Decking: Composite or treated?

Composite, hands down. Yeah, it can be slick when wet, and costs more initially. But the lack of upkeep seals the deal for me. My in-laws and my aunt and uncle did new decks at roughly the same time. The in-laws' wood deck looks like crap, and my aunt and uncle's composite deck looks brand new.

 

This is the jig I am going to use to screw the deck boards down on the deck I am working on:

Not cheap, but I think it's worth it:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=25067

 

If this thread does not confirm that sj is the go to location for any question, I don't know what does.

I've had some good quality composite fencing up for 3 years now and it still looks like new. Not all composites look the same. The cheaper ones look very shiny and the look will wear on you. They better grades have a quality look.

Suggest that you ask contractor for references of people he put up composite decks for and go look at them.

 

This, I know, is going to be a pain in the ass, but here it is fwiw.

If you can stomach the price difference, composite is the way to go ... with one extra step.

If you have children or old people, I'd suggest it. You can have basically grit mixed into paint and stuff. They also can mix this into coatings, which appear clear. Cover the Composite with that. If you get a water-based, you can do it yourself and it's really easy. (Easy, if you're deck isn't huge.)

They are slick. But other than that, you're never gonna have to deal with them again.

In small decks, though, I'd go with wood, just because I like the the natural look.

 

If you use composite, make sure that the joist spacing is correct. Many composites cannot span as much space as lumber. That usually adds to the construstion cost, but too wide a space between joints and the composite material softens in the heat and sags.

 

Finished the job and the Kreg jig worked fine. Gives the deck a clean look. Would use it again.

 

Got a composite deck 7 years ago, still looks brand new. Rock solid. I'm a big guy, most of my relatives are big, and I have never felt even the slightest shudder, even when we have 10 or so people on it. "Maintenance" consists of spraying the odd bit of bird shit off it with a garden hose every couple weeks.

I don't do much on it in the wintertime, but it is the "rear entrance" to my house, so I do walk on it in ice-snow season. I have never noticed it being any slipperier than concrete.

At my uncle's $2 million Great Lakes mansion-cottage, he had a wooden deck built about 15 years ago, the thing is absolutely going to pieces -- warped boards, splinters, nail heads sticking out. I sure as hell wouldn't walk on it barefoot.

Granted, he's only sanded/refinished it a couple times (I think you're supposed to strip it down and refinish the whole shebang every 2-3 years or so) and he's right on the lake so he gets a lot more weather than I do, but he's gonna have to rip the thing apart in another year or two.

If you've got enough money to have a deck at all, I'd go with composite. Unless you are pretty sure you're not going to be in the house more than 5 years or so, in which case I'm not sure a deck makes that much sense.

 

you might want to consider cedar.
allow it to fade to a barnboard gray, looks quite nice

 

Composite will look brand new forever, but that only means it'll look like shit forever. I loathe the appearance of composite (no offense to those who have it, just a personal preference). I think composite looks like too much like it's made by Playskool and is meant for your kid's jungle gym.

A friend of mine has one and, yes, they get VERY slick in the winter. Another friend of ours wound up in the hospital with 13 staples in his head and a concussion from slipping on that deck.

My dad, a carpenter, built the deck on our house when I was 12 or so using treated lumber. Eighteen years later, he's never had to replace any boards and has had no problems with warping or rotting. He power washes it once a year, maybe a little more depending on what the weather is like that year. It still looks fantastic.

 

The composite deck surface on mine came from the factory as a medium "barnboard" gray and has a decent grain texture that makes it less slippery in the winter.

Now that the whole deal is 7 years old, the foundations, railings, etc etc have faded to a medium gray tone themselves and the gray decking doesn't stand off at all. From 20 feet away, it looks like the whole thing is built out of the same material.