Wood Decking vs Man Made Decking

[bubbaroski]

Building a 10x40 deck in Florida. It will be in the sun. I originally planned to use 5/4 PT pine but now I am wondering if the higher price synthetic decking is worth the extra money. Opinions please. Thanks

[seamlyne]

I have a similar situation: large deck, sunny location, PT lumber. I plan to re-deck the thing using man-made decking as soon as I can. It's about 5 years old, and the boards have gone rough, especially on the edges, and splinters are a problem in places. Every deck I've seen made with man-made materials has looked really nice and been easy on the feet

[tom_matthews]

Well, from my brief experience installing composite decking -- it's easy to work with, is colored throughout the material, and it's designed specifically to withstand the elements, moisture, sun, etc.... And it won't shrink, swell, or crack. of course, it does costs more..... Anyway, i've only built one deck with the stuff, and if it performs as it is supposed to, the homeowner (a friend) seems to think it was worth the extra money. as for myself....well, I'm not sure how much he paid, so that's hard to say.... but his deck looks great.

That being said, I do have one worry that may be an issue at some future time..... and this was pointed out to me by a pro (I'm an amateur). he was concerned that the difference in material density between the wood and the composite may be a factor. His rationale: While the deck boards are supposed to resist swelling and moving in response to moisture--that same decking is supported by PT lumber--and the wood is still going to move. So his concern was in the different rates of movement between the wood and decking, and was worried that it may stress the fastener locations where the dissimilar materials meet. This seems to me like a logical concern..... Can anybody give me an answer as to whether this might be a problem in the future?

[pugeled]

hi i live in australia and have layed timber decking in the open BUT never man made as no mater what the man made stuff just dont stack up, you will get wear and tear with all timber ie scuffing at the edges,and splinters can be a prob BUT TOP quality sealers are a must, we laid over 600 squares on a marine institute 12 months ago and the client used a poor
quality sealer and the result is the timbers are turning up at the edges,
double fix eatch board and seal to the weather and you should be ok but
REMEMBER traet it harsh and it will chip and splinter

regards pugeled

[wvguy]

for what its worth even with all the new colors of composite decking most don't find the colors all that appealing. Keep this in mind when you are looking at it, and make sure the wife will approve. Plus one other thing on average most people change the color of there deck at least three times during the life of a deck. A pressure teated deck when maintained properly should last 20 years. With the average cost of cleaning the deck to be around 20 bucks once a year and on average with a good quality you would be re-staining ever three for a cost of around 100 bucks. And if you are looking for wood grain most composite has none. But hey you can always use a solid colored 100% acrylic stain on it.

[wmlbrn]

i am doing a deck right now and am going to use pt 5/4 but plan in finishing it with that ruberized paint that you can get for garage floors. This should help protect the wood and allow it to last a long time.

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[wvguy]

if you paint the deck it will look like a painted deck. The only thing I would be watchful of is making sure that it is for wood. Most garage floor coverings are for concrete only.