subject: New Decks and Old Decks [print this page] New Decks and Old Decks New Decks and Old Decks
Composite decking has come a long way in just a few short years, and as usual it's gotten more expensive. There are two types of composite decking, traditional composite and PVC extruded composite. Traditional composite is a mixture of wood fiber and plastic resin mixed together to create a piece of decking. PVC extruded decking is the newer type which is mostly all PVC material "extruded" or pulled thru a machine to create decking. Different manufacturers have different methods on how they create their product, but that is the long and short of it.
No question about it, composite is more expensive than wood, question is. How long are you going to be in the home?? Now we're talking maintenance. Are you going to pay someone $300-$400 every two years to stain and seal wood? I'll leave that math up to you, but here's the skinny on pricing, composite vs. wood.
- Cedar decking - $1.25/ft
- Typical composite decking - $2.75/ft
- High end composite decking - $4.75/ft
Why would you even THINK about paying an extra $3/ft for composite decking???? Well, here are just a few reasons to consider;
Stain, scratch, insect, mold issues
Split, crack, peel, cup, warp, shrinkage issues
Sun fade and general weather resistance
Shrinkage, structural, decay factors
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to consider a good decking and rail solution. To keep it short and simple, the higher end PVC products (Timber Tech, Azek, Fiberon) are going to perform high in the sun fade, scratch, weather, mold, insect, stain, split, crack, peel resistance area. That's why they're more expensive. The down side to the 100% PVC product is that it does shrink and move a little more than the other composites. The PVC material will be mostly maintenance free, which is what you pay for, and it should last a lifetime. The lower level composites will have sun fade, scratch, and stain issues. If structural integrity is a concern, most composites do not have it, 16" centers on joists are the max span. Wood obviously has mold, insect, crack, peel, cup, warp and general weather concerns. In summary, you gotta pick your poison.
Timber Tech This product seems to be the priciest of all, but it also seems to have the most selection when it comes to colors, rail systems, decking products, etc. Timber Tech's (XLM) product is the high end PVC extruded product, which costs about $4.75/ft. The other series of decking called (Evolutions) is a PVC "wrap" product ($3.20/ft), which means it is a composite fiber board, with a blanket of PVC formed around it. This product can be side-clipped to the frame.
Trex Trex has a composite and a PVC blanket product. There isn't a whole lot of difference in the price, the PVC is about $3.60/ft and the composite is only a little cheaper than that. This product does have a more pronounced wood grain than the others. This product can be side-clipped to the frame.
Azek This product is a top of the line PVC wrap, comes in quite a few colors but it must be screwed down thru the top, there are no side clips for the product. It runs about $4.50/ft and it does have some expansion issues, but nothing dramatic.
Fiberon This is another top of the line product and the distinguishing feature of this product is a color and style called Ipe, pronounced "eepaa". It has a very distinctive exotic wood grain look that is absolutely beautiful when installed. It runs about $3.70/ft and it can be installed using the side clips.
Evergrain This product will be at the bottom of the totem pole as far as cost and performance, but that's not to say it won't do a good job. It will stain, it will scratch, will fade a little bit, but it is a composite board and it will not rot, it will be there forever. This product must be screwed down thru the top. Again, just gotta pick your poison.
View all of these decking products on our website at www.barkerconstruct.com.
