TigerDeck® Tigerwood Decking-Porch/Panel-Siding Preparing for Install of ALL Tiger Deck products

ACCLIMATE and UV Oil Deck Boards
Prep and inspect TigerDeck® Tigerwood decking before you begin and acclimate your Deck boards, Porch, Panel, all Siding patterns, or any Tiger Deck brand tigerwood prior to installation. Like an interior floor, your TigerDeck® boards have been kiln dried to very low moisture content and it is designed to fit average climate conditions. Our recommended proceedure to Acclimate your Tiger Deck is to re-stack your deck boards with stickers or lath between each layer (your retailer can provide stickers or lath). Then lay plywood/OSB or even black plastic over the top layer only for rain/sun protection. A couple weeks will allow them to equalize to your local climate in most North American regions. However, the hotter and drier the climate the longer you should let them adjust. Refer to ‘Products’ then ‘Product Downloads’ then ‘Acclimating’ for expanded details for the essential process of acclimating. If you are planning to apply UV protection, we recommend applying the same UV protection to the back of the boards and sides as the deck surface. Safety Note: If you lay the boards upside down and laying out on the joist system to acclimate, DO NOT WALK ON THE LOOSE BOARDS.
Inspect Each Board & Trim Out Any of the Following Defects

Ends: Each deck board has 1/2” to 3” of excess length. Our mills do not trim to exact 2’ multiples.

Shake: Shake is break in the fibers of the wood caused by wind or other natural stresses while the tree is alive. After kiln drying and processing, shake appears as scalloped splits along the edge of a piece or as a ‘fish scale’ on the face. It is the main defect to look for and trim out, because it causes sharp edges that can give slivers when handled. TigerDeck® is otherwise very smooth and almost sliver free.

Crook or Warp: Crook is the result of natural stresses in the wood fiber. TigerDeck® products are kiln dried to 8% +/- 3% moisture content. At this moisture content most crook and warp that may have happened over time is complete. The decking application is a very harsh environment for wood. Moisture and heat gradients will cause the wood to try to move over time. Install TigerDeck® as soon as practical after acclimating. Proper and tight installation of our system greatly minimizes seasoning splits and other time related defects. The Bow Wrench will straighten most of the crook during installation. However, if there is still too much crook, trimming the board into shorter pieces allows utilization of the piece.

Knots and Holes: Very few knots and holes get by our graders but you may find some. They do not affect the structural integrity of the piece and may be left in or trimmed out for aesthetic reasons.

Color: TigerDeck® is tan/gold with black striping and accents. But each piece will be different and can run from an entirely light tan piece to one that is mostly black striping. We recommend that pieces be laid out before installation on the deck to match the color gradient effect desired. Exposure to the sun will even the colors to a rich reddish tan.

Oxidation: All wood/composite decking products and some ‘plastic/fiberglasspvc’ decking products will chemically react to any metal contact. Generally this chemical reaction shows up as ‘black stain’ or ‘black spots’. We recommend saving leftover TigerDeck® trim to use as ‘Coasters’ between the metal and the deck. Cable rail, aluminum balusters, iron railing, iron furniture, metal shavings, welding dust, and airborne industrial metal pollution will all eventually stain the wood/composite with direct wood contact without a physical barrier such as wood or spar varnish. In time, metal contact with any wood/composite deck material will Oxidize/Corrode regardless of what oil or water based UV Protector/Stain et al is used (or not). The only way to remove this chemical stain is sanding.

TigerDeck® is a very dense hardwood with amazing strength and durability properties when compared to other wood and composite decking products. TigerDeck® is a natural product and our graders and quality control attempt to ship a 100% usable product. We adhere to or exceed industry (West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau and Timber Products Inspection Bureau) standard maximum 5% off grade pieces per shipment to our customers.