Summer has finally arrived and that means decking season is in full swing.

Some of you might be considering building a deck to extending your outdoor living area or revitalising the old one. The decking market has changed quite a bit over the past few years, so it can get a little confusing with all the different types of decking available.

With a wide range of decking surfaces and sub-frames available on the market, how would you know which would be best for your situation

To help out, here are a few things to consider before you start:

1. What is the deck going to be used for?

To make sense of it all it is helpful to think of what the area is going to be utilised for. Do you go for the traditional wood decking that would require regular maintenance such as regular cleaning, staining and varnish just to keep it looking like the day it was installed? Or go with a composite board that more than likely will last much longer and only requires a wash once in a while?

2. Type of decking subframe.

We won't go into much detail here because this has been covered in a previous post "3 Deck substructure frame options to consider” but here is a summary of the three main types you would find on the market today.

• Traditional timber framing.

• Expensive steel deck framing,

• The lightweight, ultra-durable aluminium deck frame system, QWICKBUILD.

3. Price range?

Probably the most important thing to take into consideration would be pricing. There are several different levels of pricing starting with chemically pressure treated boards like pine. Moving up to hardwoods like vitex or kwila and wood composite decking boards like Eco-Decking, and lastly capped composite boards like Resortdeck are a bit further up the price spectrum.

Installation would also need to be factored in will it be a DIY job or will a contractor be doing the install. This is where choosing the correct sub frame would save you not only time but money as well.

4. Colours and decking materials?

Composite decking is made from a blend of recycled wood fiber and HDPE plastics. It is good to take into consideration that not all composite decking boards are made equal but that is a whole other topic.

However, Outdure’s Eco-Decking is available in three different nature-inspired colours, namely Almond, Ash, and Walnut. Eco-Decking is UV resistant, won't warp or crack, or give off nasty splinter like traditional timbers. All the boards come with hidden fasteners, so no face fixing is required.

Conclusion

At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference and pricing, but would you rather save now and spend a whole lot of time, effort and money on upkeep or get a beautiful deck that you know will last and will cause you fewer headaches in the long run?