Hey all,
Long time lurker and voter, recipient of many bargains, including an egg separater from China that was just 15c (inc. postage).
The missus and I are getting a deck built off the back of the house and we're considering decking materials. We're choosing between wood (such as merbau), which is cheaper and looks like the thing that it is (wood) but needs to be maintained, or composite, which is more expensive but doesn't need as much maintenance, though also doesn't look like wood as much as the wood does, and is generally suspicious to me.
I think that I would be super enthusiastic and treat a wood deck for the first year and then wash my hands of the whole affair, so the less maintenance the better, but I'm keen to know if the composite decks fade over time and if there are any other disadvantages…
If you have some input I'd be appreciative.
Composite vs hardwood decking
Comments
Yeah but what about the questions I actually asked?
I have wood look tiles on my back patio. My workplace recently installed wood look vinyl planks.. Neither really look like wood but are super low effort. Compared to my garden furniture and kids cubbyhouse - which require a weekends worth of stuffing about every year or so. Poorly maintained wood looks like shit and will do so much more quickly than poorly maintained composite. Also, what are you installing it on - if the frame is still wood, you'll not escape the required maintenance.
If you choose to go wood, don't install the planks ridge side up. Some people think it's grip - lol.
Lol the moisture side? :)
Thanks for the info. I hadn't considered the frame, but I imagine it'd be wood. Still a lot less to maintain in the long run.
I didn't know that about the ridge side facing down! I assumed that it was grip as well. Good to know.
We had a Modwood deck off the side of our house/pergola which we ended up removing when we did some additional remodelling. In the time we had it, we had no problems with it. No need for maintenance. The only two things I might point out was that it tended to get a bit hot underfoot when the weather was hot, and that water tended to pool a bit on it when it rained. I don't have a wood deck so I can't compare.
We also built a Modwood deck on one of our rental properties (totally undercover), along with some wide flat steps, leading to the front porch. We were looking for minimal maintenance but with a modern look. It's been about three years and all we've had to do in that time is give it a squirt with the pressure hose to clean it. Agents and tenants alike have told us that is is a standout feature of the property, and it has definitely been worth it to us.
The heat issue was the main reason we went with natural wood over composite.
We live in regional Vic (Ballarat area) and it can be pretty hot in summer but not too bad so I reckon the heat issue won't be overly concerning.
Good to know that it's doing well after 3 years. Thanks.
https://www.mrhandyman.com/blog/2012/july/deck-materials-pro…
Have a read. I think it answers everything you need and more.
Yep that wes helpful thanks.
Composite decking isn’t all the same so it depends on how much your budget is.
Some of the cheaper ones get really hot in summer (like burn your feet if you don’t have shoes hot) and can scratch pretty easily if you don’t have any surface protection on the bottom of your chairs.
I’ve seen some brands which don’t have this issue but the price does climb up.
It's like real breasts and silicone breasts. Each to their own
Composite makes the deck bigger?
Name checks out.
I think you have summed it up well.
Wood looks much better but needs maintenance. If you are prepared to do that then go for wood
Otherwise go for fakeI looked at composite to replace the decking on our deck (structure is sound). I haven’t gone ahead yet, but apparently the composites also need a decent expansion gap between length, not just width. As our deck is longer than one span of timber or composite, I’m leaning towards timber so there gaps between lengths are reduced.
I’m not keen on the maintenance, but think that timber looks better too.
Have you considered fibre cement? James Hardie and some other groups do a decking which requires very little maintenance
No haven't seen that before. That Hardy decking looks interesting, I'll have to have a look at the cost compared to the others.
We got Millboard.
http://www.millboarddeck.com.au
About twice the price of merbau, but we knew our limits as regards maintenance.
Receives regular compliments and has gone five years so far without any problems (in Perth sun).
That's probably the best looking of the composites that I've seen. What's it like on bare feet in Perth sun!?
For the merbau or similar, the regular maintenance is only required if your preference is to maintain that 'fresh timber' look.
If you personal preference is to let it age, it will do this gracefully without any intervention.
We used treated pine for ours due to costs, it looks fine but I think I would go for modwood next time.
People say it gets hot but so does wood in the hot summer so I wouldn't let the heat be a reason to not use it.
Thanks for the info and links all. Very helpful.
Ive had my composite for over a year and it has not started to fade. Its easy to take care of.. just hose it every once in a while.
It does expand a bit in the heat, so must be attached with the proper clips - as opposed to secured by screws.
I have had a Merbau deck for about 5 years now, it still looks great after it's been oiled. For a 5m x 5m deck oiling takes me about half a day without rushing and I usually oil it 1-2 times a year. My deck is very exposed so you might not need to oil more than once a year (or even less often)
Another advantage of some composites is that they snap into place which means faster installation but also no visible nails or screws.
Check this article that we posted for Timber Decking Vs Composite Decking
https://medium.com/@ligneum.merbaudecking/timber-decking-vs-…What a useless ‘article’. Composite decking doesn’t have tongue and groove and form why I’ve seen didn’t cost double. The article is completely biased and not thorough at all.
composite decking is 90% plastic