Decks are an amazing feature to have on your home especially if you enjoy being outdoors when we get the sunny weather in Portland. At Absolute Painting & Power Washing we offer custom deck design and construction by our expert Chris Miller. He has over 20 years of experience in this field. He has built some amazing decks for our customers over the years. Our painting crews are all highly trained in cleaning and staining decks to protect them from our tough weather in Portland.
Decks in the Pacific Northwest will always have some maintenance not matter what type you decide to install. If you are thinking about building a new deck this year you should consider many factors in deciding the materials to be used. You basically have two choices: Real wood or composite.
The most popular choice in Portland, Oregon and the surrounding areas is to use pressure treated lumber to use for framing the deck as it is wood that has been chemically treated to resist mold, dry rot and bugs. It can be in the ground for many years before moisture will affect it. It can also be used for the actual decking(walking surfaces) but is not as pretty as other woods and is not as easy to stain a nice color.
Many homeowner choose to use cedar or redwoods as they are very beautiful and long lasting woods in this climate. They can be stained many colors and last decades if maintained well. Tropical hardwoods are also an option and they require less maintenance as they resist moisture well naturally. They are much more expensive than the other natural wood options but may cost less to maintain in the long run.
Composite decking is a great choice if you plan on enjoying it for many years and you do not like to hassle with maintenance. Yes, they do cost much more up front for materials(20%-40% usually) but the saving may add up over time. Composites are typically made from wood fibers, plastic and binding agents. They also have some that are made completely from plastic now that are extremely tough. You have a lot of different brands of composite decking now with many different color choices.
Composite decks have improved over the past 25 years. They used to have many issues with mold, mildew and staining. Some of them still have issues with mildew and staining. Some had problems with warping. Plastic decks provide great moisture resistance with very little maintenance.
If you have a natural wood deck you should plan to do some maintenance to it every one or two years. Depending on your weather exposure and foot traffic especially from pets you may need to do a lot or a little each time. I recommend cleaning decks every year which you can easily do yourself in a few hours. If exposed to the weather you should apply some type of sealer/stain to protect it every two years in most cases. Wood in Portland will eventually start to rot away but keeping a good stain on it often adds years to its life. I tell people if you spent $5000 to build a wood deck you should plan to spend 10% of that amount annually to protect it. If you are a do it yourself type you can save money but make sure you buy the best products.
If you have the same exact deck built out of composite materials it may cost you $8000 to build. The advantage is that it will last longer and require much less expensive yearly maintenance. In most cases you can just clean it every year or two and it will be fine.
At Absolute Painting & Power Washing we are here to help you decide which products to use when building or maintaining your decks. Our deck expert Chris will meet with you and help you design the perfect backyard oasis.
