Best Hardwood Decking
|Best Hardwood Decking – Part of the procedure for developing 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 type that will help you choose the best one for the 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 seem like real wood, but thus far haven’t achieved it. I personally don’t think they’ll ever be able to match the best thing about real wood. Because of the more time required to maintain wood decking, you first need to ask yourself if you have the more time needed to keep a wood deck sealed and seeking good. If you DO have the time and they are prepared to spend it in your deck, great! Go with wood.
If, however, there isn’t more time or don’t want to invest in sealing a wood deck once or twice 12 months, composite may be your best option. Even though wood decks require more upkeep, there is a kind of wood which you can use 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 and had it last a long time without problems. Cedar is naturally resistant 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 the fact that is will turn gray over time. If you are in opposition to this look, you can choose to seal it once or twice a year. It may still “gray”, but it will take longer to take action. Actually ALL wood decks will turn gray over time, unless you apply sealer every several months, the great deal of work. Composite decking, on the other hand, is virtually maintenance free. Once it’s laid down, it will not change much even through extreme weather. Some composite deck colors will fade over a long period, however the fading is uniform, so that you won’t really notice it happening.
There are several disadvantages to getting composite. First, composite decking is more expensive than wood. This may be a challenge if you have budget constraints. If you element in the cost savings of not buying sealer for a long time, it might stabilize the cost increase somewhat. Another problem with using composite decking is the chance for the merchandise failing. Just like any man-made product, composite decking may be faulty. A few years ago, one major composite decking manufacturer put out some defective material. This resulted in many decks going bad which developed a class action lawsuit. Even with compensation provided to consumers, many were tied to high replacement costs. This doesn’t mean every composite deck method is planning to have problems, it is just a reminder that it COULD happen.
Overall, wood or composite decks are good. You just need to decide from your gray deck, a wood deck that needs maintenance, or a composite deck which requires no upkeep, but is more expensive and it has the possibility to travel awry.