The materials and finishes that we use on the interior of our homes require cleaning and occasional maintenance; we dust, we vacuum, we mop-n-glo to keep them looking good and long lasting. Without too much effort we can stay ahead of the wear and tear from our kids and our pets.

Materials on the outside, however take a daily beating from the sun, wind, rain, temperature changes, and other environmental elements (in addition to kids and dogs). Those materials need a great deal more care and maintenance but that can be reduced somewhat by selecting the proper materials to suit your goals.

Outdoor decks are subject to a great deal of abuse – the deck surface is especially susceptible to sun and rain. Wood is the most popular surface for decks, but it’s also the quickest to wear out. Fortunately there are a variety of deck surface products available that allow you to choose between appearance, cost, and the effort needed to keep your deck looking great for many years.

Natural Wood Decking

Natural wood is the obvious first choice for decking. It’s sturdy, attractive, easy to work with, and it comes in a wide variety of types with different qualities and costs.

Pressure-treated wood decking is far and away the most popular decking surface in use today. Most PT lumber is made from Southern Yellow Pine, impregnated with ACQ, a chemical that increases the wood’s resistance to rot and insect damage. But treated lumber is often poorer quality material so the wood shrinks, cracks, and splits more easily.

A better choice for “real” wood decks is one of the many woods that have a natural resistance to rot and insect damage. These woods include Western Red Cedar, Redwood, and some species of tropical hardwoods. While these better quality decking materials last longer and look better they also cost more. One of the very best natural deck surfaces is a group of South American hardwoods called Ipe (“Ipe” is Portuguese for hardwood). These are extremely dense, tight-grained woods, dark in color and virtually free from knots. Ipe is very hard, heavy, and difficult to work with but is also very beautiful and is nearly indestructible. Expect to pay top dollar for Ipe materials and the labor to install it.

The use of any type of natural wood decking comes with some negative environmental impact. When pressure-treated decking is disposed of, the chemicals used to treat the wood may leach into groundwater; burning it puts these same chemicals into the air. And while the new ACQ treatment is less toxic than the previous CCA (which contains arsenic) the long-term effects of the chemical aren’t fully known.

Much of the tropical hardwood used for decking material is plantation-grown, but some isn’t and at the retail level it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference. Most folks don’t want their decks built at the expense of an acre of rainforest.

Wood Composite Decking

Wood Composite decking has become very popular recently due to its longevity and environmentally friendly characteristics. It’s a pretty good imitation of natural wood in workability and appearance.

Sold under names like Trex, Correctdeck, and Timbertech, composite decking boards are made from recycled plastic (usually grocery bags or milk jugs) and ground-up waste wood. It can be cut and attached like real wood and requires almost no maintenance. Composite decking mimics the look of natural wood but varies in appearance and performance depending upon the manufacturer and the ratio of plastic to wood in the mix, usually about 50-60% wood products.

Although composite decking can’t be stained or painted like natural wood, many manufacturers produce boards in several colors. Since the color is throughout the material, chips and scrapes don’t require restaining to maintain a consistent appearance. And because of the high wood content, the uncolored composite boards weather to a pleasing silver-gray.

As with any decking surface, the method of securing composite decking to the framing can improve or reduce the appearance of the deck. Poor installation can even affect the structural integrity of the boards. Ideally, all decking boards should be installed with concealed fasteners – more effort and expense, but the result is a better looking and longer lasting deck.

There are a few other choices in decking – Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) for example, but they look much less like “traditional” decking than natural wood or wood composite. All-plastic and aluminum decking products also require the use of a large number of end caps, specialized fasteners, and other proprietary parts and pieces that can detract from the overall appearance of the deck.

Your choice of decking depends upon the desired appearance, budget, and your tolerance for the required maintenance of different materials. A good balance of those characteristics should result in a deck surface that the whole family will enjoy for many years – kids, dogs, and all.

Our house is quite new – we moved in during the summer of 2003, and since we had the house built during the year preceding that, the garden was a disaster area in the beginning. We knew we wanted a deck of some kind along the length of the house (with access from the living room), but didn’t quite know what kind. After having paved a barbecue area with rocks we retrieved from the property, we decided the deck would be far too big for that kind of a project, and opted for wood. The area is at ground level, and didn’t require being attached to the house in any way, so I said – OK, I’ll do it.

Hubby was very doubtful, but we women can be persuasive, so early this spring, I went to it.

We had prepared the ground by leveling it with gravel, so the size was decided upon (3,5 x 15 meters), and the materials were purchased. 2′x4′ for the foundation, and ordinary, treated terrace boards for the actual deck. Also, I needed 2′X6′ for steps.

Tools are paramount. I would never have considered getting into a project like this without a proper saw – you know, the kind you can swivel and turn so it cuts the wood into any angle you choose. A level is a great help, and a right angle too. So is a rechargeable drill – a marvelous gadget!

Since I really knew nothing of carpentry, I had to work out for myself how to do everything, but I found that the scraps I remembered from my geometry lessons in school helped a lot. I now know why they teach kids that stuff… I spent quite some time planning the whole process, and had it pretty well worked out by the time I began.

I started by making a frame with the 2′x4′. The frame went all around the projected size of the deck, and provided support for the next part of the plan – 2′x4′ beams inside the frame, distanced at 60 centimeters. These were to provide support for the boards, that were to be screwed on to the beams. Why 60 cms? I found (on the Internet!) that this is the ideal distance between beams supporting the boards I’d chosen. 28 millimeters thick boards can take a span of 60 cms.
Once the beams were distanced correctly, I screwed the whole frame together at fairly right angles, and was ready for the next step.

I needed two steps from the deck to the terrace doors, and I didn’t want them to be too small – I wanted to be able to sit on them, and I wanted them to be deep enough, so that anyone coming out of the doors with a heavy tray wouldn’t stumble headlong into the scenery.
So, before starting with the actual deck, I needed to have the foundation ready for the steps – so that it would provide support both for the bottom and the top one. Two more frames were made, corresponding with the terrace doors, complete with support for the beams I was going to need to support the steps in two levels. I used far too much wood, as it turned out!

Onwards with the deck – the boards were cut to fit onto the beams, with two screws anywhere it crossed a beam, and 4 screws anywhere one board met another one on a support beam. I used those little distance crosses that are used for laying tiles to keep a constant distance between boards. The steps were made once I reached them with my boards – 2′x6′ for the frame and beams, and boards to cover the steps. Two levels, and it turned out beautifully!

A month later (yes – with 6 kids, plenty of beasts and varying weather conditions, it did take me a month!), I had completed the terrace deck, and gained enough confidence to build a table for 12 to go with it…

Surrounded by big rocks collected on the property, loads of flowers and with a lovely view of the rolling countryside, we’ve enjoyed it immensely this summer, as we hopefully will in years to come.

I’m proud that I pulled it off, but most of all, I now believe even more firmly that: “You don’t know what you can’t do until you’ve tried!”