TREATED PINE

If cost is the most important factor in your deck building decision, then please choose treated pine. It is the most upfront economical option. Treated lumber can be found at www.lowes.com, www.homedepot.com or your local lumber yard. As a deck building professional, I highly recommend purchasing the highest rated decking board your supplier has to offer. This will hopefully give you the most out of your investment. The number 1 downfall of choosing treated lumber as your choice of building material, is the continual maintenance of wood. As a certified wood restoration expert by www.pwna.org, they recommend sealing newly installed wood 30 days after installation. If you do not seal your wood, it will photo oxidize (start to grey). Within a year of building a deck, it could start to look old from not maintaining it correctly. With all that said, if you properly clean and seal your deck on a yearly basis, your deck can last forever.

COMPOSITE OR PVC

Another option to treated lumber is composite or PVC decking. They are two different products but they have similar pros and cons, so I lumped them together for this article. They are made up of plastic, wood fibers and other misc. components. The biggest pro for these products is the minimal maintenance. Once your boards are installed, you should only have to wash them off with a hose. The biggest con to these products is the cost which is significantly higher than traditional treated lumber. These products can and will last longer than traditional wood products. As the demand increases, the product quality and warranties are getting better. If you have the upfront capital and you will be living at your home for more than 5 years, then this is the best choice for you.