Maintenance-free decking is not a contradiction in terms

Rock Valley Fence and Deck knows decks – and deck owners. More than a few deck customers come in exhausted with the annual upkeep that goes into their old deck, but are skeptical of composite deck materials.

Thirty years ago, when the older decks were installed, homeowners essentially lived with three choices: Pressure treated lumber, cedar, or redwood. Natural products like these aren't going to last forever without some upkeep, and it seems the longer the deck lasts, the more of the upkeep that's required to keep it looking great. Then the 1990's hit and composite materials were all the rage. The promise was they would be easy to keep beautiful. They lived up to that promise. Mostly.

Man-made decking surfaces were stronger. Various colors never achievable before could be accomplished in the wood and plastic mix. While new materials still suffered from fading, mildew, scratches, and sagging over time, that time was a lot longer than the natural predecessor. It still wasn't maintenance free.

In the last 20 years, RVF participated in the second and third generations of composites. The new ones don't contain wood 'flour' or chips. Seems like that was the weak link in the original product. Now they're PVC, guaranteed not to fade, and feature an almost natural grain. The newest capstock pieces feature the old-school composite plank wrapped with the scratch- and fade-resistant PVC.

Maintenance-free means you don't have to scrape, stain, seal, or repaint. Even in our climate with cold winters and humid summers that means up to 50 years of a service-free outdoor surface. Roofs should last as long, right? One major selling point is that not only will the deck planks remain solid without rotting or splintering, they're also insect proof!

The maintenance-free deck really does exist! Just hose or mop it off, and get your outdoors on.

Photo by Olga Voronina, used with permission.