Photo: Warren Builders, LLCCAMO Edge Fastening System was recently selected by Warren Builders, LLC for virtually all of its future deck building. Warren’s crews use the CAMO Marksman Pro system almost exclusively to attach deck boards.
Charles “Chris” Warren says that he no longer uses redwood, treated wood or cedar because of what he’s seen in his 30 years of experience.
“We tell customers on a budget to go with a lower cost composite, anything but wood,” he said, which requires going back to sand and seal. “It’s all about avoiding callbacks and lowering homeowner maintenance.”
The company uses composites such as TimberTech, AZEK and Trex; these work well with the CAMO Marksman Pro.
“With the new wave of composites and pvcs, no one screws deck boards the old-fashioned way anymore,” he said. “Expectations for aesthetics are very high now—no one wants to see dated deck screws on the surface.”
He also added that the edge-fastened decks do not allow water seepage into exposed openings around the face-screws. According to Warren, the boards are more stable because both sides are fastened to the joist, and they are safer for bare feet with no raised screw heads.
CAMO says that with the Marksman Pro, CAMO Edge Deck Screws are easily delivered into the edge of solid or grooved deck boards, which ensures fast installation. Proprietary deck screws are loaded into the hand-held guides and are driven into the edge of the deck boards to provide automatic gapping. Included with the screws are special driver bits that the company says ensure depth of drive.
“With CAMO, even if the joists are a bit uneven, someone can put their weight on the board and then we edge fasten it,” said Warren. “It uses a real screw so it holds tight and is faster than anything on the market.”
Syngenta offers new Field Insights blog
Syngenta has recently created the new GreenCast Field Insights blog, which provides updates on various topics across the landscape, turf and ornamental markets, such as current pest issues and recommended control solutions.
“Syngenta has one of the largest sales teams in the field who are helping our customers solve problems every day,” said Tripp Trotter, head of marketing for turf and ornamentals at Syngenta. “We hope the new Field Insights blog will be a valuable resource for making their extensive knowledge easily accessible, while creating awareness of real-time updates and solutions from a source they can trust.”
Syngenta experts from across the country will be available via the blog to offer timely updates on what they see in the field. Karl Danneberger, a Ph.D. professor in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at Ohio State University, will also be an academic resource for the blog. Extensively researching turfgrass science for more than 30 years allows Danneberger to provide insight on a variety of agronomic topics.
Syngenta believes that the blog will prove a valuable resource to help superintendents, greenhouse and nursery owners and lawn care operators understand what’s happening in their area.
The blog offers technical recommendations and agronomic advice and additionally covers topics on creating and building a following for a blog.
Toro and Virginia Tech partner for GPS sprayer technology research
The unit will be delivered to the Virginia Turfgrass Research Classic. This event will take place on May 22 at The Country Club of Virginia and will include a golf tournament to raise funds for turfgrass research, as well as a field day where guests are encouraged to visit turfgrass plots set up by Virginia Tech researchers. Toro’s Multi Pro 5800 with GeoLink will be on display.
“Access to the Multi Pro 5800 with GeoLink will be a substantial help in furthering our understanding of GPS technology as it pertains to turf care,” said David McCall, assistant professor at Virginia Tech. “With support from manufacturers like Toro, we are able to conduct leading-edge research with the latest technologies to in turn provide impactful information to the industry.”
Toro’s Center for Advanced Turf Technology (CATT) and Virginia Tech will share in the research findings at the end of the research period, which will take approximately two years.
“We wholeheartedly believe in investing in research that will benefit the turf industry in the future,” said Josh Friell, senior principal research scientist at Toro. “Innovation is one of our core principles, and we support the great research the Virginia Tech team will be working on for the next two years, and beyond.”
To develop the GeoLink precision spray system, Toro partnered with Topcon Positioning Systems, which they say delivers a spraying solution that minimizes overspray and ultimately saves on chemical costs.
To maximize accuracy, the system is available in both Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) correction system configurations. Toro says that when using the RTK system, the GPS sprayer is accurate and repeatable to within 1cm of set parameters.
The initial setup and delivery of the unit will be provided by Smith Turf & Irrigation’s regional distribution facility in Richmond, Virginia, and will work with both Virginia Tech and Toro to support the ongoing equipment maintenance needs of the Toro Multi Pro 5800 with GeoLink.
