What’s the best material to make a deck out of… wood (treated pine, ceder, redwood, other), composit wood (sawdust and plastic blend), concrete (possibly textured or colored), or rock (such as flagstone). It seems there are positives and negatives to each. Either it costs a bunch, or you have to restain it every year. Decisions, decisions. By the way, this is for Texas weather.
Pressure-treated red cedar seems to be the most popular choice, since it has inherent anti-rotting properties; plus it looks good and weathers well. YMMV.
Well “best” depends entirely on the value you place on all the qualities of the deck. Also what are the parameters? How big? How much budget? Are you doing it all yourself? What skills and tools do you have? Since you include concrete and stone I assume it isn’t a raised desck. Concreate is likely most cost effective in the long run if the asthetics don’t bother you.
Of course Texas, being such a tiny state, doesn’t have a climate that ranges from a hurricane coast to desert. Whereabouts in Texas are you from?
The sailing club I’m in decided not to build the new dock from the composite “wood” because it’s slippery when wet.
Thanks for the tip AskNott. I’m going to build a mini-deck in a few weeks for a bladder pool and was going to consider using Trex composite. I’ll stick with redwood now.
The choice of material is to a certain extent determined by the appearance desired. No way will you make wood or wood plastic composite look like flagstone or brick!
On the otherhand it’s difficult to build a suspended or raised deck out of other than wood or wood composite.
Location, location, location!
Wow, you guys are on the ball. Those were quick responses! I’m in Dallas, TX. The deck will only be about 6 1/2 inches off the grass. I currently have a 10 x 10 plain concrete patio that came with the house. I want to make it about 12 x 24. I will be doing the work myself, unless I go with more concrete. I was strongly considering the composit material, but like the earlier response, I don’t want it to get slippery, plus the material cost about 3 times as much as wood, and it’s not that nice looking. I think I’m leaning towards flagstone, or the western red cedar. Thanks for the inputs!
Trex is not any more slippery than wood when it’s wet; I built my deck from Trex and I’m very happy with it. What does get slippery is that pure plastic “wood.” If you want a more natural look from Trex, the “saddle” color is the only one that looks at all like real wood. Trex has one major cost-saving advantage over wood – you’ll never have to paint, finish, sand, or anything.
Concrete is an inexpensive choice, and can look a lot better if you use an aggregate (small stones pressed into the surface) or a colored and stamped concrete (there are many patterns, variously designed to look like pavers, bricks, stones, or flagstone.
As mentioned by Nametag, Trex has a textured surface similar to rough sawn wood, maybe a little smoother. On my new home we are using a similar product called Geodeck http://www.geodeck.com/index.htm
It’s not a solid product like the Trex I’ve seen so is a little lighter weight.
The concrete patio will be stamped to resemble field stone.
http://www.eonoutdoor.com/index.php
You will love it. You won’t love the price, but you’ll love not having to do any maintenaece for the rest of your life (the deck will last longer than your kids).
I recently (last month) built another deck (this is the fourth one at my house - three last summer); this new one is 12’ X 12’. The other three are much larger. I built these decks, BTW, not someone else - so if you have questions, I may be able to help.
I used 2" X 6" outdoor cedar for all the planking. I cut the planks to “random” lengths, which really figured out to 8’, 6’, and 4’. I used 24" centers for the joists.
I used Behr cedar stain - I think it’s called “No. 31.” This is the same stuff I’ve used for years, even on the older decks that I took down last year. The only drawback to this stuff is that you have to apply it every year - at least two coats. But it looks fantastic, and the annual chore of getting “down and dirty” gives you the chance to inspect and repair any problems with the wooden planking, if needed. Those dang deck screws seem to have a magical way of loosening up…
Did mention screws instead of nails? Highly recommended.
Hmmm we had a front and back deck built with trex decking and we love them. Combined with the vinyl railings we will never have to paint/sand/stain anything on our deck again!
As to how slippery it is when wet… we were out there shampooing the dog after an unfortunate skunk incident and while the deck was soaked with soapy water we were not slipping anywhere.
It looks more or less like I stained wood grey to match my house (grey siding) and we’re pretty happy with it. We’ve also gotten many compliments from the neighbors.
Oh and definitely take radar ralph’s advice of screws over nails. The wooden decks on our old house always had nails popping!
Another vote for TREX, here. Never had a slippage problem.
We used the “natural” colored Trex, all our outlet had at the time, and it faded to a uniform grey. It’s ok, but not to my liking. We’re either going to stain it or paint it to match the house.
But some other folks we know got the brown-colored Trex, and it looks lovely. Wish we could have gotten that. Three years later and the color is still holding.
And I don’t care what kind of material you use to make a deck,
Always ALWAYS use screws!! The extra time is worth it in the long run. Unless you LIKE ripping big gobs of flesh off your feet when those nail heads start popping up.
I built my deck with outdoor cedar about 15 years ago. I still believe it is the best choice of the wood decks. I vastly prefer it to concrete.
Having said that, if I were to build another one now, I’d use one of the composite materials mentioned by other posters. It wears better and you don’t have to stain it.
And I’ll provide a fourth vote to use screws rather than nails.
Black Locust is becoming more popular with the green set, as it is inexpensive and highly rot-resistant (without having to be pressure-treated with arsenic, etc.). But it has a more rustic appearance than you may be going for, esp. in a suburban setting (for instance, I’m probably going to use it for my house, being built in the woods, but for my parents’ 1960s Colonial in their lawn-surrounded suburbs, it would look really wrong).
I built a very large deck out of TimberTech in early 2000 and just built a deck on my beach house out of it last year.
It’s strong, stays cool in direct sunlight, is not slippery when wet, is perfectly comfortable to walk on with bare feet, and does not warp or mildew. My only complaint is that it’s HEAVY!
I absolutely love the product. (I’m in no way associated with them…just a satisifed customer)
Yes, I’ll be using proper deck screws and may give square drive a whirl. I’ve spent too much time fixing other’s work where they used nails or drywall screws for decking. Say, does anyone know if there is any reason I couldn’t use a depth type drywall gun with square drive screws?
Padeye - Square drive screws work well if you have the right bit. If you or if a new owner misplaces the bit and needs to do some maintenance, you’re S.O.L. until you get a new bit.
Square drive screws work well as long as the bit and the screw are in good shape, but I used to build motor homes (Marlettes, to be precise) and I cursed a lot when the bit broke on my “yankee screwdriver” as I was installing convenience outlets and fixtures.
I recommend using the wood-colored (several colors available) deck screws that are driven in with a special (provided) blue bit. I can’t remember the brand right now. Although a “special” bit comes in the box, I have been able to use a #2 Phillips to turn them out of existing planks.
This site also describes deck screws that are “dual drive.” I confess that I didn’t realize how popular the square drive screws are.
The major complaint against the composites (with only a few exceptions) is that because they are largely polymer (plastic), they get really, really hot in direct sun. The maintenance advantages might not be so much an advantage if you can’t walk on the thing without having your feet roasted to medium-well. If your exposure is in full sun most of the day it might be a good idea to take a few samples of the materials you’re considering and leave them on the ground for a few days to see how they react to the local conditions. It can be really expensive to take a whole deck apart . . . I promise . . .
Gairloch
i notice nobody’s mentioned using wood from “sustainable
sources” (ie from forests that are properly maintained and
will grow back again), or are you not concerned about
environmental effects ?