If you’ve been considering adding a beautiful deck to your outdoor entertaining area, this post is for you. Today we tackle the differences between wood and composite decking, helping you make the right choice for your home. Once you are sure what suits your needs best, you can find decking suppliers on Junk Mail.
Deciding on Composite Decking
For anyone interested in decking, composite decking is a great option for people looking for rot resistant decks that look great for your pool, yard, balcony or house. As a general rule composite materials are made from both reclaimed wood and recycled plastic products.
The quality of the particular composites will depend largely on the characteristics and quality of the raw materials used to manufacture the composites. The mixture of these two materials strengthens the decks and makes them more resistant to weather elements, splitting, peeling and termites for a period of between 25 to 50 years.
For this very reason composite decking often comes with a long- term warranty. This makes composite decks a very viable long lasting option. Some of the advantages associated with this option include:
Reduced maintenance – As a result of the toughness of the material, composite decking helps you save a lot of money when it comes to maintenance and cleaning. However this does not mean that you should expect a 100% maintenance free deck. You will still have to wash the deck regularly to ensure that it retains its aesthetic appeal. The cons to this however is that composite decking prices are very high. The higher the grade of the composites the more you should expect to pay for the material.
Material longevity – As stated in the initial paragraph, composites last longer, they do not rot nor do they attract termites. In addition to this, unlike other woods you will not have to worry about your composite wood splintering. The problem however is that this longevity also makes the wood easy to scratch. If you have a very playful dog you may want to keep him or her away from your composites as any scratches made on the wood will not be very easy to smooth out.
Limited Fading – While your composites may start fading fairly quickly, probably within the first three months of summer, the fading stops after the initial fading and retains its colour for a longer time than normal wood. The problem is the wood is also prone to staining. If you have children make sure they do not leave food stains on your composites because these stains can be very difficult to remove. It’s even worse if you get grease on you Composites, grease stains could permanently stain your composites creating a brownish appearance and ruining the smoothness of your composites.
An idea you want to pursue with the composite decking option is building an outdoor tub surrounded by a composite deck. This will make for a spot for those hot summer nights when you need to be outdoors but in the privacy of your own yard.
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Deciding on a Wood Deck
When it comes to decking options, the alternative to composite decking that is definitely worth exploring is the wood deck option. Much like the composite deck option, this option can add a lot of aesthetic beauty and value to your home and entertainment area.
The pure wood appearance of these decks fuses well with any outdoor area. In addition to this the versatility of this material makes it well suited for both outdoors and indoors and throughout all seasons. As a result of this versatility the wood deck has become a popular option in South Africa.
If you decide to go for the wood deck option you need to make sure that your deck is not under designed or sagging as this could make your deck a maintenance nightmare. There are many nightmare stories of people who have hired inexperienced or ‘off the street’ type carpenters to work on their decks.
These stories always end badly and the person hiring always loses a lot of money. Always remember that if your deck is badly designed it will be very difficult to salvage any of the material used. You will therefore not only lose the money you paid to the carpenter you will also lose most of the wood used to build the deck.
With wood decks you have to make sure you purchase high quality decks and that these are designed well as the process can prove to be difficult to maintain.
One obvious advantage with a wood deck is that real wood has a very distinct look and feel. It looks very natural and aesthetically pleasing; this will only make your entertainment or indoor area look very attractive and appealing.
In addition to this visual appeal advantage, this decking options is relatively affordable and widely available. A problem you can expect however is that it tends not be dimensionally stable. This especially becomes a problem when you have the wood deck for a long time without adequately maintaining it.
Another problem is that in the long run, even if you polish your deck on a regular basis, UV lighting, the rain and constant changes in the weather will have an adverse effect on the colouring and texture of your deck. To try and make it last longer you will probably have to protect your deck against the elements of the weather. Keep the deck covered during the rain and against heavy exposure to the sunlight.
After considering the pros and cons of both decking options, be sure to take your day-to-day as well as your family’s needs into consideration. Once you’ve made up your mind, be sure to find reliable decking suppliers on Junk Mail.
