Ironwood Decking
|Ironwood Decking – 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 every type that may help you pick the right one for your deck. The main difference between wood and composite decking is the level of maintenance required. Wood decking requires more upkeep than composite, but looks nicer. The companies who manufacture composite decking are doing their best to make their product appear to be real wood, but to date haven’t achieved it. I personally don’t think they’ll ever be able to match the good thing about real wood. Because of the more time necessary to maintain wood decking, you first need must yourself if you have the more time forced to keep a wood deck sealed and looking good. If you DO have time and therefore are ready to wait in your deck, great! Go with wood.
If, however, you don’t have more time or don’t want to agree to sealing a wood deck maybe once or twice a year, composite could possibly be the best choice. Even though wood decks require more upkeep, there is a form of wood you can use for decking which requires very little or no upkeep. That wood is cedar. I’ve actually laid wood decking and done absolutely NOTHING to it and had it last a long time without any problems. Cedar is naturally resistant against rain, snow, and sunlight. It doesn’t warp or twist, and still have very little tendency to test or cup.
The only drawback with cedar decking left unsealed is always that is will turn gray over time. If you are instead of this look, you can prefer to seal it maybe once or twice per year. It may still “gray”, nonetheless it is going to take longer to do this. Actually ALL wood decks will turn gray over time, if you don’t apply sealer every few months, the lot of work. Composite decking, however, is virtually maintenance free. Once it’s laid down, it won’t change much even through extreme weather. Some composite deck colors will fade over several years, though the fading is uniform, and that means 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 be a problem if you have budget constraints. If you aspect in the price savings of not buying sealer for a long time, it will stabilize the price increase somewhat. Another problem with using composite decking is the chance for the merchandise failing. Just like any man-made product, composite decking could be faulty. A few years ago, one major composite decking manufacturer released some defective material. This resulted in many decks going bad which made a class action lawsuit. Even with compensation directed at consumers, many were saddled with high replacement costs. This doesn’t mean every composite deck strategy is planning to have problems, it is simply a reminder that it COULD happen.
Overall, wood or composite decks are perfect. You just need to decide from your gray deck, a wood deck that will require maintenance, or even a composite deck which requires no upkeep, but is more expensive and possesses the possible to travel awry.