Patio deck advice - treated wood vs composite

[Macdrizzle]

I’m looking for some shared experiences between either going with treated wood or composite material for a patio deck re-build. Long story short, I have a rental property on the coast of BC where it sees rain 90% year round. The back deck is starting to rot because the previous owners decided to put lipsticks on a pig and built a brand new deck out of non-treated wood right before they sold the house to me. Now I have tenants complaining the deck is starting to go and I ended up getting some pricing for getting it redone. Treated wood option will cost me about $9K and composite would cost me $17K.

I’ve read that composite lasts forever and treated wood still has a chance of rotting depending on the fungi present in the area. Since the coast receives rain 90% year round I’m leaning toward just spending a little extra and get composite. What are the pros and cons of each option? Which option would you recommend?

[Trochu]

Pros of composite is, if done properly, should never have to be replaced. The con is, as your quote indicates, its about 2x the cost. Really boils down to how long you're intending to keep the property.

[Jeron Kahyar]

Composite decking will outlast any of the treated products. There is a few caveats to working with it however.

First it is heavy and not good at supporting loads. So make sure when building you add proper support under it to avoid making a springboard deck.

Second is along the same lines of it not being structural. All of your structural components under the decking will still be traditional treated wood. Be sure to spend a bit extra with membrane tapes and proper design to keep the water from sitting on the top of the wood boards under the decking material and rotting out the structure under your expensive decking. If you can use post anchors that keep the posts out of the ground as well this is the best option in my opinion.

As stated above it really will depend on how long you intend on keeping the property and if you think you can add value to the rental with the composite deck to determine its viability for you.

[3blade]

Parents did theirs in composite, 20g. I did mine in PT, about 6g.

Composite does in fact break down in the sun. Slowly, but you will see it fading and surface peeling over years. It’s also heavy and a pita to work with.

The substructure is all pt and will rot at any spot that the surface is broken (screws/holes) and where water can’t escape (joint)

There are Scandinavian techniques (bottom screws, pine/spruce tar, particular woods) that can survive for centuries.

Just depends on how much you want to put into it.

[CanuckShooter]

We just rebuilt our deck, decided to go with untreated spf for joists/plywood decking with dura-deck on top. Probably close to the cost of using composite deck boards but the joist and under structure are in a waterproof environment, plus we could wall it in for extra dry storage space.

Incidentally on our old deck the deck boards were rotted really bad, to the point you had to be careful where you put the legs of your chair for fear of going through. But the treated 2x10 joists were in surprisingly decent shape considering how bad the deck boards were, good enough to use for a shed build.

[wwbirds]

Did very large deck in front with untrested intending to put duradeck but the price doubled in 2 years and untreated wood didnt wait. Replaced all plywood with tongue and grove treated 5/8 taped and silicone filled jointed before applying some home hardware stone non slip surface. Again it failed and we got a full refund on product. Treated 5/8 was compromised so we removed it and reinforced substructure with additional 2 x10 support so each composite plank was supported at 18 inch intervals. 3 years and counting having wished we would have installed the composite in the first place. In wet environments i would say buy once cry once but it is not my money

[Grizzly Adams1]

Even treated wood is high maintenance with the crappy stains you have to buy these days, composite with metal railing is the way to go if you can afford it.

Grizz

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Trochu

Pros of composite is, if done properly, should never have to be replaced. The con is, as your quote indicates, its about 2x the cost. Really boils down to how long you're intending to keep the property.

Yup. Ours is composite. Looks like New Years later. No maintenance except a pressure spray now and again.

Would never go with a wood deck after living with this one. Had wood before.

[daveyn]

We had 3 composite decks/balconies done when we built our home. Like previously mentioned, all the infrastructure is still wood and I anticipate issues down the road, Also as previously mentioned you should but in extra stringers as there is definatly a bounce to the deck.
So while it is pretty much maintenance free, its only the decking thats maintenance free. Our contractor did a pretty poor install in my opinion, but its hard for me to be critical as I have none of those skills. We had an addition put on the deck after a few years with a different contractor and the difference is really really noticeble in the fit and finish.
Last thing though you should know, this stuff gets really hot, as in you can't walk on it in your bare feet at high noon. I mean its smoking hot on your feet. but it looks goods and I'll never have to stain it.

[yoteblaster]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

Even treated wood is high maintenance with the crappy stains you have to buy these days, composite with metal railing is the way to go if you can afford it.

