About 40 years ago, the housing market saw vinyl sidings give way to pressure treated deck boards. And the trend is yet changing with the composite decking scoring way over the wood boards. Let us see how composite decking is better than wood?
Maintenance: A deck board needs maintenance. They need to be cleaned, stripped, sanded and sealed. The bulk of upkeep required by a deck board makes it loose the popularity battle to composite decking. These require minimum upkeep and are very easy to maintain with an occasional cleaning. A wood plastic composite decking or a PVC decking has no need of painting, staining, sealing as against wood. Wooden decks necessitate on the other hand yearly check up and maintenance for infestations and other wear and tear. Because the composite deck is made of a mix of waste wood, fibre (cellulose) and plastic, it is able to resist most of the weathering, warping and bugs.
Variety of design: the deck designs have over time developed and evolved to meet variable design demands. Property owners are looking for activity specific spaces which reflect and take off from the interior room designs. Unlike the wood deck, composite deck range offers colour and accessory selection. The huge array of patterns available in different colours can also give you an exotic hardwood lookalike deck. Thus the homeowner can add value to the house with co-ordinated outdoor and indoor living area which augments the aesthetics of the living space.
Variety of accessories: another advantage which the composite decking has over wooden structures due to its components is the range of deck accessories available. Be it handrail, post caps, gates, railing and many other housing accessories, composite provides with complementing designs and patterns for a uniform look and theme.
Durable and long lasting feature: wood perishes. The traditional wood decks are easily weathered by rains, summer heat and harsh winters. The wooden deck gets faded, warped, splintered and more requiring interventional maintenance. The composition of a composite decking allows it to durable and hard - wearing with a resilient structure that endures all kinds of weathers.
Safe for children: As mentioned earlier the structural component of a composite decking make it weather impervious also making them resistant to splintering. This in turn makes them safe for small children who like to remain bare feet and also for pets. Along with being splinter free these are also slip free giving you a pet friendly and safe environment for kids.
Return on investment: investing in composite decking for your outdoor activity areas and railing and other accessories increase you home value. Thus the spend on a composite decking can be earned back when selling the house. Cost vs value report from the Remodelling Magazine 2012 edition, estimated a 62.8% ROI for additions of composite deck to housing structures!
Cost: upfront a new wooden deck would be much cheaper than a composite deck. But there is no arguing the fact that in the long term a composite deck comes out to be way less expensive than installing a wooden deck. The annual maintenance cost, the ongoing maintenance and the seasonal weathering costs add up for a wooden deck making it more costly in the terms of lifetime costs as compared to composite deck.
