It’s summer in southeastern Wisconsin! The temperature is rising, sunburn is a major concern, and grills are coming out on the decks. If your deck is yielding more splinters than brats this summer, now is the time to consider replacing your deck with a new, functional and good-looking deck. The first step is mapping out the shape of the deck. Once you have dimensions, it’s time to decide what kind of material is suitable for your lifestyle—and your budget. Here are the three major options:
Pressure-treated wood
The main advantage is price. Pressure-treated wood is budget-friendly, and long lasting. As an added bonus, you can stain the wood to get the color you want. However, pressure-treated wood needs maintenance to keep up the look and durability. Depending on the quality of the pressure-treated wood, it also is more likely to warp.
Cedar
Cedar is soft and rot-resistant. The wood does not absorb water, making cedar suitable for any deck. Cedar costs more than pressure-treated wood, but has a rich look and long-lasting quality that makes it worth the cost. The main disadvantage is that cedar is wood—meaning you have to reseal it throughout the life of your deck. Because of the softness of cedar, you are also more likely to get scratches and cuts in the wood in high traffic areas.
Composite
Composite is maintenance-free, but has a higher cost for that very reason. Composite comes in all colors, but is cool to the touch (and feet) because of the material.
We’ll sum it up:
* Pressure-treated wood-cheapest of the three materials, long lasting, can warp, needs regular maintenance
* Cedar-Rot-resistant, costs more than pressure-treated, nice look, soft material
* Composite-hard, good-looking, high price tag
Once you’ve decided on the material, contact Conger Construction. We can give you the deck of your dreams, so you can spend the summer enjoying your new grilling area instead of avoiding it.