Red Wood Decks
|Red Wood Decks – Part of the process of constructing a deck is deciding which materials to use for the decking. Basically, you might have two choices – wood or composite. In this article, I’ll share the pros and cons of each and every type that will help you pick the best one for the deck. The main difference between wood and composite decking is the amount of maintenance required. Wood decking requires more upkeep than composite, but looks nicer. The companies who manufacture composite decking do their utmost to generate their product appear to be real wood, but up to now haven’t achieved it. I personally don’t think they’ll ever be capable to match the beauty of real wood. Because of the additional time had to maintain wood decking, you first need to question yourself if you might have the additional time required to keep a wood deck sealed looking good. If you DO have some time and so are ready to stand on the deck, great! Go with wood.
If, however, there isn’t additional time or wouldn’t like to commit to sealing a wood deck a few times 12 months, composite might be the best choice. Even though wood decks require more upkeep, there is a form of wood which can be used for decking which requires hardly any or no upkeep. That wood is cedar. I’ve actually laid wood decking and done absolutely NOTHING to it along it last for years with no problems. Cedar is naturally proof against rain, snow, and sunlight. It doesn’t warp or twist, and still have hardly any tendency to test or cup.
The only drawback with cedar decking left unsealed is is will turn gray as time passes. If you are against this look, you are able to decide to seal it a few times a year. It may still “gray”, but it is going to take longer to do so. Actually ALL wood decks will turn gray as time passes, unless you apply sealer every couple of months, the large amount of work. Composite decking, on the other hand, is virtually maintenance free. Once it’s laid down, it’s not going to change much even through extreme weather. Some composite deck colors will fade over many years, however the fading is uniform, so you won’t really notice it happening.
There are a few disadvantages to presenting composite. First, composite decking is more expensive than wood. This could possibly be an issue if you might have budget constraints. If you element in the charge savings of not buying sealer for decades, it may normalize the charge increase somewhat. Another problem with using composite decking is the chance of the item failing. Just like any man-made product, composite decking could possibly be faulty. A few years ago, one major composite decking manufacturer create some defective material. This resulted in many decks going bad which made a class action lawsuit. Even with compensation given to consumers, many were bound to high replacement costs. This doesn’t mean every composite deck product is going to have problems, it is simply a reminder that it COULD happen.
Overall, wood or composite decks are great. You just need to decide from a gray deck, a wood deck that will require maintenance, or perhaps a composite deck which requires no upkeep, but is more expensive and possesses the possible to travel awry.