TravelStream™ news feed for member nadrahq on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/nadrahq en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:02:24 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nadrahq/1/1218983820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nadrahq/1/1218983820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nadrahq/1/1218983820/tpod.html Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:02:24 -0400 Deck Trek 2008

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Quakertown, Pennsylvania, United States

Destination: NADRA HQ after 25 days, 7,500 miles on the road!!!
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Dallas, Texas, United States

We met with NADRA Member, Eric Snyder from Deck Masters. www.deckpictures.com

Eric gave us a wonderful tour of the facility. Deck Masters offer the full package complete with lumber yard, retail store and deck building company. The Deck Master division is made up of 2 warehouses with an awesome shop - see photos. Eric runs 2-3 crews and has a great system on top of his trucks for transporting lumber - see photos. Eric made the jump to full retail with hot tubs patio furniture and his latest move into outdoor kitchens. They have a system for knowing where crews are and where each clients permit stands. This is a very efficient tool for the company and provides solid lines of communication throughout the company. Eric is also working with local township inspectors with over 20 plus individual townships involved so his permits are approved In an effort to help expedite permits.
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Sweetwater, Tennessee, United States

Sweetwater Decks, John Mortimer

We spent some time with John Mortimer, NADRA's immediate past president.

What the heck is Okra? The Mortimer's sure got a kick of us not hearing of it before. John and Susan Mortimer have a beautiful home atop a mountain overlooking the valley and in the far distance you can even see the Smokey Mountains.

We all owe John a great deal of thanks, his efforts and success in the early years of the association helped create the strong foundation we all now build on. It was great spending time with the Mortimer's in their beautiful Tennessee home.

John does many screened in porches and it's a good thing because the mosquitoes are so BIG in Tennessee they could carry away your small children!
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Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Decksouth / John Lea, Bobby Smith
www.decksouth.com

Bobby Smith of DECKSOUTH is the President of the local Atlanta NADRA Chapter. Some of the key features on Bobby's decks were his spiral staircases and shaded screens rolled up.

Bobby and John expanded into the supply business. As we traveled across the country we learned that rigs with piggybacks are now the norm rather than the exception. Decksouth again has a large office and showroom that has proven to be a great investment for their company.

Look for great things for the Atlanta Chapter in the future.

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Canton, Georgia, United States

Peachtree Decks & Porches - Bobby Parks

We arranged to spend some time with Bobby Parks from Peachtree Decks & Porches. Bobby is very much involved with NADRA's Second Master Mind Committee as well as the local Atlanta NADRA Chapter. They have quickly risen to the top! Bobby and his wife Mary recently moved their office out of the house and are now enjoying the success of their new office and showroom. They also now enjoy their home as a home; many of us would do well with the same type of move.

After Bobby's initial visit he has the client come out to his showroom to review the design & material available through Peachtree Decks & Porches. Bobby's system of having the customer come to his showroom/office has proven to be very successful and efficient.

Many of Peachtree's designs include screened in porches & roofs to provide shade from the intense GA sun. Bobby's attention to detail and experience his lead carpenter of 15 years produces beautiful outdoor living spaces for his customers.

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Mobile, Alabama, United States

Mobile, AL - OHC, Overseas Hardwood Company
T. Lee Robinson, Jr - President / Chuck Klopp
www.everlastinghardwoods.com

We stopped in Mobile, AL to visit NADRA members, OHC (Overseas Hardwood Company) You've got to see this place to believe it. 6x6 20ft long Ipe - strong as steel! Tiger Wood, Purple Heart - amazing, gorgeous, very strong wood and truly maintenance free.

We learned something fascinating during this particular stop. Did you know that most trucking companies use hardwoods such as Ipe for the floors of their trucks? In some of the mills they are now creating 60ft long 12x1 ½ overlapping flooring.

OHC also carries beautiful Ipe furniture, this is a great add-on sale for your customers!




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Durango, Colorado, United States

Durango, Colorado:

You'd think shipping product materials to a job site were simple, right? It's amazing some of the things we take for granted like picking up our materials at a local lumber yard. They are far from that simple in places like Durango, Colorado. NADRA member, Shawn McConnell hit a wall early November with 12 decks framed and ready to go waiting on his decking materials - but then the snow came and it showed no signs of stopping. In Colorado, without decking on your frame the frame twists like you wouldn't believe.

