Duradek Vinyl Versus Cedar Deck

Duradek Vinyl Versus Cedar Deck

There’s no question that a cedar deck makes a statement. The beauty of the natural wood adds an element of class to a home, and no question that it adds value to a home.

But cedar decks do not come without sacrifice:

1. Cost: Cedar decking boards are very pricey, costing several dollars per linear foot. Building a Cedar Deck can easily cost thousands of dollars in decking material costs.
2. Maintenance: Cedar is beautiful but it requires a lot of work. It’s still a soft wood, so pressure washing your cedar deck can permanently damage the surface. Which means, you’ll be spending your valuable spring or summer deck time scrubbing your deck with soap and water and bleach if there’s mould. Not to mention the sealing an staining it will require.
3. Pressure treatments: While pressure treated lumber can greatly reduce the regularity of major maintenance on your cedar deck, it opens the door to new problems. Pressure treated lumber is treated using a copper oxide, which frankly, isn’t great for the environmnent.

Let’s compare these with Duradek Vinyl decking material solutions:

1.  Cost: Duradek is more affordable for several reasons:

• Because you don’t buy duradek by the linear foot.
• Duradek is not an endangered and limited natural product demanding a premium cost.
• Duradek is installed only by approved applicators, meaning cost control and affordability for you.
• Duradek is installed quicker than cedar decking resulting in reduced labour installation costs.

2. Maintenance: It’s no secret. We love our outdoor time. Why would you want to spend the precious little outdoor weather we get on maintaining, scrubbing and staining your deck? Duradek is the only true low-maintenance decking solution available. Duradek is not only durable, it looks great and can handle a quick pressure wash from time to time.

3. Eco Friendly:  Unlike pressure treated cedar, duradek is truly eco-friendly. Meeting L.E.E.D building certification standards and most every other green construction standard you can think of.

4. One More Thing: to plagiarize Steve Jobs for a second, Duradek also has “one more thing”. Duradek goes places no cedar deck has gone before. Duradek can do what cedar decking does, but the reverse is certainly not true. Duradek creates additional usable space for your home, whether it’s under-deck dry-storage or a roof-top walking deck, Duradek is simply in a class of its own.

5. Okay maybe two more things: Duradek is only installed by approved, trained and certified decking installers or “Applicators”. So you don’t have to worry about vetting out the thousand cedar deck quotes for who looks most reputable, we’ve done the work for you. If they’re approved, you’re good to go. Find your Duradek installer from our international network of decking installers here.

In conclusion; cedar decks are beautiful. Duradek is beautiful and functional.