Wood decking remains the most widely used material for residential decks, valued for its natural beauty and versatility. Synthetic decking options—including wood-plastic composites (WPC), capped composites, and PVC products—have also gained significant popularity in recent years. Manufacturers of composite decking frequently highlight the advantages of their materials. But there are a lot of things the manufacturers don’t tell you. Learn more here.
Whether you are considering a real wood, synthetic, or composite decking material for your deck project, here are some things you should know before you decide.
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Cleaning
Whether you have wood, metal or synthetic decking, all decks require regular cleaning. An annual cleaning is a minimum requirement for all decks, regardless of type.
Mold and mildew are not only unsightly, but they may also affect the performance of WPC decking and some capped composite deck materials. Use the appropriate cleaner and mold/mildew solution with synthetic decking. Do not use harsh chemicals as they may harm your deck, and possibly void your warranty.
Installation Concerns
Because synthetic decking materials have no wood fiber, they are very low strength and have little structural integrity. They span very short distances (typically 16 inches or less). Pay close attention to proper joist spacing, fastening, and leaving room at the ends of boards for movement. When installing any synthetic decking materials, always follow the various manufacturers’ instructions to the “T”.
- Joist spacing - to help reduce the amount of sagging of composite decking, set your joists at a maximum spacing of 16” on center (the distance from the center of one joist to the center of the next joist). If you want a stiffer feeling to your deck and deck boards, you can go to a tighter, 12” on center joist spacing. It creates a sturdier deck structure and supports the composite boards better. This method adds about 20% to the installation cost and requires 20% more fasteners.
For diagonal composite deck board installations, manufacturers advise using a maximum of 12” on center for joist spacing. For a stiffer, less bouncy feel, you can space your joists even closer.
- Proper fastening – whether you are using hidden fasteners, or face screwing your deck boards, always use the manufacturer’s specified fasteners and always follow the manufacturer's instructions. Failure to do so can void your warranty. Don’t skimp, it’s not worth the small upfront potential savings.
- Planning for expansion and contraction at the ends of the deck boards – this is a tricky one because all the various synthetic decking materials expand and contract by different amounts at various temperatures. Essentially, the boards will lengthen in hot weather and shrink in length during colder weather, but to varying degrees, depending on the type of synthetic decking.
Always use the manufacturers’ recommendations for end of board spacing, or you can create problems of your own, (like deck boards buckling or huge hideous gaps at the ends of the deck boards).
If you are cutting 45-degree miters at the ends of deck boards, or for a picture frame, be especially careful of your spacing. Cutting deck boards at a 45-degree angle exposes more of the ends of the board. This can create a very uneven gap when the deck boards expand and contract. Some synthetic decking manufacturers suggest not doing it at all.
Hazards and Hidden Dangers
There are many hidden dangers when using synthetic decking. Here are a few you should be aware of.
- Tripping hazards –Synthetic deck boards tend to sag in the middle (between joists), so beware of potential tripping hazards. Likewise, if any of the deck boards have buckled (in hot weather), or created large gaps (in cold weather), be careful there, too. Heat and cold change the geography of a composite deck, and the contours can change quickly with temperature changes.
- Slippery surface – because they have a plastic surface, capped composites and PVC decking are more vulnerable to slips and falls than most other types of decking material options.
- Breakage – broken boards, whether they are from poor installation, heavy traffic, or from temperature extremes, are also potential danger zones. Be careful. Repair quickly.
Appearance
Synthetic deck boards look great, especially when they are brand new. Over time, though, many changes can occur. Traffic and weather will affect the look and feel of synthetic decking as it wears and ages.
- Color fading – many of the manufacturers have additives that will help minimize color fading due to UV exposure and other environmental conditions. Realize that it’s just a matter of time, though, before nature wins the battle. Areas of your deck that get the most direct sunlight will fade first.
- Scratches – scrapes, scratches and gouges are inevitable in any deck. Unfortunately, with synthetic decking, these scrapes scratches and gouges cannot be sanded, fixed or repaired. The only solution is to replace the scratched synthetic deck board or boards with new ones and hope the color match isn’t very noticeable.
- Chipping – chipped corners or edges can happen with any of the synthetic decking options. They cannot be sanded or stained like wood decking. So, short of replacing the damaged boards, there is no good solution to this problem.
- Ugly ends – with capped composites, the ends of the boards are exposed. This shows the composite core, which looks nothing like the face of the deck boards.
Financial
Investing in a deck is a great way to create an inviting place outside your home. That can be a great investment for your family, happiness, health and wellbeing. From a financial standpoint though, you likely will not get a full return on your investment with composite decking.
- Up front cost – the initial cost of a synthetic deck, particularly capped composites and PVC decking options are among the most expensive deck board materials available.
- ROI – according to numerous real estate and industry research reports and surveys, a wood deck offers a significantly higher return on investment than a composite deck.
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Types of Synthetic Decking
There are three basic types of synthetic decking that are popular in today’s market; wood plastic composite (WPC), “capped” composites, and PVC decking. They have some similarities, but they are all quite different.
