The Limitations of Composite Decking

Your home is your greatest asset. Whether you are looking to build it, fix it, or renovate it, you have to make decisions about the materials you will use on your home, that make sense.

1. Will this material add value to my home?

2. Will it add too or detract from the aesthetic?

3. How will potential future buyers view my material choices?

These are just a few of the key points to consider when choosing a decking material. These days, home-owners, builders and contractors have a wide variety of choice; Cedar or Pressure-treated Lumber, Composite decking, or Vinyl. For the purposes of this discussion, we will discuss specifically the limitations of Composite Decking as it relates to the key questions mentioned above.

First, let’s take a look at what exactly Composite Decking is:

It’s called composite decking because it is a composite of multiple materials. Specifically, some recycled lumber (usually shipping pallets) combined with one of a number of materials (some will use PVC, others various plastic products) and coloring. These “composite” materials are heated and compressed into nice shapes complete with “wood-grain”.

For some time the product was hailed as eco-friendly and maintenance free, however, this is not the case.

One of the major issues with Composite Decking is the fact that the lumber used is not pressure treated for weather. The result is that this lumber will do what all lumber does when it’s exposed to the harsh beating of the weather: break-down and decay or mold!

Decks with mold spots are anything but maintenance free!

So, to loop back round to the questions we asked at the beginning of this article:

1. Will composite decking add value to your home? Probably initially it would. But after a season or two of rain, snow, and sun, it would probably detract from or even decrease the value of your home!

2. Will composite decking add too, or detract from the aesthetic of your home? There’s no question a wooden deck is a beautiful addition, but composite, well, looks like composite, not wood! And mold spots certainly detract from the aesthetic of any deck.

3. How will future home-buyers view my material choice? Falling short comes to mind! Worse yet, with the troubles of composite decking becoming more public, they may be put off by the eventual work that will no doubt have to be undertaken to correct the problem.

Duradek decking on the other hand not only adds value to a home, but it also adds functionality. With dozens of colors and finishes available for Duradek and Durarail, vinyl decking always adds too the aesthetic of every home. And perhaps most importantly, future home buyers would no doubt view a choice in favor of Duradek as being a well thought out investment!

Duradek is only installed by our trained, certified and approved international network of installers who stand ready to answer your questions today!