LVMC Decks has outlined how published code evaluation standards inform its review of composite decking products, pointing property owners toward documentation that exists independently of manufacturer literature.
Composite deck boards and railing systems are evaluated against ASTM D7032, the standard specification that establishes performance ratings for wood-plastic composite and plastic lumber deck boards, stair treads, guards and handrails. Completion of the applicable tests in that standard is intended to form the basis for code recognition of these products in exterior applications.
The testing is administered through ICC Evaluation Service acceptance criteria AC174, which was developed to evaluate compliance with the International Building Code and the International Residential Code. Products that pass are issued published evaluation reports, each carrying a report number that any party can look up.
"The report exists whether or not anybody reads it, and most homeowners have never been told it exists," said Norm Boell, co-founder of LVMC Decks. "It is a public document with a number on it. That is a different kind of information than a brochure."
The standard covers both material and structural testing. Structural evaluation addresses bending strength, deflection, creep behavior under sustained load, and fastener retention. Failure to satisfy any applicable criterion disqualifies a product from structural applications until the deficiency is corrected.
The specification is written to accommodate a wide range of formulations. Wood-plastic composites and plastic lumber are produced in many fiber and resin combinations, and the boards covered by the standard may take any code-compliant shape or thickness, whether solid or non-solid. The performance requirements are structured to apply regardless of what a given product is made from, which is what allows results from different manufacturers to be read against a common reference.
One characteristic sits outside that scope. Published evaluation reports note where deck boards comply with ASTM D7032 with the exception of slip resistance, which AC174 does not require. Property owners weighing surfaces for a pool deck, a spa surround or a shaded area that stays damp are therefore considering a property the code recognition pathway does not address, which is a distinction rarely surfaced during material selection.
Evaluation reports also carry information with direct consequences for construction. Reported span ratings govern how joists can be spaced beneath a given board, and those figures vary between products. A surface material chosen late in a project can require framing that has already been built to a different specification.
Creep testing addresses a related question that is difficult to observe at the point of purchase. Because it measures how a material behaves under sustained load over time rather than under a single applied force, it speaks to long-term stability in a way a showroom sample cannot demonstrate.
That sequencing is why the company reviews material documentation during its design phase, which includes three-dimensional modeling and two-dimensional floor plans produced before construction begins. Resolving framing and surface material together avoids reworking one to accommodate the other.
Regional conditions supply a further variable the reports do not resolve on their own. Freeze-thaw cycling, summer humidity and snow load at Pocono elevations all bear on how a structure is framed, and the company builds across terrain ranging from the rolling and often sloped ground of Northampton County to the rockier, more mountainous parcels of Monroe County.
Foundation systems are selected against those same conditions. The company installs helical piles, American Groundscrew ground screws and traditional concrete footings, with the choice driven by what a particular site allows rather than by a single default approach.
The company installs decking in wood, hardwood, composite and PVC, along with railing, framing, lighting, skirting and underdeck systems, with the surface material selected against the conditions of each site.
Evaluation reports for individual products are published by ICC Evaluation Service and can be searched by report number or manufacturer. ASTM maintains the D7032 specification itself. Property owners can review either source directly when comparing products.
Norm Boell founded the company with his son Blaize Boell in December 2013. The business operates from Nazareth in Northampton County and East Stroudsburg in Monroe County, serving the Lehigh Valley and the Pocono Mountains.
LVMC Decks is a family owned and operated deck and outdoor living builder. The company designs and builds custom decks, porches, patios, pergolas and outdoor living structures for residential and commercial properties.
###
For more information about LVMC Decks, contact the company here:
LVMC Decks - Nazareth
Norman Boell
+12677628717
kowdecks@gmail.com
138 N New St, Nazareth, PA 18064, United States