Pressure-treated lumber

This is the strongest and most readily available lumber. Most comes with a greenish cast that weathers to a silvery gray. Treated lumber is the most affordable deck material, and thanks to new laws restricting the chemicals used to preserve the wood, today's treated lumber is safe.

We use some of the highest quality pressure-treated lumber, to avoid material defects. It has fewer imperfections and is milled locally.

Synthetic Decking

If low maintenance is your key concern, consider synthetic materials.

Plastic lumber, which is made of recycled milk jugs and grocery bags, does not absorb moisture. Molded in various colors, plastic lumber can be painted, but it will never quite take on the look of wood. For proper installation, you need to use sliding clips because plastic expands and contracts in temperature extremes.

Vinyl lumber comes in white and several additional colors. Its pros and cons are similar to plastic lumber.

Wood-polymer lumbers are another option. They contain up to a 50-50 ratio of waste wood and recycled plastics and can be stained or painted. These products look and feel like wood but never require maintenance.

Regardless of which type of synthetic material you choose, you will need to install it over a support system built using real wood. To keep costs down, most homeowners choose treated lumber for these invisible underpinnings.