Timber decking options comparison. Which is better?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Timber decking options comparison. Which is better?

billgates

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#270617 18-May-2020 17:12

Hello all,

We are close to finish building our new home and need to install decking for covered alfresco and open patio area. After looking at past geekzone threads, I got pricing for 4 types of timber. The architect recommends Vitex because it is sustainable. The builder recommends Garapa because it does not bleeds and they mentioned that Vitex bleeds. Accoya is what I mentioned for pricing because it came highly recommended in one of the geekzone threads and I also requested Abodo's decking option as we used Abodo's wall cladding product for a quite a lot of different external cladding areas and it looks great. Ideally we do not want to stain the deck as we do not want to keep staining it every few years and we we will be happy with natural silverish colour so hoping the likes of Garapa is not stained will eventually loose it's natural orangy colour.

I have received below prices which are GST excl btw for close to 50sqm deck. We are looking for decking timber that will last, not bleed or start to show splinters. Between Accoya, Garapa, Vitex and Abodo, which would you recommend that fits the requirements? I think the Abodo will be a bit cheaper than what they have mentioned in the quote as they have got the quantity wrong (almost 100sqm more) so it will be bit cheaper than quoted but we are happy to spend the money now up to what Accoya has been quoted at.

Is there a specific oil brand and type would you also recommend to apply to the decking timber? The red colour marked items are mandatory that we will require for any timber decking anyway. Is there anything in that list that stands out to you that we should replace with another product?

Thanks

Do whatever you want to do man.

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#2485797 18-May-2020 17:56

A wooden deck looks fantastic when new and looked after, they are a lot more work to keep looking good over the years.

I personally will not go for a wooden deck again, I am a fan of composite decking.

One or two quick cleans a year and it looks like new, does not warp / twist / crack / splinter, if installed correctly looks amazing and there are a few aluminium frame systems ( Outdure ) which makes it square and true, they prefab it and say it can be installed in a day. You can also add tiles & drains.

Anyway that is my 2 cents worth.

John

I know enough to be dangerous

billgates

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#2485801 18-May-2020 18:20

Thanks John. I did look into composite decking but a fair point that has been raised is what will the composite deck look in 10 years since it is a new product and that composite deck is really hot to walk on in summer.

Do whatever you want to do man.

mattwnz

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#2485805 18-May-2020 18:36

How much of the deck is under cover? eg doesn't get wet everytime it rains? I have never seen a Accoya deck. What is it like, and does it need staining? I thought it was heat treated or modifed pine, so would it look similar to a pine deck?I am looking at options too at the moment, but plan to have almost all the deck under a roof overhang.

Ruphus

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#2485823 18-May-2020 19:18

My in-laws are currently building an they're installing a deck. They're only looking at composite materials due everything that SATTV mentioned.

I've calculated the deck size to be around 50sqm (m2) give or take. Personally, I'd use H4 bearers since they're about 200-300mm above the ground but that depends on the direction the deck is facing and if it's covered. Also wouldn't hurt to include malthoid under the bearers, you'd only need one roll.

mattwnz

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#2485828 18-May-2020 19:31

What composite are they looking at?. Some samples I have seen is hollow. I would worry about what UV can do to composites. A house down the road had a composite installed quite a few years ago, so it would have been an early type, and they said they had problems with it, but I am not sure what the problems were. One problem with most decks, is them going slimey and slippery. Can be especially bad on frosty mornings. Personally I am not a fan of decks that aren't under a veranda of some type to protect them from getting wet each time it rains, as durability of the timber and coating then suffers badly, and they need a lot more maintenance. But decks always look great when they are first installed, and are often a good selling point when selling a house, that it has a nice new deck.

billgates

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#2485832 18-May-2020 19:38

mattwnz:

How much of the deck is under cover? eg doesn't get wet everytime it rains? I have never seen a Accoya deck. What is it like, and does it need staining? I thought it was heat treated or modifed pine, so would it look similar to a pine deck?I am looking at options too at the moment, but plan to have almost all the deck under a roof overhang.

Total decking at back of house will be around 50sqm with 20sqm of this under the covered alfresco. The open patio and alfresco decking will be one long run from start of covered alfresco which is in front of this open living wing of the house all the way to hallway and media room sliders.

Do whatever you want to do man.

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billgates

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#2485840 18-May-2020 19:54

Ruphus:

My in-laws are currently building an they're installing a deck. They're only looking at composite materials due everything that SATTV mentioned.

I've calculated the deck size to be around 50sqm (m2) give or take. Personally, I'd use H4 bearers since they're about 200-300mm above the ground but that depends on the direction the deck is facing and if it's covered. Also wouldn't hurt to include malthoid under the bearers, you'd only need one roll.

Thanks. I will get them to change boundary joists, joists and bearers to upgrade to H4 instead of H3.2 and ask about the malthoid roll as well. I do not imagine going from H3.2 to H4 will add a huge significant cost overall.

