She continued, “We were looking to domestically source a hardwood material that was not only natural and chemical-free, but something that could withstand the outside elements.”

“We had seen a lot of outdoor use of Thermally Modified Wood (TMW) products in Europe, so we knew this was a material that could work well for the decking on our breezeway,” commented John Hester, NHLA’s Director of Membership. “We knew one of our members, Bingaman & Son Lumber Company in Pennsylvania, is one of the best in the business in producing TMW, so we reached out in the hopes of securing an appropriate supply of their Americana™ Thermally Modified Real Wood product for the replacement deck and railing system.”

The NHLA selected JJ Deluca Construction of Cordova, TN, to both remove the old structure and install the new breezeway. While progress on the rebuild began early in 2020, it was delayed by nearly a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bingman & Son Lumber subsequently donated 1,500 sq ft of its Americana Thermally Modified oak decking, which arrived on site in July of this year. Construction of NHLA’s new breezeway was completed in early October.

“We are just blown away by the beauty of the wood,” said Hester, referring to the Americana oak decking and handrailing. Hornsby added, “It will be interesting to see how it holds up. We have a lot of heat and humidity here in Memphis, and we are going to try and keep it as brown as possible.” JJ Deluca Construction coated the Americana decking with a Cutek™ pigment finish to maintain the wood’s chocolate-brown color.

Installer: JJ Deluca Construction, Cordova, TN