Is Composite Deck Worth It

It Requires More Maintenance Than A Patio

It’s not wood, so it shouldn’t be expanding and moving the same, right? It actually moves more AND more unexpectedly than wood decks. Some composite decking won’t move a bit and others have been found to shrink, swell, warp, twist, bow, and any other word you want to use in amounts unheard of, even with wood. Again, it seems completely random when this happens, but it happens often enough that you should know about it. It has been improving slowly over the years with the introduction of capped products and other upgrades, but still, the reports from consumers and contractors are not promising. Take a look at some of the websites where homeowners have posted their reviews, and you’ll read 1 and 2 star reviews all day long.

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There are a ton of benefits to this that we’ll dive into later in this post. Let’s look into how much a composite deck will cost you first. Trex decking looks fake – If you have not seen Trex decking in person you may think that it might not resemble real wood and will look like plastic.

Timber Decking & Fencing: The Drawbacks

• Unlike timber products, composite materials cannot be stripped back, painted or stained to change its appearance.
• Synthetic wood deck materials will enhance your yard’s aesthetic appeal.
• No matter what your home’s climate is like, a composite deck can accommodate extreme temperatures and last for several decades with the proper maintenance.
• Besides a composite deck, a paver patio is also a popular design for your outdoor living area.
• If you make the wrong choice with timber, it’s easy to re-do it to suit the rest of your home, but you’ll want to pick the right stain or finish for your composite decking and fencing.

However, keep in mind that you still need to maintain them to extend your deck’s lifespan. Composite wood decking materials come in many colors to complement your design style. At NewTechWood, we can make your materials any custom color you send us, including our natural wood tones. Consider matching the exterior siding of your house or the colors of the landscaping throughout your property. Dekorators is a fairly new company in the composite decking world, but they caught our attention with their solid lineup of PVC and composite deck boards.

Which Type Of Composite Decking Should I Pick?

This includes reclaimed wood, sawdust, plastic bags, and other plastic packaging. It’s an amazing article; Timber is wonderful and most useful creation for us. Timber fencing products and timber deck is durable and good looking.

Despite the added weight of this recycled product, it does not usually have the same strength as pressure-treated or natural wood. That means your home could struggle to support this installation and the deck itself may not be as supportive of your needs as you hoped it might be. Depending on your market costs, composite decking could be as much as five times more expensive than using pressure-treated wood for your building needs. The problem that you have with nails or screws when building a deck is that they create a place of weakness for the board. You can experience cracking, corrosion, and premature rotting depending on the quality of the construction. At the very least, you end up with a product that requires precision fastener placement to create the clean look you want.

For me, I’m not comfortable trusting the same companies who told us 20 years ago that their product was foolproof and failed that now they’ve REALLY made it foolproof. We purchased our current home, as new, nearly 18 years ago. It came with a deck that was made with early type (uncapped?) composite decking. The spindles and posts were also made of the same material. The home builder was so impressed by the product he wished that he had used it for the large deck, he had recently built, on his own home. I was excited about having something touted as being “maintenance free.” Over the years I have power washed it to keep the vegetation (moss? algae?) at bay. For the most part it has held up well and we have enjoyed the deck.

For now, I’d say the best way to avoid problems with composite decking are to avoid it altogether and stick with wood. It’s not like the old days where you had to simply choose between different species of wood. Today, there are still all of the wood options of yesterday, but now there are scores of different composite decking options. Visual appeal is important — after all, you will be spending a lot of time on your deck — so the style of composite decking you pick should be contingent on the style of your house. In other words, although composite decking might cost you more in the short term, it definitely gives great bang for its buck in the long term. Composite decking does not typically get hotter than pressure treated wood.

What Is A Composite Deck?

Composite Decking: Is It Worth Using?

As we said earlier composite decking especially Trex decking has come a long way. Trex decking is hard to install – Many homeowners who may have previously built their own wood deck cannot seem to wrap their mind around installing composite decking. Trex decking is so easy to install that even an amateur can do it. Although Trex decking is more expensive than traditional wood decking, there are a lot of benefits to composite decking. The environment benefits of using timber are not straight forward. But there are plenty of reasons to choose timber as your decking and fencing material. The benefits and in the end it’s just not worth the effort and cost of upkeep.

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. While composite decks can help resist rotting and are considered more durable than wood, it doesn’t mean they’re completely safe from damage. Patio furniture or debris from a passing storm may scratch the surface. Unlike wood, which you can sand and refinish, composite decking can’t be refinished, but in general – you shouldn’t need to.

If you choose composite decking instead, then you can use hidden fasteners under the decking to secure the product. This advantage adds a little more to the final cost of your installation, but it also creates a 100% clean look that reduces the risk that comes with those added weak points. You can also choose capped composite decking to have a product that resists fading and discoloration over time. As long as you spray down the material with some water and a mold cleaner twice per year, you’ll be able to maintain the quality of your deck – even if it develops mold or mildew over time.