Materials / September 2026
Alumawood or wood: which patio cover survives a Las Vegas summer
Wood looks like wood on day one. Here is what the desert does to it by year three, and what each one costs you in weekends.
The honest case for wood.
A cedar or redwood cover is beautiful when it is new, and a skilled carpenter can build one in any shape. If you enjoy staining a structure every year or two and you want something a standard aluminum profile cannot do, wood is a reasonable choice.
What the valley does to wood.
Months of sun above 100 degrees, humidity in single digits, then a monsoon downpour, then more sun. Wood dries out, checks and twists; the finish chalks in one season; fasteners loosen as the beams move. A wood cover here needs restaining every year or two to look like the day it went up, and even then the joinery walks.
What Alumawood is.
Alumawood is extruded aluminum with a wood-grain texture and a baked-on finish. The color is part of the coating rather than a coat on top, so there is nothing to peel. It does not rust, warp, split or attract termites. From a few feet away it reads as painted wood; it simply does not change.
Where each one wins.
- Appearance on day one: wood, narrowly
- Appearance in year three: Alumawood, and it is not close here
- Maintenance: Alumawood, by every weekend you keep
- Fans and lights: either, though Alumawood's solid roof makes it simpler
- Unusual shapes: wood
- Warranty: Alumawood carries our lifetime warranty on labor and materials; a wood cover's finish does not
If you want the wood look without the wood.
Knotwood is aluminum with a sublimated wood-grain finish that goes further than Alumawood's texture: oak, cedar and walnut tones with visible grain. It costs more than Alumawood, and it is the answer for a Summerlin or Henderson home where a plain aluminum cover would look too light against the stone.
Get a free patio cover or gutter estimate.
Tell us what you have in mind and where in the valley. We will call to set a time, measure the space, and give you a written price.
- We call to book a visit at a time that suits you.
- We measure, talk through styles and colors, and answer your questions.
- You get a written estimate. No pressure, no obligation.