Redwood Deck Lumber
|Redwood Deck Lumber – Part of the procedure for creating a deck is deciding which materials to use for the decking. Basically, you’ve got two choices – wood or composite. In this article, I’ll share the pros and cons of each one type to assist you select the right one for your deck. The main difference between wood and composite decking is the volume of maintenance required. Wood decking requires more upkeep than composite, but looks nicer. The companies who manufacture composite decking are going to do their utmost to make their product appear to be real wood, but so far haven’t achieved it. I personally don’t believe they’ll ever be in a position to match the best thing about real wood. Because of the more time needed to maintain wood decking, first you need to question yourself if you’ve got the more time needed to keep a wood deck sealed looking good. If you DO have the time and they are prepared to wait on the deck, great! Go with wood.
If, however, you do not have more time or don’t want to agree to sealing a wood deck maybe once or twice annually, composite might be a good choice. Even though wood decks require more upkeep, you will find there’s form of wood which 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 coupled with it last for many years without problems. Cedar is naturally resistant against rain, snow, and sunlight. It doesn’t warp or twist, and have little or no tendency to test or cup.
The only drawback with cedar decking left unsealed is always that is will turn gray as time passes. If you are against this look, you can decide to seal it maybe once or twice each year. It may still “gray”, but it will require longer for this. Actually ALL wood decks will turn gray as time passes, unless you apply sealer every couple of months, the industry lot of work. Composite decking, however, 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 several years, though 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 might be an issue if you’ve got financial constraints. If you element in the price savings of not buying sealer for decades, it will normalize the price increase somewhat. Another disadvantage of using composite decking is the possibility of the item failing. Just like any man-made product, composite decking might be faulty. A few years ago, one major composite decking manufacturer created some defective material. This triggered many decks going bad which created a class action lawsuit. Even with compensation given to consumers, many were tied to high replacement costs. This doesn’t mean every composite deck strategy 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 needs maintenance, or even a composite deck which requires no upkeep, but is more expensive and it has the opportunity to visit awry.