Composite decking pros and cons

IvanDobskey

IvanDobskey

IvanDobskey

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Crowmarsh
Currently, I have a decked area in my garden, it was there when we bought the house. It was in a poor state and I managed to freshen it up with some decking rescue paint. But a year later its looking awful and I want to do something about it. Wondering whether to pull it up and replace the planks with composite ones, or make the effort to dig out the area and slab it. Composite decking seems really expensive, is it worth the expense?
 
Yes.
No treating required, clean with soapy water.

Initial outlay does seem pricey (about 4 times the cost I think) but when you add in the time and expense of treating wooden decking each year, its worth it.
It will last longer too.
 
I priced it up at around £800 for the area I want to do. Seems very expensive, but would be a lot less effort than laying a patio as the wooden frame from the old decking is already in place.
 
I'd bite the bullet and slab it, it's done then forever. A friend of mine is battling a rodent problem and I can't help but wonder if the 2 raised decking areas in n his garden have provided a comfortable home for rodents and now they're branching out.
 
A friend of mine is a landscaper and based on the conversations we've had he would recommend composite over wood from an owner perspective as the additional cost can be mitigated by it being so much easier to maintain. I considered composite for a sun area in the garden but stuck with sandstone.
 
We went Composite last year and love it but... Anthracite or darker really holds the heat in, stand on it bare footed on a hot sunny day and you’ll burn your skin off
 
Currently doing this myself for a new decking area and struggling to get decent composite at good prices. Had an order lined up for Trex to be told September delivery and price increase on August 1st so they waiting to confirm new prices before I can actually order.

I’ve worked it out around twice the cost of wood as a minimum depending on the board used. Get lots of samples and see what you want. I tried some cheaper ones like NeoTimber but it scratches too easily for me with kids and pets.

I am more of less set on a capped product rather than uncapped but it’s more expensive. In current market there are no deals to be had. If you can wait 12 months it may be worth saving a bundle (gamble)
 
Bickaxe said:
Yes.
No treating required, clean with soapy water.

Initial outlay does seem pricey (about 4 times the cost I think) but when you add in the time and expense of treating wooden decking each year, its worth it.
It will last longer too.
Click to expand...
I'm looking at doing some decking in my garden, and that was my thoughts. I'm all for reducing maintenance work :D.
 
We had a large side gate made with composite boards instead of wood and its been much easier to maintain and hasn't weathered at all.

When speaking to the guy who made them, his only critique of composite was that on the cheaper boards, the pattern / tread is quite shallow and can wear down over a relatively short period of time.
 
ShadowMan said:
Currently doing this myself for a new decking area and struggling to get decent composite at good prices. Had an order lined up for Trex to be told September delivery and price increase on August 1st so they waiting to confirm new prices before I can actually order.

I’ve worked it out around twice the cost of wood as a minimum depending on the board used. Get lots of samples and see what you want. I tried some cheaper ones like NeoTimber but it scratches too easily for me with kids and pets.

I am more of less set on a capped product rather than uncapped but it’s more expensive. In current market there are no deals to be had. If you can wait 12 months it may be worth saving a bundle (gamble)
Click to expand...


For us, when looking, nothing came close to the quality of the finish found on the millboard stuff, but it was the most expensive. Worth it though!
 
Millboard was the 1 company I didn't even ask for a sample of based on price. At £90 per board it was more than twice what I would be wanting to pay at most. I am doing 26m2 with picture framing and fascia so it would have been a massive cost and can't see how it could be that much better. Their colours also didn't really suit what I wanted with a darker grey to contrast my light grey fencing. May order a sample though just to be nosey at their quality but I think its too expensive for me.

Front running for me was Trex Enhance followed by Timbertech Easyclean Edge+ and Envirobuild Hyperion at the back for an uncapped product.
 
ShadowMan said:
Millboard was the 1 company I didn't even ask for a sample of based on price. At £90 per board it was more than twice what I would be wanting to pay at most. I am doing 26m2 with picture framing and fascia so it would have been a massive cost and can't see how it could be that much better. Their colours also didn't really suit what I wanted with a darker grey to contrast my light grey fencing. May order a sample though just to be nosey at their quality but I think its too expensive for me.

Front running for me was Trex Enhance followed by Timbertech Easyclean Edge+ and Envirobuild Hyperion at the back for an uncapped product.
Click to expand...



Millboard enhanced grain are c.55-60 quid a board, not £90! We used c. 65 boards for our decking (whilst only 2.25m wide, you can only use single runs. Luckily the decking company could find use for the 1.35m offcuts so we didn't have to pay for all of the waste!). The material was 3-4k, much more expensive than other brands, but IMO when you see it side by side it's miles better.

There's a reason developers etc use it even though it's expensive.

Re colours, burnt cedar for the dark and brushed basalt sounds like it would do you?
 
Just looked again and listed RRP on the Enchanced is £73 - £79 per board so not quite the £90 I had in my head. That is the Weathered Oak boards.

I have requested a sample of them anyway to do a comparison with the others.

For Trex enhance I was quoted under £25 per board for a 3.6m board including VAT. So its still around a 3x increase to Millboard (depending on the Trex price increase that is coming)
 
ShadowMan said:
Just looked again and listed RRP on the Enchanced is £73 - £79 per board so not quite the £90 I had in my head. That is the Weathered Oak boards.

I have requested a sample of them anyway to do a comparison with the others.

For Trex enhance I was quoted under £25 per board for a 3.6m board including VAT. So its still around a 3x increase to Millboard (depending on the Trex price increase that is coming)
Click to expand...

Ah, I much prefer the enhanced grain to weathered oak which is a bit cheaper :)
 
What is a reasonable cost? We're looking at doing about 22 square metres and so stuff can mount up quickly. I like the solid composite stuff but not sure which are good. I know that miller's is listed above.
 
Got my samples of Millboard today and I like the thickness and material but the finish and colour wasn’t for me at that price point.

I have placed my order for Trex Enhance. Paying £6 per linear meter of board plus vat. 7.2m x 3.6m deck with picture framing and all fasteners was just under £2k. That does not include any framing and is just the boards. Ordered now for August/September delivery due to shortages.

With post supports, 2x6 framing etc I think mine will be around £3.5k all in at the end.
 
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