If you’ve been reading any of my job profiles or read my website at www.deckexpert.com, you probably know I emphasize how Desert Crete is a fire resistant decking system. Our latest job profile focuses on Desert Crete’s fire resistant qualities, as that’s one of the main reasons why Central Coast Waterproofing was awarded this job in San Luis Obispo. Some months ago, I received a call from a client in San Luis Obispo who had a Dex-O-Tex deck that “needed repair” . We are Dex-O-Tex installers and advertise so in the Yellow Pages and on our website. Off I went to inspect the deck with the owner. An inspection revealed lots of cracks in the field of the deck. A little dryrotted plywood against a wall. A 20 year old deck with an approximate life span of 25-30 years. Perhaps it was time to replace instead of repair? Central Coast Waterproofing submitted a bid to the clients, who are retired Cal-Poly professors. I like working with people who are open to listening and understanding. I sell using education, not low price. My professor clients took the information I provided and began their search for decking systems to compare Desert Crete against. I don’t like using pressure or hard sell tactics. I follow up and check in with clients after submitting the bid… It took a couple months as our clients were doing some travelling too, and then one day the phone rang…we want to discuss the job further with you. After investigating our system and competitors systems, Desert Crete went to the top of their list. I was told competitors of mine didn’t seem concerned about their coatings not being fire resistant…they didn’t have a coating with an ICC-ES report behind it, proving it’s worth as a pedestrian traffic roof deck coating. They didn’t have a report proving their product was Class A fire resistant. They did have an attractive finish to offer but it wasn’t fire resistant. Scratch those for this project…first priority here is Fire Resistance. That fact alone eliminated our competitors for this job. The deck on this house is an integral part of the fire resistance this house was built for. Metal roof, stucco siding, triple glazed windows/doors, no wood exposed anywhere. When it was built, it was called the most fire resistant homes in SLO. Central Coast Waterproofing removed the old Dex-O-Tex decking, discarding at the landfill. Inspection of the plywood deck found a few problems but nothing significant. Grinding off the coatings off the flashings though revealed a problem; rusted flashings on apx 40% of the total lineal footage. A change order to open all the stucco, remove 140 lineal feet of flashings and install new was approved. Plywood substrate was renailed with ring shank nails. New flashings and weep screed, new stucco and new Desert Crete decking was installed, along with replacing three old deck drains that exhibited signs of rust. New Thunderbird Products deck drains were installed using chromed brass grates (custom order). The deck was finished with a low knockdown textured finish and painted/sealed with 2 coats of Monterey Grey. Our clients are thrilled with their new deck and can rest easy knowing their beautiful home overlooking San Luis Obispo is still just as fire resistant as it was the day it was built.