Do whatever you want to do man.

mdf

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#2485845 18-May-2020 20:12

I am a big Accoya fan. I think it looks great - very scandinavian bleached blond timber look. But I haven't used it on a deck. It claims to weather very well even untreated, but clearly take marketing statements with a grain of salt. That said, I prefer the oiled look and with a lambswool mop and applicator bucket it really doesn't take long to oil (takes longer to clean it than oil it, and you're up for the cleaning in any event).

But it is $pendy!

I haven't used Abodo so don't know what it looks like. I much prefer the look of vitex to garapa. IME, the sap/leaching vitex gives off is white and sticky, rather than red and stainy like kwila.

If you haven't seen it, a builder friend just showed me some jatoba - that looks amazing and he says it doesn't bleed. More like vitex pricing than accoya pricing.

As other observations:

- 2000 screws won't be enough for the Abodo, you will need more since it is narrower.

- Is your builder really quoting you $7.48 for a screwdriver bit on a c $15K job!? He'd better be giving it to you when he's done!

- H3.2 is fine for above ground, you only need H4 for ground contact. I'd check with your builder (or supplier), but I know here (Wellington) you can usually only find H4 off the shelf in F2 grade. Which might be fine structurally, but is generally heavier and rougher so you spend a fair amount of time levelling out the joists. YMMV.

eracode

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#2485868 18-May-2020 20:31

We have composite decking that is around eight years old and it’s as good as the day it went down. I’m a big fan - but its biggest drawback IMO is that in summer it doesn’t just get “really hot to walk on”, it gets so hot you simply can’t stand or walk with bare feet on it for more than 10 seconds.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

billgates

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#2485879 18-May-2020 20:44

Thanks @mdf

I had a quick read of Jatoba just now and the supplier expects life up to 15+ years. I guess that any new decking will look really good for first few months so all the mentioned products will give a good impression upon new install. Vitex is between 15 to 40 years. Abodo Sand decking guarantees for 30 years and Accoya guarantees for 50 years. We are hoping for decking to last at least 25 to 30 years so Abodo and Accoya are both looking good at this stage. Abodo is almost half the price. I have to stay that we are very impressed with their wall cladding on which we did not apply any colour stain and went with this Swedish sioo:x coating which they applied at factory that provides weather protection for 6 years. I have 3/4 of bucket left of this coating still so the same can be applied to their decking without worrying about staining it with colour as I feel that is the biggest maintainence issue every year with any decking once you apply colour stain to it.

Is there a specific oil brand and type you recommend for Accoya? I will stick to H3.2 for joists etc after your advice.

We are building the house on an open book system so we project managed just over 50% of trades ourselves and the ones we used via builder, we directly pay their invoice with small margin on top for builder but the trade discount via builder to access these trades is worth it compared to what we would have paid directly being a non trade customer when we did pricing research. I will ask the builder for the drill bit. They have left anything spare from most jobs for us bar any nails for framing so they have been honest in this regard.

Do whatever you want to do man.

mentalinc

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#2485880 18-May-2020 20:45

Not sure I see the point of a deck you can't even walk on in summer?

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mdf

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#2485913 18-May-2020 21:24

If you're going for a beautiful hardwood timber deck, don't underestimate the value of the aesthetics and the look you like/want rather than the longevity rating. Just my 2c.

Paul1977

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#2486142 19-May-2020 11:11

We are looking at Outdure ResortDeck composite for our new build. Have had Kwila in the past, and it looks greats when freshly cleaned and oiled - but the upkeep is a nightmare. Also, in summer our oiled Kwila deck gets very hot (like having to run across it in bare feet hot).

Outdure ResortDeck comes in a solid or hollow profile, but they recommend hollow for everything but heavy usage. We have a sample of the hollow and it feels very sturdy, I assume the solid is more expensive. I wonder if the hollow would get less hot?

We also got samples of all their colours, and it is one of the few I've seen that really does look like timber. Especially "Havana" and "Caribbean".

eracode

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#2486800 20-May-2020 08:01

@Paul1977

We have hollow Outdure and as I mentioned earlier it gets extremely hot in summer sun - but I still love it for all the other reasons. Just need jandals or shade.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Bung

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#2486821 20-May-2020 08:42

mdf:
- Is your builder really quoting you $7.48 for a screwdriver bit on a c $15K job!? He'd better be giving it to you when he's done!

- H3.2 is fine for above ground, you only need H4 for ground contact. I'd check with your builder (or supplier), but I know here (Wellington) you can usually only find H4 off the shelf in F2 grade. Which might be fine structurally, but is generally heavier and rougher so you spend a fair amount of time levelling out the joists. YMMV.

I was talking to a builder about dropsaw blades and he mentioned how hard plastic decking was on blades. He used 2 blades on a big job and at ~$200 a shot that has to be built into the costing. I don't know whether this was something that was just wrong choice of blade or not.

H4 is also for low level decks with less than a certain clearance that would mean less airflow.

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