Composite Decking Compared to Wood Decking

Depending on what part of the country you live in, you might be surprised to learn that treated lumber is still the number one product used for decking. I live in Colorado so the only thing we use treated lumber for is the frame. Treated lumber has been the old stand-by when it comes to decking for many reasons. Treated wood is very cost effective and depending on what region you are in, it stands up to the the elements very well. The one drawback of treated lumber is that it's ugly, it has no character, it's just "wood on a deck". Cedar and redwood are still used for decking material and used quite a bit. Cedar and redwood are beautiful woods and have character, they are for the most part cost effective but need a lot of maintenance over the years. Then there is composite decking which is relatively new to the world of decking. In this article I will use the term composite decking for all the synthetic material, wood, plastic, PVC, manure, you name it and a decking material has probably been made out of it.

Since treated lumber is very common and you can go to any major home improvement store to see it, I will skip the dissertation on it, simply go to a store and look at it, it's not a very in-depth product. I will skip to cedar and redwood, first cedar. Cedar is a wonderful product for many different uses with decking included. Cedar is a natural repellent for bugs and mold so it suits decking just fine. You can stain it with a color stain or simply put a clear coat on it to make it a more natural look. Cedar is a product that will need to be maintained relatively often if you want it to keep it's natural beauty. When I say maintained I mean that it requires a complete overhaul about every 3-5 years. It needs to be sanded, cleaned and re-stained which is quite a bit of work. Redwood basically follows the same guidelines with the maintenance. Redwood has been used for many years as decking just because it is so beautiful, and like cedar it's naturally resistant to insect decay and rot. If you ask me, there is no better decking product than redwood, now I say that with a bit of resistance because I have two composite decks on my house right now. You have to be committed to putting a wood deck down, but the hard work will pay off with the most beautiful deck in the neighborhood. The thing with redwood is the different grades, the most common is deck common and deck heart, then you get into the B grades which are extremely nice and extremely expensive. In my opinion you don't want to use anything less than deck heart.

Now we move on to the ever confusing world of composite decking, I work in the wholesale distribution of lumber products and I will even tell you that it's easy to be confused about composite decking. There are a few things you need to know before we even get into the actual products that are out there. The first thing is, does the composite decking use recycled plastic or virgin (new) plastic. Let me tell you that all major manufactures of composite decking are considered green companies, which means the environment is a major part of how they do business. I tell you this because some deck manufactures use the ploy that they use recycled plastic. There is a give-and-take when it comes to building products and "going green" needs to be considered in several ways, don't just look at the fact the recycled plastic is used. Recycled plastic in a composite decking will actually cause the deck to break down much faster than those made with virgin plastic. The next thing you have to look at is what type of wood fiber is being put into the deck mixture. You want to look for high quality wood like maple, those decks made with pine fiber will break down much faster.

OK, let's talk about some specific products, we have to start with Trex because they are the number one composite decking manufacturer in the country. They are number one because they spend millions of dollars at marketing each year. In my opinion, they don't have a very good product, I've seen Trex decking turn to almost dust in a few years span. Trex is not a horrible product by any means but if I was buying a composite deck, Trex would not be at the top of my list. Trex uses recycled plastic which is their biggest downfall in my opinion. Next I have to go to TimberTech, this is one of my favorite decking products out on the market today. They have a solid product and several different lines to choose from. TimberTech is a little spendy but in a straight composite decking (wood and plastic mix) this is the best out there. With my experience they do have a little trouble in the customer support department but it is rare that you would ever need to go there with TimberTech. Fiberon is the next decking that comes to mind and they do have a good product. They do use virgin plastic and a maple wood fiber. They also have a few different lines to choose from and their tropics line is outstanding. I recently put some tropics jatoba down on my back deck and it looks amazing, in fact several people have asked how I could afford IPE, which is an exotic hardwood that I will get into later. Fiberon recently bought the Louisiana Pacific decking called Weatherbest which is no longer called Weatherbest anymore. If you come across any Weatherbest decking out there for a great deal, run, and run very fast. They have billions of dollars of claims out right now against them for faulty manufacturing. Finally, there is IPE, Cumaru, Tiger Wood, Brazilian Redwood and so on. These are great products for decking, absolutely decay and insect resistant and they look amazing. There are two problems with these hardwoods and one is the cost, if you have $20,000 to spend on a deck than go with one of these, you won't be sorry. The other drawback is that they are extremely hard to install, not in the mental aspect but in the labor aspect. They are very hard on equipment and you have to pre-drill every hole before screwing it down. If you can afford it, do it!

So, it really comes down to personal preference, wood or composite? Do you want to maintain a deck or not? Let me tell you something, the only reason composite decking claims to be maintenance free is because once it goes to hell, there is nothing you can do about it. You can expect a high quality composite deck to last about 15 years before you notice that, "man, this deck isn't looking so hot". With a well maintained wood deck you can get about 25 years before the wood is so beat up that maintenance is not even an option. After these time frames you will have spent about the same amount of money on the deck. The up front cost of the composite is higher but the long term maintenance fees along with your time add up over the years to equal about the same amount of money. I know it's probably not what you want to hear but, go with what you like. The look of the deck is what's important right? Don't make it too complicated, go with a big name manufacturer or with a high quality cedar or redwood and you can't go wrong, it's all up to you, SORRY!