Decked Out Construction Details Deck Material Response to Summer Heat

LAKEVILLE, MN – September 02, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

Decked Out Construction has released guidance on how decking materials respond to sustained summer heat, following a stretch of record-adjacent temperatures across Minnesota in July 2026.

According to the National Weather Service Twin Cities office, the metro recorded ten consecutive days at or above 90 degrees during July 2026, tying for the third-longest such streak on record. The Twin Cities also reached 100 degrees on July 27, the first reading at that level since 2022. Data published by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Drought Monitor showed corresponding declines in regional surface soil moisture across the same period, with much of the metro moving into moderate to severe drought classification through late July.

Decking materials respond to those conditions according to their composition. Composite boards, which combine wood fiber with polymer, generally show less dimensional movement in response to changing moisture than solid wood does. PVC boards contain no wood fiber and are correspondingly resistant to moisture-driven movement. Surface temperature under prolonged direct sun is a separate consideration that applies to both categories, and it varies with color, orientation and the amount of cover a deck receives.

“Heat and sun exposure separate decking materials more clearly than winter conditions do,” said Christoph Tisdale, Co-Owner of Decked Out Construction. “A board that performs one way on a shaded north-facing deck can perform differently on a west-facing deck with no cover. That difference is worth understanding before a material is selected rather than after the deck is finished.”

The performance characteristics relevant to these products are addressed in ASTM D7032, the standard specification covering wood-plastic composite and plastic decking boards, which includes testing provisions for moisture effects, thermal behavior and freeze-thaw resistance. Manufacturers publish technical documentation for individual product lines describing performance under specified conditions, and those documents are the appropriate reference point for any particular board rather than category-level generalizations.

Conditions below the surface also change during extended dry periods. Soil moisture content affects the ground surrounding a deck’s foundation, and the annual cycle from saturated spring conditions through summer drying and back again is one of the factors that governs how a substructure is specified. The framing beneath a deck can be built in pressure-treated lumber, kiln-dried after treatment lumber, or steel, and the selection is made against both the decking material above it and the conditions at the site.

Sun exposure varies considerably from one property to the next, and in parts of the south metro it has changed measurably in recent years. The City of Lakeville has documented a citywide emerald ash borer infestation since the pest was detected there in October 2017, and has conducted phased removals of ash trees on public property since 2019. City forestry records place total canopy cover at approximately 27 percent, with more than 150,000 trees growing in maintained areas of public and private property. Where mature trees have been removed, outdoor spaces that previously received filtered afternoon light may now receive several additional hours of direct sun.

“Shade is part of the site conditions, the same as grade or drainage,” said Cooper Soulak, Co-Owner of Decked Out Construction. “When it changes, the design inputs change with it. Built shade stops being a stylistic question at that point and becomes a functional one.”

Structures that provide cover address that condition directly. A pergola breaks up direct overhead sun while leaving a space open to the sky, and a covered porch encloses the area beneath a roof, which changes both what the space can be used for and how it is constructed. A roof carries load that an open deck does not, which makes a porch a structural undertaking rather than a surface one.

Summer heat represents one portion of the annual conditions that decking encounters in Minnesota. Seasonal moisture, sustained freezing temperatures, snow load and repeated freeze-thaw cycling apply across the remainder of the year, and a material chosen against a single season may perform differently across the full cycle. Selection made against the complete annual range, together with the site’s orientation, exposure and intended use, produces a more durable result than selection made during the season in which the decision happens to be taken.

Decked Out Construction is a licensed, locally owned deck and outdoor living builder serving the Twin Cities south metro from Lakeville, Minnesota. The company was founded by Christoph Tisdale and Cooper Soulak and builds custom decks, porches, pergolas and outdoor living spaces for residential and commercial properties. It installs composite and PVC decking from manufacturers including Trex, TimberTech by AZEK and Deckorators.

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For more information about Decked Out Construction, contact the company here:

Decked Out Construction
Cooper & Christoph Decked Out Construction
+16122381858
getdeckedoutconstruction@gmail.com
20730 Holyoke Ave Suite 146, Lakeville, MN 55044, United States