Good Stuff Happens in 1:1 Meetings: Why you need them and how to do them well
Decking material
1. Whichdeck materialsare rightforyour deck?Whichmaterial isbest?Whichone lastslongest?Which
one requiresthe leastmaintenance?Whichone coststhe most?Orthe least? If youchoose wrongly,
youmay have justspenta lot of moneyona productyou aren'thappywith.Andone you will likelybe
stuck withforquite a while.
The answersto these questionsandmore are foundhere.There isnosingle answertosome questions
aboutdeck materials.Yoursituationhascharacteristicsthatothersmaynothave,so yourneedswill be
different.Let'slookatthe optionssoyou can make an informedconfidentdecision.One thatyouwill be
happyabout foryears.
The primary materialsusedfordecksare;wood,composite,plasticandaluminum.We'll lookatthem
individuallyasyoudecide whatmaterial isbestforyourdeckand yourwallet. deckingmaterial
Wood isby far the mostcommonmaterial usedfordecks.Somewherearound85 percentof single
familyhomeshave some sortof deck.A veryhighpercentage of those are made of wood,mostly
pressure treatedpine.There are goodreasonsfor the popularityof treatedlumber.Yellow pineis
strong.If youwant toimpressyourfriendsyoucandescribe itas dimensionallystable.The restof usjust
say strong.It isinexpensive (relativelyspeaking) andreadilyavailable,prettymucheverywhere. Treated
lumberlooksgood,especiallyafterithasbeenstained.Whenitweathers,itcanbe refinishedeasilyand
lookas goodor betterthan new.Yellowpineiseasytocut, nail,screw,andworkwithingeneral.Onthe
downside,itdoesn'tlastas longas mostof the otherproducts.Withpropercare, youshouldget15
yearsof goodservice froma treatedlumberdeck.Yes,youwill needtoclean,sandandrefinishitevery
otheryear or so.Andthere are alwaysthe splinters,cracks,warps,andgeneral wearingoutovertime.
It's alwaysbesttolookat costissuesovertime,ratherthanjustthe initial cost.Estimatesvary,butwhen
the cost of maintenance andearlierreplacementisfactoredin,the costof treatedpine usuallycatches
up withmore expensivewoodsin5to 8 years.Of course,if you needtokeepthe initial costlow,the
cost over8 yearsisn'twhat isimportantat that time.Let'slookat some of the other available wood
species.