Composite decking has been an outdoor living favourite for over 20 years, but despite its popularity, there are still lots of myths floating around the internet which completely put people off from buying it. In this blog, we take a look at some of the most common misconceptions about composite deking to show you why composite decking is a great choice for any home. 

1. Composite decking requires a lot of maintenance

This is something that people often think, but it simply isn't true. It's easy to understand why someone who's only ever experienced timber decking would believe that any kind of deck would be high maintenance, but that's where composite and timber decks differ. 

Natural timber decks require a lot of work if you want to maintain their structure and colour. Left without a stain or sealant treatment, timber boards can suffer from water ingress, start to fade and eventually crack and split. This creates an unsightly (and quite often dangerous) surface that would undoubtedly put anyone off having a deck installed again. To keep a timber deck looking its best, an annual sand, stain and seal treatment is required. 

In comparison, composite decking requires a fraction of the work to keep it looking pristine. Designed with a durable polymer coating, the colour and texture of composite decking is preserved without demanding a rigorous maintenance routine. For that reason, composite decking is actually a great upgrade if you want to move away from high-maintenance timber decking. 

2. Composite decking has an unnatural, plastic finish?

If you've never seen composite decking up close, then you might believe the myth that composite decking looks unnatural. Before we explain how composite decking is manufactured to look just like real wood, we want to give you the opportunity to see our beautifully wood-like composite decking for yourself.

Order a sample here >

When composite decking first hit the market 20 years ago, it did gain a bit of a reputation for having a 'plastic' or 'unnatural' look. Nowadays, we use more advanced manufacturing processes to create composite decking boards with a realistic wood effect. Now you can choose from a huge selection of wood grains and colours that look just as natural as real wood. 

3. Composite decking is not eco-friendly

When people find out that composite decking is made using a combination of wood and plastic, they instantly assume that it's not an eco-friendly option, but here at DeckPlus, we are dedicated to making our decking in a sustainable way.

Some decking companies may use newly-manufactured materials to create their composite decking, but we use reclaimed materials from other production sites to create composite decking that's environmentally friendly. Most of the plastic and wood fibres that go into DeckPlus composite decking are waste materials from other industries, that would otherwise have been sent to landfills. 

We work to strict regulations and guidelines that monitor the emissions we produce, and we even recycle the water that's used to cool the deck boards as they travel down the production line so that every part of the manufacturing process is as sustainable as possible. 

Read More: Our Eco-Friendly Composite Decking

So now you know the truth about these composite decking myths, we hope you can make a more informed decision about your decking purchase! If you have any further questions about our composite decking, our experienced sales team are happy to help you. Call us on 0800 028 8756. 

When you add a deck to your garden, you want to be sure that you'll be able to keep enjoying that deck for years if not decades to come. After all, why buy the materials and do all the work if the deck is just going to fall apart within a couple of years?

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When browsing our range of composite decking you've probably noticed that we offer 'capped' and 'uncapped' options. When coming across these decking variations for the first time, you may not know what the difference is. Today we're going to take a closer look at capped composite decking to find out what it is, what it means and how it compares to uncapped decking options. 

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Here in the UK, it can be blazing sunshine one minute and freezing frost the next. As such, the features you have in your garden need to be able to withstand the constantly changing conditions! 

The problem with real wood

The reason why real wood is known for being terrible at coping with changing weather conditions is that it absorbs so much water!

Unless you commit to keeping your real wood decking properly sealed (which takes a lot of work, annually) then you can guarantee that it will take on water and suffer the consequences sooner or later. Once the wooden boards have taken on water, they are susceptible to damage from significant temperature rises and drops.

If the water inside the deck boards freezes, it expands - causing the boards to splinter and crack. In unusually warm temperatures residual moisture in the boards evaporates quickly causing the boards to contract.

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If you're looking to add a new deck to your outdoor space, one of the questions you're most likely to ask is "how long will the colour last?" or "will the colour fade?" With some deck boards costing in the thousands, this is a perfectly reasonable thing to ask, as the last thing you'd want is to spend a lot of money on a deck that will begin to look aged and tired after only a few years. 

Well, with the rise in popularity of composite decking over the last couple of decades and traditional wood decking known to fade, a lot of people are now asking "does composite decking fade?" The experts at DeckPlus are here to let you know! 

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