Wood Deck With Composite Railing
|Wood Deck With Composite Railing – Part of the technique of constructing a deck is deciding which materials to use for the decking. Basically, you have two choices – wood or composite. In this article, I’ll share the pros and cons of each and every type to help you pick the best one for your deck. The main difference between wood and composite decking will be the level of maintenance required. Wood decking requires more upkeep than composite, but looks nicer. The companies who manufacture composite decking are performing their very best to make their product appear to be real wood, but to date haven’t achieved it. I personally don’t believe they’ll ever be capable to match the advantage of real wood. Because of the additional time needed to maintain wood decking, first you need to inquire about yourself if you have the additional time required to keep a wood deck sealed and searching good. If you DO have some time and are prepared to stand on your deck, great! Go with wood.
If, however, there isn’t additional time or don’t wish to agree to sealing a wood deck a couple of times a year, composite could be a good choice. Even though wood decks require more upkeep, there’s a kind of wood that can be used for decking which requires little or no or no upkeep. That wood is cedar. I’ve actually laid wood decking and done absolutely NOTHING to it along it last for many years without problems. Cedar is naturally resistant to rain, snow, and sunlight. It doesn’t warp or twist, and also have little or no tendency to check or cup.
The only drawback with cedar decking left unsealed is the fact that is will turn gray with time. If you are against this look, you’ll be able to choose to seal it a couple of times each year. It may still “gray”, however it is going to take longer for this. Actually ALL wood decks will turn gray with time, if you don’t apply sealer every month or two, the industry lots of work. Composite decking, alternatively, is virtually maintenance free. Once it’s laid down, it certainly can’t change much even through extreme weather. Some composite deck colors will fade over many years, however the fading is uniform, which means you won’t really notice it happening.
There are several disadvantages to using composite. First, composite decking is more expensive than wood. This could be a difficulty if you have financial constraints. If you element in the fee savings of not buying sealer for a long time, it might balance the fee increase somewhat. Another drawback to using composite decking will be the potential for the merchandise failing. Just like any man-made product, composite decking could be faulty. A few years ago, one major composite decking manufacturer created some defective material. This ended in many decks going bad which designed a class action lawsuit. Even with compensation directed at consumers, many were tied to high replacement costs. This doesn’t mean every composite deck method is going to have problems, it’s only 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 even a composite deck which requires no upkeep, but is more expensive and has the possibility to look awry.