Composite, PVC and Low Maintenance Decking Options
There is no such thing as "maintenance free" decking and railing so please, understand any product you select will require some kind of ongoing maintenance. Anyone that tells you otherwise is feeding you a line. You wash your car right? Well, you have to wash your deck too!
All of the products we provide and install are "low maintenance", meaning cleaning will have to be done to keep the deck, railings and surfaces in good condition. What varies among deck and rail products is the amount of cleaning and the vigor with which it must be done. Some products will weather regardless of how much you clean them, others will get back to looking nearly new with minimal effort.
Our primary goal is helping our clients find the products that will continue to perform for years to come. The investment you will be making in your deck is significant, and we need you to understand what we are installing for you and why we think it is the best choice for your lifestyle. All brands are not created equal nor are their product lines. We spend countless hours researching deck products and taking factory tours so that we are the most informed and knowledgeable person you will talk to. We will highlight each product's benefits and, more importantly, we will let you know if there are any drawbacks to a certain product.
It does us no good to install a product for you which we know has been proven not to perform. In fact, we would rather pass on a project utilizing inferior materials at the client's suggestion than take it on, only to see them unhappy.We feel strongly about avoiding certain products because our inside industry connections provides us with some real horror stories that you, as a consumer, would never hear otherwise. In other words, trust us--we have YOUR best interests in mind because it's in OUR BEST INTERESTS!
The internet is polluted with misinformation about deck and railing products. Unless you've invested the time and resources we have educating yourself from better sources than the internet, your best bet is to take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Our reputation's value is based on the trust clients have continually put in us to guide them in the right direction.
"Composite" decking is a term thrown around by home owners and ignorant contractors nearly as much "Kleenex" is used to represent facial tissue. Here's quick primer on synthetic or wood-alternative decking. You can watch a video on the lower right hand side of the page where Greg explains the different types of common board constructions:
- Composite: A blend of various materials, usually wood flour, which is a by-product of the wood working industry purchased by deck manufacturers to use as a filler mixed with some type of polymer or plastic compound ranging from recycled bottles to virgin plastic. This composite blending technology was used in the first generation of synthetic deck boards and is still in use today in some product lines. Composite boards are generally among the highest maintenance synthetic products available and fade considerably. These boards are inexpensive, but all fall into the "you get what you pay for category."
- Solid PVC: Produced in an extrusion process using PVC which generally has no organic matter in it that eliminates mold and mildew growth within the molecular structure of the board. Performs much like vinyl siding in terms of maintenance and can be expected to fade over time.
- Capped PVC: Using a solid PVC core, a capped PVC board is co-extruded with an additional surface layer of extremely high quality, expensive PVC blends that are used to create wood graining and blending color tonalities. These boards generally look closer to real wood than solid PVC boards, but many brands (even the top ones) have had performance issues in recent years.
- Capstock Composite: The latest technology in synthetic decking that is a traditonal composite board that is encapsulated or coextruded (i.e. capped) with a wear layer that hides the composite core. The capstock wear surface you see and walk on is highly resistant to fading, staining and scratching. Capstock composite boards are dense and feel extremely solid under foot compared to PVC boards.
Wow! That's a lot of information to digest! Have no fear, we'll take the time to go over all of this critical information during your project consultation. Call us today at (201) 540-9086 to schedule your personal consultation.
