Materials / September 2026
Alumawood or wood: which patio cover lasts in Orange County
Wood looks like wood on day one. Here is what inland sun and coastal damp do to it by year five, 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 couple of years and you want something a standard aluminum profile cannot do, wood is a reasonable choice.
What the county does to wood.
Two different things, depending on where you live. Inland, in Yorba Linda or Santa Ana, it is the sun: the finish fades, the beams check and twist, and the termites arrive. Near the coast it is the damp: the marine layer sits on the cover every morning, the salt air works on every fastener, and the finish goes grey. Either way, a wood cover needs restaining every two or three years to look like the day it went up, and even then the joinery moves.
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 five: Alumawood
- Maintenance: Alumawood, by every weekend you keep
- Salt air: Alumawood, and it is not close
- 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 Newport or Irvine 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 county. 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.