{"id":3241,"date":"2020-07-27T14:25:23","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T13:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/?p=3241"},"modified":"2021-12-21T13:41:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T13:41:24","slug":"a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking\/","title":{"rendered":"A quick guide to composite decking"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve always prided ourselves on providing a great range of decking products right here at Savoy Timber, and if the recent surge in sales over the course of the lockdown, our customers are enjoying them too! Our composite decking<\/a> products are amongst the products that have been especially popular over the last few months – and if you\u2019ve never had composite decking before, you might already be weighing up composite decking for your own garden. We\u2019ve collected some of the most common questions we get from our customers below, so you can get the essential details right here!<\/p>\n

What is composite decking?<\/h2>\n

Composite decking is a man-made decking material, made up of a combination (or composite) of natural hardwood and synthetic materials. The synthetic materials in question include wood fibres, plastics and a few bonding agents. This mix is heated, formed into the shapes of decking boards, and then cooled.<\/p>\n

The end result has a pleasingly sophisticated appearance with all the natural charm of timber decking, but an in-built resilience and durability which means it needs much less maintenance than traditional timber boards.<\/p>\n

What are the benefits of composite decking?<\/h2>\n

The enhanced durability is one of the greatest advantages of composite decking, making it highly resistant to rot, damp and burrowing insects. What\u2019s more, composite\u2019s resistance to the elements extends as far as sunshine and rain too – the composite material of the boards means they won\u2019t crack even under direct sunlight, and they\u2019ll never have to be sealed, stained or painted – they\u2019ll easily keep their colour in all weathers!<\/p>\n

When it comes to rain, composite decking boards absorb much less water so they\u2019re naturally less slippery when wet, and this attribute means that they can be safely used around pools and wet areas too. As well as being non-slip, the plastic materials in the makeup of composite decking boards mean that they\u2019re completely splinter free.<\/p>\n

As a final bonus, the enhanced durability and many resistances means that composite decking tends to have a fantastic lifespan, often well over a decade. This comes at a slightly higher initial purchase price, but ultimately provides great value – which is a common pattern for much our stock here at Savoy Timber!<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s the difference between composite decking and timber decking?<\/h3>\n

As we\u2019ve explored above, composite is less slippery when wet and tends to be even more durable than timber. What\u2019s more, you\u2019ve got a choice between an even greater range of colours and finishes, all of which are more uniform and consistent in terms of colour and texture than timber decking. (Timber decking tends to have more colour variations throughout due to the natural knots in the wood.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that composite decking isn\u2019t a structural material, which means that it\u2019ll require more support than timber decking. However, happily this isn\u2019t all that tricky to do – simply moving your joists closer together often does the trick!<\/p>\n

So, you might be thinking, which is better – composite decking or timber decking? Well, as with many such things, mostly it\u2019s just a matter of personal preference. The practical advantages of composite decking are undeniable, and lots of customers like its smooth appearance and sophisticated look – but at the same time, there\u2019s a lot to be said for the traditional appearance of a classic timber deck. We\u2019ll leave that choice up to you!<\/p>\n

Types of composite decking<\/h3>\n

Composite decking comes in a huge variety of different forms and colours, but it all essentially falls into two main types: capped and uncapped.<\/p>\n

Uncapped decking boards are resistant and hardwearing, though they can occasionally leach a small bit of colour in the first few months of use due to environmental exposure<\/p>\n

Capped composite decking boards on the other hand come with an extra exterior plastic coating, which makes them slightly more expensive than uncapped boards, but basically impervious to colour fading. They\u2019re easy to clean, and you can count on them to keep their colour all year round!<\/p>\n

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Are composite decking boards slippery?<\/h3>\n

You can generally count on composite decking boards<\/a> to be far less slippery when wet than timber decking boards<\/a>, largely because of their minimal water absorption thanks to the plastic materials used in their makeup. In most cases, your composite decking boards won\u2019t be slippery even after recent rain or spillage. However, that\u2019s not necessarily a hard and fast rule, and we\u2019d always encourage you to take care on your decking regardless – no matter how safe it may first appear to be!<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got a fantastic range of composite decking boards for sale here at Savoy Timber, which you can browse right here on our site! All our stores are now open, so feel free to pop into our locations in Preston<\/a>, Wigan<\/a> and Blackpool<\/a>. Why not have a look around, and see what you can find?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve always prided ourselves on providing a great range of decking products right here at Savoy Timber, and if the recent surge in sales over the course of the lockdown, our customers are enjoying them too! Our composite decking products are amongst the products that have been especially popular over the last few months – […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA quick guide to composite decking - Savoy Timber<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Composite decking is notably more resilient and durable than timber decking, but the choice between them is still often a matter of personal preference.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A quick guide to composite decking - Savoy Timber\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Composite decking is notably more resilient and durable than timber decking, but the choice between them is still often a matter of personal preference.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Savoy Timber\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SavoyTimberDIY\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-27T13:25:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-21T13:41:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Decking3.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anthony Royle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@savoytimber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@savoytimber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anthony Royle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anthony Royle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/#\/schema\/person\/62f7a40a68f298120b5c3e2ea93b0013\"},\"headline\":\"A quick guide to composite decking\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-27T13:25:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-21T13:41:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking\/\"},\"wordCount\":840,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Garden\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/a-quick-guide-to-composite-decking\/\",\"name\":\"A quick guide to composite decking - 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