Deck with railings and staircase
Adding an outdoor deck to your home is a good way to create or extend the living “spaces” available on your property. There are a number of reasons to design and use exterior “decking” on your property, from landscaping (the major contributing factor, of course) to creating an area to comfortably entertain friends and associates – the primal desire to accomodate fellowship in a group setting.
Building Material
Decks can be made from a variety of materials. Traditionally, a basic deck was built from lumber, cedar or fir, or pressure treated pine (treated for protection from the outdoors), or some type of composite material made from mixing plastics and wood fiber. Artificial decking products are often called “wood-plastic composites” (WPC’s). Other material can include aluminum, western red cedar, teak, mahogany, and other hardwoods, recycled planks made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polystyrene (PS) and PET plastic. These days WPC’s are more widely known by different brands like Trex, Azek, Ecornboard, etc.
Softwood Decking
Decking Mosaic Inlay
The softwoods used for decking were logged from old growth forests. These include Atlantic White Cedar, Redwood and Western Red Cedar. Atlantic City built the first coastal boardwalk in the United States, originally constructed of Atlantic White Cedar. However, it was not long before the commercial logging of this tree and the clearing of cedar swamps in New Jersey caused a decline in the availability of decking. Atlantic City and New York City both switched to Western Red Cedar. By the 1960s, Western red cedar from the US was declining due to over-logging. More expensive Western red cedar was available from western Canada (British Columbia) but by then, pressure treated pine had become available.
Pressure Treated Decking
Long Stairs
Pressure treated wood is long lasting and holds up to wet and icy weather conditions. Although initially a light greenish colour which fades to grey over time, it can be stained in a variety of colours to make your deck match the surroundings of your home.
Composite Decking
As mentioned previously, composite decking is a mixture of two materials, typically wood pulp and recycled plastic (such as plastic bottles or plastic bags). Driven by environmental concerns, and to curb current logging activities, composite decking was created as a much needed development for the creation of new decks. While generally more expensive than either of the other two options, composite decking comes in a huge variety of colours, textures, and sizes. Speak to us today about creating your dream deck!
