How much research time should be invested in making a composite decking decision?
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Distroscale
Well, how many educational hours or investigative time do you put into choosing a watermelon? Without delving too deeply into the fine intricacies of product composition and PVC finishes, choosing the best composite plank for your family essentially requires about as much investigative strategy as picking a watermelon out of the crate at your local grocer.
So, and as you would at the grocer’s, approach the composite sample wall in your local building supply centre with confidence, with your eyes scanning the various colour and texture choices. Then, pick up a sample piece and examine the texture with your fingers, feel the shape of the rounded edges and how the sides are grooved to accept the hidden clip system. You may notice some of the sample pieces will have solid edges, and are not grooved, which simply indicates this particular sample piece would be used as a contour or perimeter plank.
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Are all composite decking colours available with both grooved and solid edges? Generally, yes.
Toss the sample plank in the air gently, you’ll notice that it’s weighty, and maybe tap it a couple of times to get an indication of its structural integrity. Some planks will resound with a solid thump, while with others you might hear an echo, which is by no means an indication of ripeness, but that the plank likely has a hollow core.
Other plank samples will have a grooved type of back structure, with hollow and grooved products all designed of course to save on composite matter, and as a result make the product more affordable.
So, after a few minutes of handling samples, feeling how some textures are more heavily grooved or etched, while others have a smoother, brushed type of texture, and how some planks are of a solid colour, while others are varied, you choose a favourite.
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You’re doing great so far, and really the only thing to concern yourself with at this point will be the price.
In our retail establishment, we usually have the per-foot price marked on the back of the sample planks. Sometimes the customer gets lucky and turns their chosen plank over to find a price in the $3 to $4 range, which is pretty inexpensive for composite decking, since pricing can reach the $8 to $10 per foot levels quite easily. So, grab a sample, feel the texture, roll it around in your hands for a few moments, then check the price.
Trex, Fiberon, Timbertech, Moistureshield, TruNorth, does it really matter which manufacturer has their label on the product? Not so much. Georgia, California, Mexico, Central America, as long as it’s red inside and sweet to the taste, does it really matter where your chosen watermelon comes from? Maybe to some, and there are slight differences between manufacturers, but at the end of the day, and provided you’re buying this product from a reputable retailer, maybe someone whose been in business since before your birth, you’re going to be getting a quality product that’s going to provide you with a terrific looking deck for the next 25 years or so.
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As a result, and depending of course on your age, this might not be your last composite deck. Decks are like kitchens and bathrooms, and theoretically could last forever, but tend to get replaced every 10 to 15 years or so.
Are some composites advertised as being less slippery than others? And, are some composites surfaces supposedly less hot than others? Yes, and yes. However, your decking could have a texture similar to gravel, but after a rain, all bets are off, and caution will always need to be the recommendation. And, regardless of some manufacturers saying their products absorb 25 per cent less heat, real hot minus 25 per cent still equals hot, so on a sunny day you’ll want to make sure your sandals are nearby.
All to say, if you feel qualified pick out a watermelon, you likely have all the qualifications to scrutinize the picking out a composite decking plank.
Good building.