www.waterproofingmaterials.com
www.lifepaint.com
www.westcoat.com
www.excellentcoatings.com
www.desertbrand.com
www.merkote.com
www.plidek.com
www.endurokote.com
Metal lath and Acrylic coatings have become the coating to put on decks with all the major tract builders in Southern California. Heavy marketing efforts, SB-800, multi-million dollar settlements for water intrusion issues, builders seeking better materials that help them in their risk reduction efforts, all have combined to thrust these coatings into the limelight. At PCBC 2006, five manufacturer's were at the show marketing their metal lath decking systems to builders, architects and sub-contractors.
With this system of galvanized metal lath, acrylic modified cements, fiberglass (depending on the manufacturer), and a pigmented sealer, these coatings resist the damage that it's competitors can't. Resistance to UV, cracking, use and abuse combine to make these coatings desirable for builders. Fiberglass is being used by several manufacturer's, with what appear to be superior results over the multi-layers of cements and sealers.
The diagram to the left shows a brand using a fiberglass layer. This type of system has an added advantage of preventing cracks that may develop from showing through the surface. The total of this system is greater than the sum of it's parts. Each layer performs a distinct function that all work together to provide a top quality deck system.
Metal lath systems, just like everything else, comes in varying levels of quality. Installer know how is critical, we've seen these systems fail, but it seems when they did, it was an installer error that caused the deck to fail.
Looking for Westcoat Information?
Click here for our pages on Westcoat/Pacific Pebbles and Life Deck vs. Paul Koury.
We recommend that you use our Bid Questionaire/Checklist list that we developed. This will allow you to interview each contractor and get the answers that will help you understand the different deck coatings you might be presented with. Use the following links to learn more about how to maintain you deck coatings.
- Maintenance Instructions for Life Deck
- Maintenance Instructions for Pli-Dek
- Maintenance Instructions for Mer-Kote Shurdeck
- Maintenance Instructions for Desert Crete
- Maintenance Instructions for Excellent Coatings
- Maintenance Instructions for Westcoat Specialty Coatings
Read More About Other Deck Coating Types
LINK TO ALL DIVISION 7 TRAFFIC COATINGS/DECK COATINGS EVALUATION REPORTS
