Composite Decking

I was at the Ideal Homes exhibition and noticed decking that claims to require virtually no maintenance. Company was called Betterdeck. Has anybody ever used this material before, and if so what were the results.

we use it. trade. its a composite. its not timber? They originally had one in the states made of saw dust and recycled plastic bottles. They used to use it for horse fencing - it gives a little extra 'give' when they bounce off it. This is what u were looking at in deck format they tell me. Slip resistant, 25 year warranty etc is what ours says.

its good stuff - personally i dont really like decks!
hope this helps
oirish

we looked at this stuff and in the end the guy doing our garden persuaded us against it. I think mainly he didn't want the extra hassle of laying it but he also thought it didn't look that good. Its hard to see it in use here but i've een a friend's and its okay - a bit plasticy looking. The lowmaintenance side of it sounds great though and also there won't be any splinters like with real wood. Its all down to the appearance and getting someone who'll lay it for you i think. its been used in the US for ages so its not really new. You can see some in heiton buckleys in bray or greystones i seem to remember.

I'm not a fan of decking, but I've seen some nice work by outerspace. I like the contrasting colours. I'm giving it some consideration...

Thanks for the info guys, Betterdeck says it is 50:50 timber and plastic, looked fairly real at the exhibition. I have looked at Trex and it does look a little more plastic, am checking out Outer Space. Thanks again

Just got a quote this morning for composite decking (Fendec).
16x13 ft, supply and fit, no railings, very simple, a single step raise (the garden is sloped toward the house so to eliminate the need for digging it up, we decided to raise the deck about 15 cm).
The price quoted was 5200 Euro!
It seems way to expensive so wandering what you think.
He quoted me 2200 Eu for plain, pressure treated wood (16x13).
Thoughts...

EDIT
Just called Fendeck and got the price of 2400 Euros for supply of the boards for the above decking.
This tells me that the fitter was planning to make a huge profit.

Better Deck sent out a sample (they use a Canadian company called Brite-15 years limited warranty) and quote (supply of boards and screws only). