Differences Between Pvc & Composite Decking

The Real Cost Of Buying Your First Home

If your decking has cracks, looks dirty, or suffers from mildew, it's time to decide whether to refinish or replace it entirely. We test, evaluate, and compare different types of decking to save you time and money.

Now you can find long-wearing composite decking finished to look like real wood. Composite decking is basically a combination of wood pulp and recycled plastic. More specifically, it uses high-density polyethylene , a type of plastic commonly used to make milk jugs, buckets, and detergent bottles.

Which Type Of Composite Comes In Tongue

Tropical and exotic woods are striking, and the rich color of oiled hardwood, or the weathered pale grey, can complement any home and backyard. Traditional wood decking is generally prone to damage and rot from moisture, weather, temperature fluctuations , insects, and normal wear and tear. The only way to prevent this is to apply a deck preservative like a sealer, stain or paint designed specifically for decking. Each product gives a deck a different look and feel, but generally, they all function the same way. They help protect wood from the gradual degradation from moisture, fungus, and insects. Wood decks require hours and hours of labor-intensive maintenance every year. Traditional wood decks trap moisture and will twist, crack and splinter if not preserved with stains or paint on a regular basis.

Unlike wood, which requires yearly sanding, painting, or staining, composite railings require none of this. Some companies that offer this product, such as Trex, even offer the extra peace of mind of a multiple-decade warranty against fading or staining. PVC deck railing presents a pretty straightforward installation process. This is another potential benefit for those working on a strict budget. By cutting down on installation time or even tackling the install yourself, you can save money on labor costs. Wood resisted slips best in our wet and dry friction tests.

Maintenance

In addition, it comes with all of the same drawbacks as wood-composite. You may wish to purchase PVC decking if you want a lighter-weight material that is easier to handle than wood-composite. Like wood-composite, PVC decking does not rot and never needs to be finished. Some homeowners simply like the look of PVC more than with the other materials. Also called plastic orsynthetic decking, this is made of cellular polyvinyl chloride , the same material that is used for plastic fencing. It is lightweight and has the same density as white pine, a softwood. Some PVC decking is "capped," meaning that a protective shell is added to the surface that also gives it a wood-like look.

• These deck boards range from simple pressure treated lumber to exotic timber from South America.
• For a composite board to last, it needs to have a good cap to protect the recycled material in the core of the board from swelling and rotting from moisture that may enter.
• Wood decks require quite a bit of costly maintenance in order to last.
• The biggest draw of wood decking when compared to composite and cellular PVC is the initial price.
• When looking at pure wooden decking, you’ll see many varieties of wood available.
• However, making a decision based on the initial cost is short-sighted.

One quick point of clarification- most, but not all, decks use lumber for the substructure of a deck. Trex provides another option called "Elevations", a steel deck framing for your composite deck. And for the record, when it comes to paint and stain you get what you pay for. Not to mention a dry deck will soak up a lot of stain and not yield what the can promises. And if you have enough sense to spray it, you will lose a little stain as well. As far as prices for maintenance quoted in the article--they were really close to what a friend of mine has paid since I got my deck done and her deck is smaller than mine. It just depends on your area of the country and labor costs.

Wood-composite decking is a mixture of high-density polyethylene and wood particles, along with preservatives and binders. Wood-composite can be eco-friendly when it is made with leftover sawdust from furniture manufacturing and plastics recycled from milk jugs and detergent bottles. Pressure-treated wood is hands-down the cheapest way to floor your deck. Redwood decking can be comparable to wood-composite materials, and exotic hardwoods can be much more expensive. Pressure-treated wood is also the cheapest material for the non-decking components, such as stairs, guards, and rails.

Home Improvement Costs: Cellular Pvc Vs Wood And Composite Decking

And no matter what decking material you decide to use, know your options. Do your research, and know Fiberon is here to help you build the deck of your dreams.