Grizz

Yes is this exactly what we did. Previous pressure treated deck needed to be stained every 2 years. Composite is going on 7 years now and looks great. Does get hot on bare feet but beats wood slivers any day. Metal railing also gets hot but it’s black. Wiping bird crap off the metal is very easy as well

[Penner]

I would go with neither. PVC all the way with Aluminum railings and never look back. Still need PT for substructure with a tighter O.C. but topping membrane on top of joists will have it lasting a long time.

The PVC is fairly heavy but was the easiest material I’ve ever worked with. Cuts like butter screws down easily. Wolf was the product I went with. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

It ain’t cheap but nearly maintenance free and looks great.

[elkhunter11]

My deck is 15 years old, and still looks good, other than a bit of fading. I would never go with wood again.

[58thecat]

Will eventually have to make the decision too but our deck of 17 years, pressure treated, is holding up very well.

After it was built we let it sit for one season and then after that every year it gets a soaking of Thompson’s water seal the clear stuff. Takes about two hours to do but worth it.

[BloodHound70]

Did composite as well. Still looks like the day we built it 10 years later.
The cool thing about composite is that you can go with a couple of different colors and really make it look awesome.

BH

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by Penner

I would go with neither. PVC all the way with Aluminum railings and never look back. Still need PT for substructure with a tighter O.C. but topping membrane on top of joists will have it lasting a long time.

The PVC is fairly heavy but was the easiest material I’ve ever worked with. Cuts like butter screws down easily. Wolf was the product I went with. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

It ain’t cheap but nearly maintenance free and looks great.

Bad part about plastic, including vinyl siding, is that it's affected by ultra violet light and deteriorates over time.

Grizz

[Big Sky]

Originally Posted by CanuckShooter

But the treated 2x10 joists were in surprisingly decent shape considering how bad the deck boards were, good enough to use for a shed build.

Love this! Rip 'em lengthwise and turn the old joists into studs.
This belongs in that old frugality thread.

[huntinstuff]

You had my mind made up at "rental property"

Wood.

No way Id spent big $ so renters can wreck it.

Not even considering the pros and cons of composite vs wood

If it's for renters, go with pressure treated wood.

[brewster29]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

My deck is 15 years old, and still looks good, other than a bit of fading. I would never go with wood again.

Ditto. I went with TREX brand 12 years ago, along with aluminum railings. It still looks great, although it has faded a bit. I don’t find it hot to walk on, but it is a light grey colour. Installed it myself, used 20 foot planks so I don’t have any joints anywhere. That stuff is heavy! Total maintenance to date was a good scrub of the decking about four years ago (one hour?). The newer stuff can be pressure washed. My buddy went pt at the same time and he was complaining about cracks and slivers in two years.

[Puddle]

Which ever you decide, a self adhesive membrane applied to the top of the joists before the deck will extend the life of the deck huge. Very simple and effective. Many options to this product.
https://www.ipeclip.com/joist-tape-deck-flashing

[Prairiewolf]

The maintenance on my composite deck consists of a pressure washer and a beer. I have no regrets.

[Desert Eagle]

I would look at cedar especially if you’re on the coast. We had amazing luck, and it only needs a coat of water seal every few years. Natural product made for this environment.

[stob]

Originally Posted by Trochu

Pros of composite is, if done properly, should never have to be replaced. The con is, as your quote indicates, its about 2x the cost. Really boils down to how long you're intending to keep the property.

X2...I would use a solid composite like TREX and go 1 to 2 shades darker than you want so it will sun bleach to the color you want...I have done 3 decks with TREX ...do not use hollow core composites as they will eventually cup and hold water etc

[Spidey]

Originally Posted by huntinstuff

You had my mind made up at "rental property"

Wood.

No way Id spent big $ so renters can wreck it.

Not even considering the pros and cons of composite vs wood

If it's for renters, go with pressure treated wood.

I agree. We went with PT for our rental property deck replacement a couple years ago given it was a third of the cost of composite or pvc. Also, after a few years, if you decide it's not holding up well to the moisture in the area, this is an excellent product to coat with (and doesn't get hot to the touch like composite). We used it to coat both of our older duradecks in our main house three years ago, and it's stood up amazingly well. It's also a Canadian company.

https://shopliquidrubber.com/product...RoCwCYQAvD_BwE

[fordtruckin]

I’d go for real wood. If you’re worried about slivers spend a bit more on something like Super Deck. You can add in some texture and seal down any splinters. Have done one deck in it that gets a ton of use and after 4 years the only wear is a little on the edge of the steps.


https://www.sherwin-williams.com/hom...k-dock-coating

[bucksnbears]

I wouldn't put Slippery/Hot composite on anything!. Plus is So easy to scratch.