As a longtime building material distributor, Steve Rhone figured he was familiar with most types of decking on the market. But he was so impressed with one versatile new product that he not only used it for his own deck, he agreed to distribute it to his customers. Rhone, the president of Weston Forest Products in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, lives in a 20-year-old custom home about 45 minutes north of Toronto. It had a large wood-plastic composite deck off the back, terraced into three sections at different levels. “The original owner of the house was behind one of the first composite decking companies, and he used their product mix,” Rhone says. “It was a real showpiece, extending all around the backyard. It had a three-tiered, angled-patterned deck that looked beautiful, but functionally it was not as great. And after 19 years in the field, it was starting to look pretty tired.” He and his wife considered resurfacing the old structure, but ultimately opted for a new design. After researching a number of builders, they settled on The Deck Store, Oakville, Ontario. Among the wares on display at the installer/retailer’s showroom was a unique product that was produced locally by Tiva Building Products and just sneaking into the market. Rhone recalls, “We were looking for something that was very durable, and fade and crack resistant—something that wasn’t going to be guilty of the shortcomings of the earlier product. My wife picked out three different pieces—and all three were Tiva products.” Most composite makers now offer a capstock line, covering their WPC core with an all-plastic outer layer. Tiva has gone one better—capping its PVC core with ASA (acrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile), a tough, rigid plastic known for its heat resistance, color retention, and weatherability. Tiva’s originators, Rhone explains, “went looking for a proven technology,

Monarch Technologies is launching MonaDeck, a patent-pending new line of ultra-durable composite decking developed for the residential market. Resembling century-old barnwood, planks are Class-A fire-rated and produced in 12” widths—an industry first. The decking incorporates a proprietary bio-based resin to bind recycled FSC-certified wood fiber and bamboo fiber in a sustainable composite with a hardness rating that rivals ipe. For additional information visit MONARCHTECHNOLOGIESLLC.COM or call (253) 507-4622.