Is composite decking worth it?

Composite decking is sold on the promise of no maintenance. That is not quite true, and it is not cheap. Whether it is worth it depends on three things: how long you will stay, how you feel about looking after timber, and which composite you buy.

What you pay upfront

Fitted prices per square metre, including the frame and labour, typically look like this:

So on a typical 15 m² deck, capped composite costs roughly £900 to £1,300 more than softwood on day one.

What you pay over 20 years

The gap closes over time because timber needs regular care. A softwood deck in a British garden usually needs a clean and a coat of oil, stain or preserver every one to two years. If you pay someone to do it, that typically costs a few hundred pounds a time. Over 20 years you might also replace a handful of boards that split or rot, and quite possibly the whole deck surface once.

Capped composite needs a wash, usually with warm soapy water and a soft brush, in spring and autumn. That is about it.

For a 14 m² deck, our worked example came out like this:

If you treat the timber yourself, take most of the £3,000 out of the timber column and the sums swing back the other way. That is the real question: do you want to spend a weekend most years on the deck?

When composite is worth it

You will stay five years or more

Most of composite’s advantage comes from the years of treatment you skip. If you are selling within two or three years, you will not see much of that.

Your garden is shady or damp

North-facing gardens, gardens under trees and narrow plots between houses keep timber wet. Wet timber grows algae, goes slippery and rots sooner. Capped composite does not feed algae and dries without swelling, so it stays safer underfoot with far less effort.

You have children or dogs

No splinters, no stain to wear off, and the boards cope with claws better than soft timber.

You value your weekends

This is the honest heart of it. Composite is mainly a way of buying back time.

When it is not worth it

• You enjoy looking after wood, or like the silver look of weathered timber. Timber can be beautiful, and it can be sanded and refinished.
• The budget is tight. A well-built timber deck on a sound frame beats a cheap composite deck.
• You will move soon. Buyers like a tidy deck, but rarely pay extra for the board type.
• It is a sunny, open, south-facing spot where timber dries quickly and dark composite would get hot underfoot.

The pitfalls that make composite feel like a waste

Most disappointed composite owners hit one of these problems:

1. Uncapped boards. First-generation composite and many cheap boards today have no protective cap. They stain, fade and grow mould in the grooves. Buy capped.
2. A poor frame. The boards can last 25 years, but if the joists are cheap timber not treated for ground contact (Use Class 4), the frame may rot long before the boards. Ask what the frame is made of.
3. Joists too far apart. Composite is less stiff than timber. Most boards need joists at 300 to 400 mm centres. Laying composite over an old timber frame at 600 mm leads to bouncy, sagging boards.
4. No expansion gaps. Composite grows and shrinks with temperature. Boards butted tight together can buckle on the first hot day.
5. Very dark colours in full sun. They can get uncomfortably hot in July and show every water mark in between.

So, is it worth it?

For most homeowners who will stay a while and would rather not spend weekends on deck maintenance: yes, as long as it is a capped board on a well-built frame. The board-by-board comparison on our composite decking Leeds homepage sets out the differences between capped, hollow, PVC and aluminium boards, and the cost calculator gives a typical price for your size and garden.