Hello, I am looking to build a new deck and cant decide on material. I am looking at possibly going either composite or cedar. I'm wondering how hot the composite gets compared to lumber. I also saw a company called versa deck that is aluminum and supposedly cooler than wood. Has anyone heard of or used them. Thank you.
Building new deck
- Thread starter mark_k
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Hi Mark,
I'd think aluminium would get extremely hot in direct sunlight. then composite, then wood.
I've always shied away from decking as you're in for "perpetual maintenance."
For our patio I laid crazy York stone over a concrete raft thirty years ago.
I recently had our five foot deep 3000 gall koi pool filled in after thirty-three years, the choice was decking or flags, I settled for flags over 20 tons of eco friendly hardcore. So again, no chance of weeds.
Just as important as the type of decking you choose, is "what's under it." I'd want something solid so no weeds can get a foothold and grow up through the decking. I'd want to be able to use a vac to pull up anything that drops through the decking.
Composite decking works well as long as you don't go too budget. Decent quality composite decking takes less maintenance and it is often smoother underfoot and will also be a better material for moderating temperature extremes. My brother used this stuff for his decking a couple of years ago. It still looks great and I know he is happy with it. This is of course in Europe - are you here or in America? If you are in USA then I'm sure you can find an equivalent product. Cedar is a good material but I think it will work out a lot more expensive than the composite options.
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I would recommend that you should choose composite decks. Composite materials offer durability and maintenance is also less. My Home Handyman is a best choice for Composite decks.
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I've built several decks for relatives, friends and myself. Mine was the first 35 years ago with 5/4 decking treated wood. It still is is good shape but I have maintained it all along. If you use wood, use 3 fasteners not 2 on each joist and make sure it is concave down. For me, I started out with clear sealer, but for the past 20 years I have used a light color semi solid stain. I think that is much more UV resistant and gives a consistent coating over the wood. with that said, I would use composite. You wash it down now and then when needed. I have a medium grey deck with composite and it gets pretty warm in the summer