I'm going to be building a new deck for my house. Probably about 15' x 15'. The climate is upstate New York. Is it better to use real wood or the kind of pre-fabricated material they sell these days ? I like to looks of real wood better, but I've heard the pre-fabricated material lasts a lot longer.
#2
173abn
Kelly5,I built my decks with wood and composit. The composit costs a whole lot more than real wood and over time the sun tends to fade the color but it doesn't require the upkeep real wood does.If you use real wood use treated lumber for the framing and Preminum decking for the deck.Makes a big differance. russ
#3
173abn
I forget to say that I poured footers and made the deck seperate from my house. russ
By all means, go with the real thing! It is much less expensive than the composite stuff. It feels so much better underfoot----there's just nothing like being barefoot on a wooden deck. If you keep it stained, it will last a long, long time,
You were a wise man to build the deck separate from the house, a few more posts and footings are required but it's well worth it. And your suggestion about using premium deck boards...WELL SAID.
I paid an extra $200 for Home Depot's premium wood 5/4 decking for my larger deck, and it was money well spent. No warps, no wanes, no knotholes or pitch spots....and I think it holds stain much better than the cheaper deck boards the lumberyard sent us for the smaller one. I have over $5000 in materials invested in my larger deck, so an addition $200 was peanuts. Well worth it.
