What is KDAT Framing?

Green Shield believes a lifetime guarantee is only as strong as the wood beneath the surface. While most builders use standard pressure-treated lumber, Green Shield uses Kiln Dried After Treatment (KDAT) wood as the foundation for every build.

The KDAT Difference:

• Engineered Stability: Unlike "wet" lumber that warps as it dries in the sun, KDAT wood is oven-dried to extract moisture. This creates a stable frame that prevents the "waviness" often seen in poorly installed composite decks.
• Hardworking Backbone: Our team treats KDAT lumber in small batches to ensure consistent protection throughout the board, not just on the surface.
• Modern Integration: Green Shield is now introducing gray-stained KDAT framing to Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. This allows homeowners to match gray decking aesthetics without the added expense of post wraps.

By choosing premier materials and advanced drying techniques, Green Shield ensures a deck looks as good as it performs. This commitment to structural integrity is why Green Shield stands behind every build with an industry-leading lifetime warranty. We don't just build decks; we build a reliably engineered reality.

Hi. My name is Adam, founder and CEO of Green Shield Deck Builders. One thing that Green Shield's been known for for many years is how good our framing looks. We call this KDAT, and that's just the kiln dried after treatment as an acronym. The reason we use this, this is sustainably forested, and then it's treated in the United States of America in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. What they do is they treat it in small batches so that way they can get near a hundred percent penetration of the softwood. This allows us again to get to that lifetime warranty that Green Shield's known for. After it's treated, instead of just shipping it out, it's first inspected for quality, and then if it's good, it's gonna go into a kiln. This is a giant oven. They actually extract the moisture out of the board, and that gives us a much more stable product. If you look at most framing lumber out there after it's installed, it'll Typically with a wood deck, it's not that big of a deal because the top boards kinda cover it up. With composite, has a high amount of deflection. You can see waviness in the decking. So it's really important that we've got a composite going on a stable frame. So KDAT is really, really great for that. We're super excited to announce our new gray KDAT framing. The gray KDAT framing is giving customers a second option on their framing. So no longer do you have to pay for post wraps when you have a gray deck. You can just switch over to the gray framing, and what you're what you now have is a pre stained framing that looks great forever. So we're really passionate about KDAT and shipping them to our decks that are being built in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and we're we're really excited and and confident that this is the best value framing solution on the market today.