What Decking Material is Best for you?

The classic wood deck is a quintessential addition to any residential home. A well-built, spacious deck is not only the perfect spot for outdoor entertaining, but it also adds value to your home in the event you decide to sell.Wood might overall be a more valuable material than composites, vinyl and other decking alternatives, but careful consideration should be paid to the type of wood you choose. The wood material you end up with will have a significant effect on care needs, longevity and overall lifecycle costs.
 
Decking options have grown accumulatively over the past several years. It wasn’t long ago that only choice was wood which came in perhaps 2 or 3 species. However, thanks to an explosion of composite lumber, and hardwood imports, there’s now dizzying array of decking available.Whether you’re breaking ground this summer or still sketching out the blueprints, it pays to know your options.
 
 
Here are the different types of Decks that you might need to know:
 

1. Composite Decking

• Composite decking is typically made from a combination of different materials (namely, wood and plastic), which were processed to give the appearance of wood. Both the wood and the plastic can be made from virgin or recycled material. But composite decking is resistant to rot, doesn’t warp, won’t giv­e people splinters, and doesn’t need to be painted, stained or sealed. The color of most composite decking will fade somewhat after the initial installation. Homeowners are encouraged to keep their composite decking swept clean, attend to any stains as soon as possible, and hose it down twice a year, finishing with a soap and water scrub.

2. Pressure-Treated Lumber

• One of the most popular woods used for decking. Most often made of softwood, usually pine, and has undergone a chemical preservation treatment to make it resistant to moisture and insects. It is often chosen by homeowners that want a sturdy deck without spending a lot. PT decks do last for quite a while, they have a very high-maintenance needs and require power washing, staining and sealing annually or biannually. They are also notorious for not aging well and can shrink up a lot as the boards dry out overtime. Also, wood splinters from PT decks are painful and can cause infections due to the chemicals present. This makes it a less than ideal choice for families with children and pets who will be coming into direct contact with wood.

3. Redwood & Cedar

• Redwood and Cedar decks are a nice step up from pressure-treated. Both wood types are beautiful in appearance and offers a classic and natural look. Both are often lumped into the same category, but there are some differences. Redwood has more of a reddish tint to it while cedar is slightly more on the yellow side, though both woods age to a silvery shade overtime. Cedar is often less expensive too compare to Redwood. Both Redwood and Cedar are higher maintenance decking options. Even though they’re naturally rot resistant, elements can quickly wear the wood so annual cleaning and sealing is recommended. Plus, availability of this type of decking can be tight, which has really shot the price up.

4. Tropical Woods

• Tropical Hardwoods, like Ipe, Cumaru, Tigerwood and Massaranduba are stunning and a real luxury for any homeowner. Many consider these species to be the best deck wood. However, there are a few important issues with tropical wood species you should know. Tropical Hardwoods are going to be expensive, perhaps even 3x or more expensive than other hardwoods or softwoods. Tropical hardwoods are super dense, which makes them more durable than pressure treated wood, cedar and redwood, however they still require care in the form of sealing and other surface treatments.

5. Merbau Decking

• In the past, merbau was one of the most popular decking timbers and was even used to build house frames. It is still a popular decking timber and is less expensive than most other decking timbers.Merbau has a high durability rating of 2 and is rot and insect resistant. Much of the merbau used today comes from Southeast Asian rainforests. You can look for sustainably harvested merbau. It may cost a little more, but it sends the message that we care about the environment.

6. Aluminum Decking

• Aluminum Decking such as LockDry, Versadeck, and AridDeck won’t rot, rust, warp, splinter, crack or check and its extremely weather-, mold and slip resistant. Its powder-coated finish lasts virtually forever, and it’ll never peel or blister. Aluminum can’t catch fire, wood-boring bugs hate it, and it’s cryogenically strong, meaning it doesn’t get brittle in extremely cold weather. And, it’s also totally recyclable.When compared with wood and composite, aluminum decking is three to four times lighter, yet two to three times stronger. It can be cut with the same saws and carbide-tipped blades used to cut wood.Most aluminum planks have interlocking edges, which create gap-free, watertight decks. Built-in, self-draining channels collect and dispose of rainwater. Also, aluminum decking stays cooler in the sun than most other types of decking because of the metal’s superior heat-dissipation properties.

We hope that the above information helped you know more about which decking material is good for your home. And if you are a fan or Composite Decking no need to look for it as we at Nice Backyard, supply

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