June is
here, and, with it, weather perfect for celebrating the home’s
connection to Hawaii’s greatest resource: nature. Whether you call the
link between indoors and outdoors a porch, patio, piazza, veranda,
stoop, deck or good old-fashioned lanai, the time is ripe for
maintaining, renewing or adding those glorious square feet of
unadulterated leisure space nestled beside your home. Here’s how to
make the most of the time outdoors.
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| Eon,
an alternative decking system composed of 100-percent plastic,
dramatically reduces the need for wood. Available in six rich, natural
colors, with a wood grain finish, from Wayne’s Lumber. Photo courtesy of Eon. |
Revolutionary Plastics & Creative Concrete
If
you want the look of perpetually new wood without having to resort to
staining, then synthetic decking products are for you. “Plastic is more
expensive initially to put down, but you save money in the long term,”
says Wayne Rapoza, of Wayne’s Lumber. For outdoor projects, he
recommends the 100-percent plastic Eon product. Backed up by a 25-year
warranty, Eon offers the look of wood with the convenience of a surface
that is nonporous as well as heat and slip resistant. “It looks smooth,
but if you look closely at the Eon, you can see that it has grooves.
I’ve had a scientist with a meter come out and tell me it’s one of the
best nonslip surfaces he’s seen,” says Rapoza. With plenty of traction,
heat resistance and no splinters, synthetics are likely the most
barefoot-friendly deck material on the market. Eon is available in
cedar, redwood and grey tones, and, by virtue of its clip fastener
system, no screws are driven through, resulting in a clean, smooth
surface appearance.
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| Lava-rock
veneers, from Big Rock Manufacturing, set into the ground are the
perfect landing space for chaise lounges. Big Rock is one of Oahu’s
premier suppliers of rock veneers and faux-rock outdoor accents. Photo courtesy of Brooks & Brooks Construction, which completed this project. Photo by David Franzen. |
Though
concrete has always been the foundation of choice for lanai, new
advanced technologies and techniques have made it one of the most
versatile outdoor materials. Russ Inouye, of Inouye Designs, combines
stamping techniques for texture and acid staining for color to turn a
half-inch overlay of concrete into, well, anything you can imagine.
“Almost everywhere in Vegas—the resorts like Caesar’s and the
Venetian—are all stamped concrete,” says Inouye. “You can really do
what you want to do with it.”
According
to Randall Chung, of Super-Krete of Hawaii, if you want low-maintenance
and durability at an affordable price, concrete is hard to beat. Chung
credits the tolerance of Super-Krete’s decorative stone overlay to the
involved process of chemicals and sealants applied to the substrate.
These treatments deter vapor emissions that eventually cause damaging
delamination. The result? A stone-looking concrete with greater
longevity and less demand for care. “It looks like real stone, for a
fraction of the cost of actually putting in and maintaining stone,”
Chung says.
Jamie
McGuire, CEO of Lokahi Stone, points out the convenience of imprinting
concrete instead of topping it with expensive materials. “For a new
lanai, you’re pouring concrete anyway to put a material, such as tile,
on top. With us, you’re gaining schedule, because we’re already
there—we print as it’s poured.” While native flora and fauna are
popular imprint patterns, the possibilities are limitless. Says
McGuire, “Our motto is ‘solidify the shape of your imagination with
concrete.’”
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| Futura Stone’s interlocking pavers are available in a range of colors, including red and gray (inset). |
Futura
Stone’s interlocking pavers are another innovative product, and are
specified to meet 8,000 pounds per square inch (PSI)—denser than brick
and harder than traditional concrete. Available in different sizes and
natural colors, the pavers are assembled like a jigsaw puzzle. Next,
the mortarless, dual-direction, compaction installation system locks
them into place and ensures durability. “Once you put it in, you never
have to worry about it again, short of an earthquake,” says Lorene
Mitsunaga. Unlike other concrete applications, with pavers you only
have to break a single piece to unlock the system and lift it out for
easy access to underlying utilities. Replace a single paver and your
deck or lanai is as good as new.
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| Climatrol Hawaii’s screen enclosures are perfect for any outdoor area, including second-story lanai, as shown. |
And
once your deck or lanai material is chosen, there’s always the option
of adding screens to protect against the elements and pests. Tom
Bellman, of Climatrol Hawaii, offers the next generation of aluminum
screen enclosures. Unlike other deck projects, there’s no delay to your
outdoor gratification. “All jobs are in and out in one day—no deposits,
no hassles,” assures Bellman.
A
big reason for Climatrol’s success is the quality of its product, which
features waterproof screens and an innovative flat spline, the black
piping that is put into the frame to keep the screen secure, developed
in Florida to combat hurricane winds. “With a flat spline, the screen
is locked in and doesn’t come loose. We haven’t replaced a single
screen in five years,” Bellman says. With Climatrol screens, he adds,
“You can literally live on your patio.”
Now that summer is here, that doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.
No Gripe with Ipe
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| Ironwood, or ipe, from Pacific American Lumber. |
Wood
is the material for your deck if there are weight-bearing issues with
heavier materials, or if you want a softer, natural element. “Wood is a
lot more forgiving than stone, which can become really slippery when
wet,” says Keahi Meyers, of Pacific American Lumber.
