I last wrote about Composite Decking material at the beginning of March 2007 in my article 6 Advantages and 6 Disadvantages of Composite Decking.

Since then the author of the article that I linked to has written an update (March 27, 2007) and although there are some good things about composite decking material, and it is maturing as a product, it still has a long way to. The writer comes to the conclusion that the claims of composite material manufactures are erroneous. Those claims are:

• Composite Decking is Maintenance Free
• Composite Decking is Better Than Wood
• Composite Decking Last Forever

Some of these claims have been debunked in lawsuits and others are wrong in the opinion of the author.

You can read the full article at:

• Garden Structure: Composite Decking vs. Wood Decks

Technorati Tags: composite, deck, decking, decks

The use of composite decking really seems to be taking off here. While at the Calgary Home and Garden Show I had a bit of a chat at a decking booth. He told me that composite decking material is becoming more and more common. They are still building more timber/wood decks than composite decks, but composite decks are becoming more popular and common.

Below are a few advantages that they talked about with composite decking materials:

1. No evidence of nails / nice flat finish
2. Environmentally friendly, made from recycled material (plastics bags, milk bottles, etc.)
3. Pre-coloured and never has to be painted, oiled or stained
4. Easy to clean with a hose
5. Smooth, splinter free finish
6. Flexible material with many unique possibilites over wood / timber

All of those sounded too good to be true so I did a bit of research into composite decking material after coming home. There is a lot of good things about it, but there are also a few concerns that I found on the Internet about composite building materials. Here are a few of them: Continue Reading →