Composite Decking vs. Wood Boards For Your Deck

Composite Decking vs. Wood Boards for Your Deck

There are many reasons to choose composite decking over wood decking materials. The biggest reason is longevity—composite decking can last 25-50 years, while traditional wood decking may last 5-15 years, depending on where you live, the type of wood, and how well you maintain the wood.

While longevity is the biggest reason, there are many other reasons why you should consider composite decking material when you add a deck to your home or replace an existing deck. Inside, we go over many of the pros and cons of both types of decking and how they impact your outdoor living life.

The Short Pro List for Composite Decking

Longevity – 25-50 years for Composite material vs 5-10 years for wood decking material. As a homeowner, you may get five times the lifespan from a composite deck than a traditional wooden deck. That boils down to a greater return on your investment, and it follows the adage — “work smarter, not harder."

Maintenance – Composite decking is low maintenance. Traditional decking material requires regular maintenance, and the degree of maintenance depends on your local climate, the type of wood, and the wear and tear of using the deck. In short, expect to sand and stain wood decking every two years or in mild climates every three years. In some climates, you may have to stain and sand the decking annually.

So, in addition to having a longer lifecycle, composite decking has little to no maintenance. That means you enjoy the outdoor living deck space without spending weekends sanding and staining your composite deck. Instead, you can enjoy a BBQ and other family activities without all the labor.

Low Pest Damage — one of the most damaging factors besides UV on wood decking is the physical damage caused by pests – carpenter bees, termites, woodpeckers, and rodents, for example. Neither carpenter bees nor termites are attracted to composite decking. Even woodpeckers and rodents have a tough time damaging composite decking.

If you are replacing an existing deck, you have the added benefit of seeing the type of damage to the deck. If that damage is pest-related, composite decking is likely a better fit for your project.

Home Value – Both wood and composite decking offer 60+ percent ROI – Wood at 66% and composite at 63% for ROI, according to CNBC. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/05/these-home-renovations-will-give-you-the-greatest-returns.html]

Fire Rating – In areas of high wildfire risk, composite decking helps reduce fire risk. The reason is that composite decking is a mixture of wood, binding material, and plastic – when combined, they are harder to ignite than wood decking. That is also a plus for those who love to BBQ with fire.

The Cons of Decking Materials

Composite decking and traditional wood decking materials are quite different. Wood decking has some advantages that composite decking cannot match. Those include:

Lower Cost – In the short run, expect to pay less for wooden decking materials than composite decking materials. Overall, the additional upfront cost of composite decking material may be much lower than wood decking if you consider that you will not have to replace a composite deck as often as you would a wood deck. Also, to be considered in cost comparison is the decrease in labor and maintenance suppliers with composite decking over the labor and supply costs of maintaining a wooden deck.

Aesthetics — Wooden decks can be painted or stained, but composite decking comes in the colors that the manufacturer offers. If you want more options for blending the deck into the background or matching it to existing paint and trim, then wood is a better option. That is not to say that the color options available with composite decking are bland because there are many choices, but they will complement existing color schemes.

Summer Heat — Wood and Composite decking can hold heat making shoes mandatory when enjoying outside deck life in the summer. It’s a small annoyance but something to consider and it can be reduced if you add shade.

Warping – With wooden decks, warping can be dangerous and is a sign that the deck may need maintenance. Composite decking does not warp and because it is resistant to water absorption, it holds up well in snow and icy conditions.

Which Decking is Best for Your Home or Business?

Composite decking offers many advantages over wood decking. For example, it lasts longer, it holds up to seasonal abuse, it is almost maintenance-free, and it does not attract wood-eating insects; but it can have a higher upfront cost. There are many great brands such as Fiberon, Envision, Trex, and Timbertech - they all offer a good product with lots of color choices.

A great place to start your consideration is to talk with our experts and go over your budget, and expectations.

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How to Choose Your Railing

By Dena Pfaff • December 2, 2024

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An aerial view of a house with a spiral staircase on the deck.

Deck Design

By Dena Pfaff • November 18, 2024

Back in the day, a deck was a simple rectangle or square attachment to your home. It was a place off the grass where your family could enjoy grilling, relaxing, and playing. Thanks to innovations in home design, decks today go beyond the simple and help seamlessly bridge indoor living with outdoor living. Deck design is the science of planning a deck that not only looks amazing but also has the stability and strength to live up to its planned usage. Inside, we discuss the value of quality deck design and why it is so important. Deck Design Adds Value When we talk about a home deck, we are discussing the functionality of the deck - that long list of activities that the deck enables. Maybe that means a handy grilling station or a shaded structure that gets you out of the sun while you enjoy the morning and afternoons outdoors. Maybe that list includes the installation of a hot tub. Each of these examples requires a little more thought and design than you get from a standard square or rectangle deck. The first part of deck design is a conversation about how you plan to use the deck. Maybe what you want is a multilevel deck that acts as a bridge from your home to a patio or in-ground pool. In that case, deck design includes safety, movement, and maybe some fun. To get from the deck to the pool means using a stairway. It can also mean something fun for kids like a pole slide such as those that firemen use to rapidly move from one floor to the next. If a pool is involved, then deck design is going to address safety. Wet feet can be slippery and quality deck design addresses the risks associated with usage. These can include railings and textured surfaces that reduce the chance of slipping. All of these features add to the Return on Investment (ROI) of the deck; but there is a lot more to consider. Deck Design and Usage A quality home deck is more than just planks nailed to a foundation. It must include counters to the usage of the deck. For example, maybe you want to add a hot tub to one area of the deck. Water is one of the heaviest substances on Earth and to put a hot tub on a deck, the deck must be designed to handle the weight of the water, the hot tub, and all the people who would use the hot tub. Nobody wants to slip into the lovely hot water and begin to relax only to hear a creak and a groan and then feel the world fall out from under you followed by a tidal wave of hot water because the hot tub broke through the decking. While the above scenario might make you famous on TikTok it may not be the reason you want to be famous on TikTok. So, deck design is there to help the deck to physically support all the activities that may occur on the deck. Those include handling heavy objects, safety, and comfort. It is also important to point out that deck design takes into account future projects, such as an outdoor grilling area, or a hot tub. Plan ahead and allow your deck to “support” your outdoor lifestyle . Deck Design and Functionality Deck design considers the functionality of the deck and matches the impact of use with the types of materials that can stand up to that level of abuse. Those considerations include beam thickness and support material strength and longevity. It also includes the type of materials such as composite decking vs wood decking. Functionality also includes seasonal changes such as snow and ice, summer heat, pest issues, and even how the functionality may change in the future. An example would be how children’s usage would change as those children age. Another example would be plans to add a patio or outdoor living space adjacent to the deck. In that example, deck design would integrate the deck into those plans. Deck Design and Convenience Convenience means a lot of things to a lot of people. In this case, we mean that good deck design makes it convenient to assess things under the deck, such as water pipes, foundation access points, etc. It’s not until you have a sewer blockage and realize that you built the deck over the sewer access drain location that you realize that you’ve erred. Good deck design takes into account what the decking might occlude and provides a solution so you can still easily access those features without having to crawl under the deck or disassemble the deck to access something important. Deck design is one of the most important aspects of adding a deck to your home or business. If you are ready to talk deck design, give us a call . We go beyond the esthetics and include the full spectrum of functionality, beauty, safety, and longevity.

Composite Decking vs. Wood Boards For Your Deck