Scrap the wood Is it time to consider alternative decking materials? BY ALEC BRUCE
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hey don’t make wood like they used to,” says my neighbour, a retired hardware store owner whose sense of humor is drier than summer kindling, as he surveys my chipped, gouged, bleached, and blanched backyard deck. “You can always tell people that you like it that way … you know … natural.” Of course, he knows I don’t like it that way. He knows that I’ll probably spend the next 36 hours sanding, sweeping, cleaning, and staining. He also knows that I’ll do it all over again next year just so he can say something like: “On the other hand, you can rip it up and put in one of those composite deals.” This is a seasonal ritual for us. He ribs me. I pretend to ignore him. Later, I cruise the Internet for the latest prices on aluminum, vinyl, and composite (plastic-film and wood-fiber blend) decking, check my bank account, sigh deeply, and eventually tell myself there’s nothing wrong with pressure-treated lumber that a little tender loving care can’t cure. After all, it was good enough for my dear, old pappy. Sure, after a few years it looks weather beaten. But, then, don’t we all?
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SUMMER 2021
Lately, though, I’ve been thinking my neighbor may be on to something. Recent manufacturing and supply-chain improvements, combined with rising costs and demand for Canadian lumber, have cast alternative materials in a consumer-friendly light like never before. Maurice Meagher is owner and project developer of Halifax-based Archadeck, which makes decks, patios, retaining walls, and porches from a variety of natural and manufactured materials. “Increasingly, people are looking at composites,” he says. “They are readily available and very durable. Their quality and aesthetic appeal have improved in recent years. Plus, even though wood is still a more cost-effective building material, the price difference isn’t as great as it used to be.” Martin Poirier, owns Dieppe, N.B.-based Spartan Decks, which designed and installed 30 composite decks last year. “Maybe they were a new trend, but they’re super popular now,” he says. “Mostly, it’s the low maintenance. There is a hidden cost to sanding and staining a wood deck every year. People want to put something at the back of their
