Cedar Vs Redwood Decking
|Cedar Vs Redwood Decking – Part of the procedure for 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 to help you choose the best one for your 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 are doing their best to produce their product resemble real wood, but thus far haven’t achieved it. I personally do not think they’ll ever be capable of match the advantage of real wood. Because of the additional time required to maintain wood decking, first you need to question yourself if you might have the additional time necessary to keep a wood deck sealed and looking good. If you DO have the time and so are prepared to stand on the deck, great! Go with wood.
If, however, you do not possess additional time or don’t want to agree to sealing a wood deck a couple of times 12 months, composite may be a good choice. Even though wood decks require more upkeep, there is a form of wood that can be used 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 along it last for years without any problems. Cedar is naturally resistance against rain, snow, and sunlight. It doesn’t warp or twist, and still have very little tendency to check or cup.
The only drawback with cedar decking left unsealed is that is will turn gray with time. If you are against this look, it is possible to prefer to seal it a couple of times annually. It may still “gray”, however it will require longer to take action. Actually ALL wood decks will turn gray with time, until you apply sealer every several months, the lot of work. Composite decking, conversely, 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 several years, however the fading is uniform, so you won’t really notice it happening.
There are a few disadvantages to getting composite. First, composite decking is more expensive than wood. This could be a problem if you might have budget constraints. If you factor in the price savings of not buying sealer for years, it could stabilize the price increase somewhat. Another downside of using composite decking is the chance of the product or service 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 made a class action lawsuit. Even with compensation provided to consumers, many were bound to high replacement costs. This doesn’t mean every composite deck technique is gonna have problems, it’s only a reminder that it COULD happen.
Overall, wood or composite decks are great. You just need to decide from the gray deck, a wood deck that will need maintenance, or perhaps a composite deck which requires no upkeep, but is more expensive and contains the opportunity to visit awry.