Wood Vs Composite Decking

Should You Get Wood Or Composite Decking?

Unlike real wood, you can’t simply change the color by picking from a large selection of stains. For some homeowners with a clear vision of how they want their deck to look, this could be a deal-breaker.

Is Composite Decking Cheaper Than Wood Decking?

What's The Right Choice For Your Deck?

Because a deck is a long-term investment and you will be enjoying it for decades to come, it's important to understand your choice of materials before starting your building project. While all-wood decking will eventually splinter, composite decking is made with small wood fibers encased in plastic, so it won’t splinter.

• Therefore, this type of material is also known as WPC – wood polymer composite.
• The rest of it is reserved for compounds, such as polyethylene, UV-stabilisers, pigments and so on.
• In this article we’ll take look at composite decking vs. wood to help you save time and money and make the best decision.
• Composite decking vs. wood, which is better for your deck project?
• There are pros and cons to both materials and plenty of options to choose from at the home improvement store.

What’s more, patio slabs are prone to cracking outright, which means a complete replacement. Vinyl might also be a good choice for low maintenance decking, as again, it’s not going to need the treatments and coatings that you’d expect to give a few planks of wood. For example, vinyl is at risk of getting pretty hot in the sun, can get scorching underfoot, and it’s at real risk of cracking and splintering apart.

Share your experiences in the Comments below, like this story, save your favourite images and join the conversation. Unlike the plastic-wood composites, fibre-cement decking does need to be sealed with either a good-quality water-based paving paint or a penetrating sealer. “Design-wise it’s really flexible, because you can paint it any colour you like or it can be stained to look like timber,” says Whymark. Finished with a clear sealer, it will look like polished concrete.

TimberTech has engineered certain formulations of their composite decking products to minimize heat build-up, so they’re cooler under your feet. If you are building a deck that will be in direct sunlight all day you may want to choose a lighter composite finish so that it won’t absorb as much of the sun’s heat. I have been looking into upgrading to composite decking and feel like it might be the right choice for us. Our deck is made of wood and has not held up well over time. There are boards that are rotting and we will definitely have to replace it within the next year. Your composite deck may not warp, but it can sag and buckle. Most sagging is caused by improper spacing between the joists when it is installed.

You should also plan to stain or paint your deck every other year, and you may need to pressure-wash it annually. Composite, on the other hand, doesn't require sanding, sealing, staining, or painting at all. All you really need to do is give it a thorough clean every year or two. The sad thing regarding this decking install , is that you never should have had to drill the product full of holes for drainage. compromising the structure never should have been in the works. In the future I hope you will consider a real wood product vs synthetic/composite.

You can put this material in direct sunlight or shade and not experience any warping or rotting. Wood has a lower starting cost, but in the long run, it’ll cost a lot more money than composite decking.

Now, Lets Talk About Composite Decking:

Produced by Seattle Times Marketing - Seattle Times

Consider materials and design try here before starting a deck try this website project her response

The cost factor and maintenance efforts put into both types of decking. Let me know how you liked working with it and make sure to check out the TimberTech website to see all their products. The particles in the composite wood are tightly combined and it won’t warp, so termites are not able to enter into the composite wood deck boards.

Composite Fencing

Plenty of decking packs and raw materials are perfectly easy to work with on the whole. Therefore, you could save yourself hundreds by just picking up the tools and materials yourself and looking into a cheap online guide. Therefore, if you do want to treat your wood decking – I’m going to sound harsh here – do it yourself. There’s a lot of talk around as to whether or not treatment chemicals are harmful, too.