When you’re planning to build an outdoor deck, you first need to decide which material to use for the decking. First of all, the price of different materials is different, and secondly, the effect that can be achieved is also different. In addition, the service life of these materials and later maintenance issues also need to be considered. So before starting your outdoor project, compare different materials in many ways.

Here are three of the most commonly used flooring materials, which are pressure-treated wood, wood-plastic composites, and PVC.

Wooden deck

When there were not many material choices in the early days, wooden decks were the most commonly used, and they are still widely used decking materials. This material is usually a pressure-treated softwood such as hemlock, fir, or pine. More expensive types of wood decks include mahogany and tropical hardwoods such as teak or IPE. Lumber that needs to be pressure treated is usually less expensive, and premium woods like hardwoods are usually more expensive.

Advantage

If you want to save money and don’t want complicated things, then natural wood is your best choice. Standard wood floors are available at local construction stores. Exotic woods must be ordered through a specialist wood dealer. Real wood floors have a natural look and feel not found in other materials.

Shortcoming

Whether it’s cheap pressure-treated planks or pricier wood floors. Both require regular maintenance, power cleaning every two or three years, and re-staining or painting the wood deck. If you can’t afford to spend a lot of time on the post-maintenance of your deck, then you should avoid natural wood decks.

Also, be aware of the cost of refinishing over the life of your patio. The long-term maintenance cost of a wood patio should be considered along with the initial cost of the materials. Wood patios may also need to be replaced sooner than other patio materials because it can easily rot over time.

Cost

Pressure-treated lumber is the cheapest way to lay a patio. Mahogany floors are comparable to wood composites, while imported hardwoods can be much more expensive. Pressure-treated lumber is also the least expensive material for non-patio components, such as stairs, guards, and railings.

WPC floor

Wood-plastic composite flooring is made from a mix of recycled plastic and wood fibers, with some preservatives and adhesives added. Wood-plastic composite flooring is good for protecting the environment. It can deal with the plastic waste generated in society’s life, which usually cannot be processed.

Secondly, the wood fiber material used in wood-plastic composite flooring comes from unusable parts such as branches, which improves the utilization rate of tree resources and plays a role in protecting forest resources.

Advantage

When you want a low-maintenance material, choose wood-plastic composite flooring. If you have children or like to walk barefoot, the wood-plastic composite floor will not have wood thorns, so you can enjoy the feeling of walking barefoot at ease.

Wood-plastic composite flooring has good anti-corrosion and moisture-proof properties, and it will not rot or crack. And it requires little maintenance, requiring no staining or other protective treatments. Allows you to spend more time enjoying life instead of floor maintenance.

Wood-plastic composite flooring also has a long service life, often as long as 25 years. Can provide you with long-term service.

Shortcoming

Wood-plastic composite flooring doesn’t look like natural wood, and it looks a bit plastic when viewed up close. Its material density is relatively high, which means that for a deck of the same size, wood-plastic composite flooring is heavier.

Cost

WPC decks are more expensive than pressure treated decks, but less than specialty wood decks.

PVC floor

Also known as plastic or synthetic flooring, it is made of honeycomb polyvinyl chloride, the same material as plastic fencing. It is light and has the same density as a softwood like white pine. Some PVC floors are “capped,” meaning a protective shell is added to the surface to make it look like wood.

Advantage

If you are looking to purchase a material that is lighter in weight and easier to handle than wood composite, you may wish to purchase PVC flooring. Like wood composites, PVC floors will not rot and require no refinishing. Some homeowners just prefer the look of PVC to other materials.

Shortcoming

Compared to natural wood and parquet, PVC floors look the least like wood. In addition, it has all the same disadvantages as wood composites.

Cost

PVC patio materials are typically 10% to 15% more expensive than wood composite materials.

The above is a brief introduction of 3 different deck materials. Through these, you should have a preliminary understanding of which material is more suitable for you.

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