Materials / September 2026
Alumawood or wood: which patio cover for a Bakersfield backyard
Wood looks like wood on day one. Here is what the two look like in year five, and what each 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 are building something a standard aluminum profile cannot do, wood is a reasonable choice.
What Bakersfield does to wood.
Our summers put a wood cover through months of sun above 100 degrees, then a wet winter. The finish fades, the beams check and twist, fasteners loosen, and termites find it. A wood cover here needs restaining every two to three years to stay looking 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
- 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 house where a plain aluminum cover would look too light.
Get a free patio cover or gutter estimate.
Tell us what you have in mind and where. 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 options and finishes, and answer your questions.
- You get a written estimate. No pressure, no obligation.