My Picks For Best Deck Material

Search Ideas For Deck Designs:

I am often asked what I think is the best deck material to use. This is a very subjective question but one that I will share my opinion on.

Just as an aside, you should read all the material there is in this site to educate yourself about the various options and advantages of each.

Then you too will be able to decide what the best deck material for your project is.

Two Types of Materials

Wood Decking

If I were choosing a wood decking material I would pick something like Ipe. It is a natural material that can be purchased from sources that sustainably grow and harvest the trees and forest. That makes me feel better.

pic of ipe wood

It is a very dense wood and has a Class A fire rating - up there with concrete! But it also has a natural built in oil and resin defense mechanism that makes it virtually indestructible for bacteria and insects.

In addition it requires very little maintenance.

Just look at the Atlantic City boardwalk in New Jersey. So for my money if you are planning on living in your house for over the next 5 years I think it's a fantastic value and deserving of the title best deck material.

That is my pick for best wood deck material.

Synthetic Decking

And here is my pick of the best from the synthetic side of the "house".

I am partial to the all plastic decking like the Azek products as just one example.

pic of azek boards

This kind of material is a cellular PVC product. While I generally prefer the look of real wood, which most plastic only decking cannot match, the Azek decking comes pretty close with an imprinted or embossed grain texture.

But I suppose what pushes me over the line to an all plastic material like this is its stiffness and longevity.

You can span 16" joist spacings without any problems. It's more maintenance free than most any other composite synthetic material. This is because there are no wood fibers in it.

As a result, its porosity is so low you don't have to worry about leaves leeching or other bio mass or wine staining it in the same way you would with the polypropylene and polyethylene composites that often have other recycle additives like wood fiber that make them vulnerable.

But for these very same reasons a lot of people prefer the synthetics that use recycled ingredients and a bit of wood fiber. There is no perfect solution. But that is my pick for best synthetic deck material.

How is this for sitting on the fence?

If you are not yet able to pick the best deck material for you go back and read these articles:

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