Decking Materials
When it comes to picking the best decking materials, wood is the original choice for most people. This is because it is strong and natural and it can be installed with minimum fuss or bother and it also feels very good when it comes into contact with your feet – especially bare feet. However, wood is also one of those decking materials that will have to be cleaned on an annual basis and it is prone to rotting and splintering and it can warp quite easily as well. Though wood is one of the best decking materials it can turn gray on account of weather conditions. However, if it is cleaned and also re-stained once in every 2 to 3 years it will continue to look good for a long time to come.
Pressure-treated wood
Pressure-treated wood is also one of the better decking materials and can last for up to 15 years and is also very affordable and a common decking material. Most such woods are made from Southern yellow pine which however has to be maintained to prevent it from splintering.
Tropical hardwood
Tropical hardwood is very dense and also very durable and is one of those decking materials that will provide richness of color and will resist insects as well as will not decay and so can be expected to last for about twenty-five years. The trouble with such decking materials is that they are costly and heavy and not easy to work with. If you are going to use this wood, then try and avoid the dark woods, especially if your deck is going to be exposed to a lot of sunlight.
Cedar and Redwood
Both Cedar and Redwood are excellent decking materials and have the natural ability to resist insects and will not rot and will last for about two decades. The trouble with them is that can be soft and may easily be damaged on account of traffic. However, they are also light in weight and quite stiff and these woods do tend to fade when exposed to the sun. To prevent fading, it is necessary to apply sun-blocking finish.
Composite materials
Composite materials are derived by blending plastic with waste wooden fibers. The advantage of such decking materials is that they do not splinter and there is no need to stain or paint these materials. However, composites are also quite expensive and they are heavier than normal woods and have to be scrubbed on a regular basis to prevent them from being affected by mildew.
Engineered composite decking materials have grooves on their undersides which help in making the material lighter and at the same time ensure that the material does not lose any of its stiffness. Such decking materials can also have grooves in their edges which help to ensure that you can make use of hidden fasteners which means that screws will not be visible on the deck face.
Plastic
Plastic is another one of the many decking materials that one can choose from. these materials do not splinter and are virtually maintenance-free and only require cleaning every once in a while. The trouble with this material is that it does not feel or look or even sound like wood but they do allow you to make use of complex fastening systems which help the boards in moving with each change in temperature but there will be some squeaking sound when you walk on such decking materials.