WPC Composite Decking
Wood plastic composite (WPC) decking was the first of the synthetic decking materials to be released. It is a mixture of ground wood fibers (or rice hulls), different types of plastic fillers and a binding agent. Wood plastic composite decking was first created as an alternative to pressure-related lumber wood decking. The initial price of this type of decking material is fairly low, but there is a myriad of problems with this decking over the course of its lifetime.
Pros:
- Low initial cost
- Fairly low maintenance
Cons:
- Mold and mildew spores love non-capped composite decking. They embed themselves in the surface pores and are difficult to remove
- Does not look like real wood
- The colors tend to fade out quickly
- Absorbs stains and discolors quickly
- Cannot be painted or refinished
- The soft surface scratches, scrapes, and gouges easily.
- Because there are no wood fibers (just wood particles) the material is very low strength. Your joists must be spaced no greater than 16” on center. Even at that distance, your deck boards may still sag.
- Hot weather can create warping and cause boards to bend and sag further.
- Short useable lifespan.
- High life cycle costs
- Low return on investment (ROI)
- Non-recyclable
Capped Composite Decking
When manufacturers started to see that many of the problems with traditional wood plastic composite decking could not be fixed, they created a “capped” composite decking material. Capped composite decking materials are wood plastic composites with a PVC shell or cover.
The cap covers the WPC core of the deck boards and offers some protection from the elements. This solved many of the issues with early composite deck boards but created new problems of their own.
Pros:
- Fairly easy to clean, lower maintenance
- Lots of color options
- Looks a little more like real wood than standard composite decking.
- Resistant to insects and decay
- Durable
Cons:
- Higher upfront costs
- When the colors begin to fade, nothing can be done
- The surface scratches, scrapes, and gouges, especially in higher traffic areas.
- Scrapes, scratches and gouges cannot be sanded out
- Because the core of this product is still WPC, the deck boards remain very low strength. Your joists must be spaced no greater than 16” on center. Even at that distance, your deck boards may still sag.
- If you wish to run your deck boards diagonally, you must frame (or reframe) your deck joists at no greater than 12” on center.
- Hot weather heats the deck boards up and can make walking barefoot on it a painful experience
- The heat can also cause warping and may cause boards to bend and sag.
- This type of deck board expands (lengthwise) in hot weather, this can create buckling where the ends of two deck boards meet
- The boards shrink lengthwise in cold weather and can create gaps at the ends of the deck boards
- Caution: Slippery when wet
- Non-recyclable
PVC Decking
PVC decking is an extruded plastic material and uses no wood fiber. It is the most expensive of the synthetic decking materials and is available in a variety of colors, mostly lighter tones. It looks great, especially right off the shelf. The biggest concerns with PVC decking are the cost, high heat and expansion and contraction.
Pros:
- Easy to clean
- Looks more like real wood than composite decking
- Several color options
- Resistant to insects and decay
- Durable
Cons:
- Highest upfront costs
- When the colors begin to fade, nothing can be done
- The surface scratches, scrapes, and gouges easily, especially in higher traffic areas.
- Scrapes, scratches and gouges cannot be sanded out
- Because the product is plastic, with no wood fibers, the deck boards are very low in strength. Your joists must be spaced a maximum of 16” on center. Even at that distance, your deck boards may still sag.
- If you wish to run your deck boards diagonally, you must frame (or reframe) your deck joists at no greater than 12” on center.
- Hot weather heats the deck boards up and can make walking barefoot on it painful
- The heat can also cause warping and may cause boards to bend and sag.
- PVC deck boards expand (lengthwise) in hot weather, which can create buckling where the ends of two deck boards meet
- PVC boards shrink lengthwise in cold weather, which can create gaps at the ends of the deck boards
- Caution: Slippery when wet
- Non-recyclable
Other Decking Material Options to Consider
Composite decking was originally created as a replacement for pressure treated southern yellow pine (SYP) softwood decking. SYP wood decking has many bad habits, such as twisting, cupping, splintering, checking, warping and more.
But there are many other real wood decking materials to consider that are less costly upfront than composite deck options, behave better than softwoods, and offer a better return on investment as well.
- Hardwood decking options such as Ipe, Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry), Garapa, Machiche (Mayan Mahogany), Cumaru, and others are extremely strong, durable and resistant to decay and insects. They can be easily sanded or stained if any issues such as scratches, gouges, stains and more occur.
- In some high fire areas, ignition resistant decking is required. Mataverde SaferWood decking meets these requirements with fire retardant treated real wood decking.
Hardwood Decking
High density hardwood decking is available in many different real wood species, all of which are very sturdy, highly durable, insect and rot resistant and stainable.The beautiful grain and color variations create a warm and welcoming appearance.
Pros:
- Moderate price
- Real natural wood beauty
- Insect and rot resistant
- Resistant to scratches and scrapes
- Easy to repair if needed
- Exceptionally strong
- Highly durable
- Low maintenance option
- May be reused or recycled at end of usable life
Cons:
- Takes carbide tip tools to install
- Requires periodic refinishing to maintain the 'like new' wood like
Compare synthetic decking to real wood decking options:
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