concentration of structures built with redwood.
Its unique properties, combined with coordinated, up-to-date material performance testing, reassure homeowners, contractors and builders alike that redwood decking can be used without restriction throughout all areas of California because it meets California’s fire codes.
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Since the 1970s, there are documented results of more than a dozen tests conducted on redwood lumber products in accordance with various UL, ATSM, CA SFM or UCFPL test standards. Redwood was the initial material to be evaluated and used as a base line for the decking tests established by the UC Forest Products Laboratory in response to the 1991 Tunnel Fire in the Oakland/Berkeley Hills. Redwood products continue to be evaluated to this day for fire performance.
Moreover, redwood is fire resistant without the need for costly fire retardant treatments. Firefighters can have confidence when evaluating structures with redwood decks before during and after a wildfire, something they may not have when evaluating a structure with decks built using alternative products such as plastics or composites.
Learn more about redwood’s fire resistant capabilities at: http://www.calredwood.org/pdf/Decking+Fire+Standards.pdf
To learn more about redwood’s remarkable properties and to find a local distributor, go to: www.RealStrongRedwood.com
