Pros And Cons Of Decking With Merbau Timber

Mold And Mildew On Composite Decking

This article looks at the advantages and disadvantages of composite decking so you have all the information you need when you’re shopping for it. We all love to spend time in our garden when it’s warm outside. However, when it comes to having decking in your garden you need to make sure you have the right one for you. You should be aware that not all decking is the same. More and more people are now purchasing composite decking as there are many advantages of using it. Price is another con as composite decking may cost two, three, even five times more than a pressure-treated wood deck. Durability and resistance are among the major advantages, but you should know that hot coals can melt or deform the deck.

What Are The Drawbacks Of Composite Decks?

To maintain your deck, all you need to do is only an occasional cleaning with soap and water and sweeping away any tree leaves or debris. When choosing a deck, its texture is important, especially when you choose a pool deck, for example. In this case you’d want to have boards with a non-slip texture which is of great significance for the safety of the pool deck.

In the long-term, you will likely save more money from WPC decks due to how little you will spend for its maintenance. Composite materials are more versatile and durable than wood. Unlike wood, WPC is suitable in most environments, making them excellent materials for decking. Composite decking, for instance, is more resistant to moisture, insects, splintering, and rotting, than a wooden one. Unlike other thermoplastic materials without any wood fibre, composites are more resistant to thermal expansion, which in turn reduces the chance of warping and bending.

List Of The Cons Of Composite Decking

Softwood decking is the most affordable decking solution due to softwood timber coming from mainly coniferous or evergreen trees that are fast growing. The boards are often grooved, although you can get them smooth too. Softwood timber is easier than hardwood to work with and widely available at many landscaping suppliers. Although pressure treated, the boards will need to be treated each year.

• Composite decking may contain different amount of wood and the total percentage of timber and other components in the composition can vary from 50% to 80%.
• If you are thinking of removing your old wood deck and are on a budget, then treated lumber or cedar may be the best option for you.
• If however, you have a large budget and want to experiment with a long lasting and durable product then you might want to consider composite decking.
• For this reason, it is always a good idea to maintain or update your deck when it starts to fall apart and/or look outdated.
• We all know that patios provide a wonderful space to enjoy the warmth and relaxation of spring, summer, fall and depending on where you live, winter.

Composite manufacturers now admit that there are no "maintenance free" decking materials of any kind. Every decking material needs at least a periodic washing. Mold, mildew, and dirt attack every deck - plastic, metal, wood or composite – with evenhanded tenacity, and have to be taken care of at regular intervals. All composite manufacturers now recommend a periodic maintenance schedule, specific procedures, and even products by brand name for cleaning and maintaining their composite materials. When the first composite decking materials were introduced in the 1990s, it was eyed as being the next evolution of the deck-building industry.

The bright, crisp composite decking color you get fresh from the factory is not going to be the color you see a year or even 3 months, after installation. Non-capstock decks fade a lot and will eventually fade to a drab weathered gray that looks little different from the color of dingy, weathered wood. Capstock deks also fade, just not as much or as quickly. Walking on the deck eventually wears through the plastic that "seals" the wood particles that make up the bulk of the material in a composite deck board. The plastic used in most composite decking is polyethylene , a soft and not very tough plastic. As will the tougher plastics like PVC and polypropylene.

Composite decking is anti-slip, mould-resistant and rust-resistant. You won’t have to spend a lot of time treating your deck you can simply get on and enjoy using it. One of the main reasons why many people tend to buy composite decking is its longevity.

Keep in mind that all composite decking materials, including composites, are still largely experimental. Unlike wood – with which we have worked for about a million years and the characteristics of which we know very well – composites are a new and imperfectly understood material. Composites may last longer, but the initial investment is likely to be higher. Many composites are formulated to be fade, scratch, and stain resistant, but no lumber is immune to the elements. Although composite lumber may resist these marring effects better than other materials, it will still show signs of wear over time.

This means there is a chance for you to alter the colour slightly, however, this can be quite an expensive and time consuming process. Many people buy composite decking because it lasts a long time.

Common issues with composite deck products can include severe scratches and deep gouges - difficult to repair without replacing individual deck boards. Since composite decks don’t need to be painted, stained, or treated. There is normally no need for annual or twice a year care. Keep in mind your typical wood deck will weather, fade, crack, and split as it dries over time. Therefore, In order to keep a pressure treated deck looking it’s best, you need to put in ongoing effort. A traditional look of wood decking but doesn’t always work with composite decking. More and more composite decking is scalloped to reduce cost and weight.

The decks are resistant to temperature changes, heat and cold and does not fade or lose color. The color of the boards lasts much longer than traditional wood stain or paint. When composite deck manufacturers compare their products to wood decks, they always compare to unsealed wood decks. Generally, a sealed and maintained wood deck lasts about as long as a maintained composite deck. Now that a little time has passed and some research has been done, these expansive claims are just not holding up.

Dog nails leave scratches, as will clumsy adults and kids, not to mention unremovable stains and sneaky mold. Oh, and if you want to replace a stained/scratched/damaged deck board it won’t match cause the others faded, remember? Upgraded that vacation home and had to replace the old deck due to code problems and didn’t think twice, wood it was! Used CedarTone Premium treated #1 southern yellow pine and won’t even have to stain it for a couple years, looks great with a custom sunburst rail pattern. If spending a little less money and doing some regular maintenance sounds okay to you, stick with the old-fashioned wood decking. Go for the composite deck if you don’t mind spending a bit more money for a deck that requires far less maintenance and is eco-friendly. One of the drawbacks to purchasing a composite deck system is that they’re not cheap.

On the first place, to many people, the fact remains – this is not a natural material and contains a fair amount of artificial materials and chemicals. The composites containing PVC are far from being environmentally friendly or biodegradable. While composite decks have few real advantages over wood decks, they do have some real drawbacks including a high initial cost, heat retention, and excessive expansion and contraction.