Shawn took us to see some of his decks after he had to rip down all of his frames and start over in the spring. He uses all stainless steel hardware. In order to strengthen and support the rail systems - Shawn puts a threaded rod thru the baluster which eliminates any sway and provides for an extremely strong rail.

*Interesting Note: Shawn attaches 2x6 Trex top and bottom railings using FastenMaster Bolts. This is one of the strongest we've seen on our trip.

Also, note the custom iron work with stainless steel bolts attaching to his posts and beams.
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Houston, Texas, United States

Texas Decks- Brian McQuinn

What a great guy! Brian runs 2 crews in the Houston area. Brian managed to fit in a game of golf with Mike. Let's put it this way - Mike went through 15 balls by the 12th hole! Brian is still laughing! Brian took us to see a few of his more recent projects - beautiful work. Did we mention it's hot in Houston? IT'S HOT!

*Interesting Note: Have you ever heard of watering your deck? YES, I just said "watering" your deck. Many homes in Texas need to keep their foundations watered. This prevents cracking and failure at the foundation.
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Provo, Utah, United States

We stopped in Provo, Utah to visit with NADRA members CFC Fence & Decks.

CFC has expanded their fencing company into decking. CFC have been involved in the AFA and is the immediate past president of the Utah Chapter with over 40 members. We look forward to their active involvement with NADRA's education programs as we look to share training and education information in the areas of deck construction and product installation.

Check out the NADRA homepage at www.NADRA.org CFC was featured as the Deck Photo of the Month!

CFC - Cedar Fence & Deck
Edmund Rose
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Denver, Colorado, United States

We headed to Denver to spend a few days with NADRA President, Shawn Miller. While in Denver we spent some time with Shawn and his family. We also took some time to visit NADRA members The Deck Super Store & Specialty Wood Products. We also had the opportunity to meet with Prospective member, Alpine Lumber.

Looks like we have a solid Colorado Chapter in its formation stage!



"It was great to spend some time with both of you and get to focus on NADRA for a couple days to get caught up and get to know both of you better...wish we could do it more often."
Shawn Miller
NADRA President

Below you will find a list of NADRA members and prospective members we visited during our time in the Denver area.



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Specialty Wood Products
NADRA Member
Chris "Josh" Deguire - President
Aurora, CO.

Josh services a large area with several locations. Specialty Wood Products services much of the vacation home and ski resorts of Colorado and have locations in Utah and South Carolina. They do a large amount of full timbers 12x12 BIG STUFF! You should have seen all the cedar, man was that a great smell!

*Interesting Note: The Canadian government subsidizes much of their forest to the lumber companies. The US has created a high tariff tax causing part of the rise in Cedar pricing.

In our conversations with Josh we came to the realization that many of the corrosion problems along our coastal regions are also a concern among our many inland resort areas. Many of the decks we saw at Breckenridge, Vail, Steamboat Springs and Telluride were all 20-30 and even 40 years old and must be replaced! Many of the fasteners had the same corrosion issues found with salt on our coastal regions... why? SALT (consumers use salt to melt away ice off walkways and decks).

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The Deck Superstore:
NADRA Member
Steve Mitchell - President
Commerce City, CO

Steve, wife Mitzi and son Jonathan. Located in Denver, Co, Steve has created an atmosphere for outdoor living with samples of all of his products. Steve serves many DIY including design, construction and material lists. The store is set up in such a way to make it easy for the end user to see all available products in the market. Steve works with his wife, Mitzi and son, Jonathan who just graduated from college and is now working in the family business.

If you are ever in the Denver area, definitely stop by!

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Alpine Lumber:
Prospective NADRA Member
Kevin Pask - Manager
Parker, CO

We enjoyed meeting with the folks at Alpine, we look forward to their involvement with NADRA in the future. They have 15 relocations, three tress plants, two millwork shops and two reload points. They are an employee owned business with an emphasis on home building and decking products. With a wide variety of materials they should be able to answer most all of your needs for that next project.

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After meeting with the above NADRA members and prospective members it looks like we have a solid Colorado Chapter in its formation stages! If you are a member in the Colorado area and interested in getting involved, please don't hesitate to give us a call at HQ. 1.800.393.7962. We will help get you started.
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