Give Your Composite Deck a Long Life
Built for a long lifespan, if you currently have a composite deck you’ll know that this is true. Composite deck boards are created without cutting down a single tree. Reclaimed wood and recycled plastics make up 95% of their composition and when combined together with heat, they form a heavy duty product that lasts between 25 and 30 years longer than your usual wood deck.
A fairly new product, composite decking came along in the 90s. But it’s rapidly gained popularity to the point where the majority (57%) of clients across the US ask for it for their decking needs.
While you won’t be stuck power washing and resealing a composite deck every two years, there are however some tips to maintain your deck and of course—if you run into issues, our team at Decks, Fences, And Posts are more than happy to lend a hand.
Preserve its Perfection
By no means will you be breaking your back or bank to look after a composite deck. But the methods used to do this are not quite the same as you’d employ with a wood deck.
Uncapped Maintenance
If you have an older composite deck, you will have uncapped boards. This means they did not have the extra sealant applied to them as current capped boards have. Sweep uncapped boards often and use a composite-friendly cleaner when you wash your deck down. A good washing is recommended twice a year.
Capped Maintenance
With capped composite came an even lower maintenance product. Forget about special cleansers, wash your capped composite down with soap and water and you’re good to go.
Avoid bringing sharp materials on to your deck. Metal shovels, knives, or heavy furniture can cause strong abrasions that are a tough to fix without replacing boards entirely.
Stay on Top of Problems
Abrasions, broken boards, deep scratches—if your deck has experienced one of these things you may want to replace the affected boards. One life hack you can employ is simply turning the board over to reveal the cleaner underside. But what if you scratch that one? Then you’re pretty much out of options. Our deck repair contractors can easily replace one of these boards within 24 hours so don’t be concerned about the appearance of your deck—just call Decks, Fences, And Posts—we’ve got you covered.
Older uncapped composite may warp. In which case, you will also need to replace boards. In fact, even more so than with a cosmetic scratch. Warped boards can cause people to trip and injure themselves and no one wants that!
We’re Confident in Composite
Our family here at Decks, Fences, And Posts has been dealing with composite decking for years now and having experience with small repairs to full builds, we’re proud of how far we’ve come.
Never assume that composite can be treated like normal wood. If you have any doubts, just give us a call before doing anything so you don’t damage any boards. We’re here to help!