Wood Deck Railing Plans
|Wood Deck Railing Plans – Part of the process 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 assist you choose the best one for the deck. The main difference between wood and composite decking could be the volume 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 generate their product appear to be real wood, but up to now haven’t achieved it. I personally don’t believe they’ll ever be capable of match the good thing about real wood. Because of the an extension cord necessary to maintain wood decking, you first need to question yourself if you have the an extension cord required to keep a wood deck sealed and looking good. If you DO have time and are prepared to spend it on your own deck, great! Go with wood.
If, however, there isn’t an extension cord or don’t want to spend on sealing a wood deck a few times a year, composite might be the best choice. Even though wood decks require more upkeep, you will find there’s kind of wood which you can use for decking which requires almost no 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 to rain, snow, and sunlight. It doesn’t warp or twist, and have almost no tendency to check or cup.
The only drawback with cedar decking left unsealed is always that is will turn gray after a while. If you are in opposition to this look, you are able to choose to seal it a few times each year. It may still “gray”, but it will require longer to do this. Actually ALL wood decks will turn gray after a while, until you apply sealer every month or two, the lots 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 several years, but the fading is uniform, so you won’t really notice it happening.
There are a few disadvantages to using composite. First, composite decking is more expensive than wood. This might be a problem if you have financial constraints. If you factor in the fee savings of not buying sealer for many years, it could balance out the fee increase somewhat. Another downside of using composite decking could be the potential for the merchandise failing. Just like any man-made product, composite decking might be faulty. A few years ago, one major composite decking manufacturer put out some defective material. This led to many decks going bad which developed a class action lawsuit. Even with compensation provided to consumers, many were saddled with high replacement costs. This doesn’t mean every composite deck product is planning to have problems, it’s just a reminder that it COULD happen.
Overall, wood or composite decks are fantastic. You just need to decide from a gray deck, a wood deck that will need maintenance, or even a composite deck which requires no upkeep, but is more expensive and it has the potential to go awry.