While
yesteryear’s woods of choice for decks in Hawaii, such as redwood and
cedar, diminish in popularity, the South American ironwood, or ipe, is
approaching supremacy. Other woods face pest- and climate-based
assaults on their longevity in Hawaii, but ipe is known for its ability
to endure.
“It’s
durable, it weathers really well, and termites don’t like it, because
it’s very hard,” says Meyers. Unless protected every 12 to 18 months to
preserve its natural, dark-chocolate-brown color, unfinished ironwood
will age to a silver-grey color reminiscent of aged teak.
Stone Age or Seal?
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| Travertine in golden hues named Dorado, Yurac and Crater Piano Oro, courtesy of Andean Stone. |
Proponents
of stone lanai are divided on the necessity of maintenance, with some
emphasizing the characteristic signs of aging as part of stone’s
natural beauty. In an Old-World location like Europe, aged stone is the
norm. “Why not enhance your deck with the decorative beauty of Mother
Earth’s prehistoric mud or rock?” asks Marc Haine, of The Floor Store.
But
many American consumers prefer their piece of Mother Earth to retain
its brand-new look. The combination of proper installation and the
sealant maximizes the life of a natural stone lanai by controlling the
penetration of moisture and chemicals. “You can’t just put stone over a
crack. In fact, lots of companies put down chemical membranes that keep
the crack from coming through,” points out Edward Lewis, of Integrity
Tile & Stone. Adds Brian O’Shea, of Andean Stone, “I’m a big
advocate of sealant, because I’ve never had a failure and I’ve never
had a negative chemical reaction.” Pat James, of Hawaii Granite, sums
it up best: “Installed and maintained properly, natural stone will
outlast the life of the customer.”
That’s
certainly true of travertine, a durable, worldwide favorite that is
gaining popularity in high-end Island homes. “It’s what you see in
courtyards in Paris or in Spain that have been there for 500 years,”
says Layla Dedrick, of Bella Pietra, A Natural Stone Design Center.
Travertine’s resilience is due to its hardness; “Peruvian travertine
generally has an 11,000 to 15,000 PSI rating,” points out Lewis. “Slate
or quartzite have the ability to fail; travertine will not fail,” adds
O’Shea.
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| Integrity Tile & Stone’s mosaic pattern creeps from the lanai like lava. |
According
to Dedrick, outdoor settings call for travertine to be brushed with
aluminum bristles to increase slip resistance. Plus, texture adds a
worn, rustic look.
Granite
is another hard stone famous for aging well, although, similarly, “in
outdoor settings you’ll want to use flamed or sand-blasted granite,”
recommends James. And don’t forget the all-important granite and
travertine details, says Kevin Nip, of Marblehaus Hawaii: “These stones
are also offered in smaller-size, tumbled mosaics for complementary
borders, accents and trims.”
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| Futura Stone’s namesake product deftly creates a poolside deck. |
According
to the experts, quartzite is one of the most popular stones for outdoor
use, thanks to its low cost, variety of earthy colors and suitability
for lanai conditions. “Quartzite is naturally rough, not slippery,”
says Vini Freitas, of Marmol HI Natural Stones. While quartzite doesn’t
measure up against the durability of costly travertine or granite,
“it’s twice as hard as slate,” says James, and much less slippery when
wet, “due to its natural roughness,” adds Lorene Mitsunaga, of Futura
Stone.
In
addition, there are a number of quartzite products that are gauged and
mesh-mounted, a feature noted by James for easing transitions from one
building material to the next by normalizing thickness. Gauged stone
products also take the headache out of installation, says Nip:
“the grout joints have been established for the do-it-yourself
homeowner. And because of the consistent thickness, the quartzite can
be applied with a thin set cement,” designed to adhere well in a thin
layer applied to the substrate. The simplicity of application,
according to Nip, makes this method “great for retrofit and renovation
projects.”
Flagstone,
the familiar layout of quartz or slate pieces in random sizes, is used
to provide a more natural look. “[The installation] has to be hard and
tight, otherwise, when you have a party of 20 people on your lanai,
your grout will crack,” advises Haine. Combining products helps to
alleviate some of the difficulties with flagging. Haine says, “You can
do random slate inside a picture frame of square slate tiles; it’s nice
to go with the rectangle or square, because you’re running into a lot
of posts—you’ll see a lot of grout in those areas if you stick with
randoms.”
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| Left:
Floral stone mosaic from Marblehaus Hawaii. Center: Pink, rainbow and
sage green quartzite from Marmol HI. Right: Slate, broken to be used in
flagstone designs, from The Floor Store. |
Another
versatile material is Futura Stone’s namesake product. Composed of
river rock mixed with epoxy that is troweled by hand over an existing
hard surface, Futura Stone lends itself to custom designs and colors.
Porous by design, the surface must be re-glazed every three to five
years. “Water goes through it, then drains away according to the
drainage underneath,” says Mitsunaga. “It was originally designed for
pool decks, because it eliminates puddling.” Its affordability and long
lifespan—20 to 30 years—has made Futura Stone popular for virtually
every other outdoor surface, too.
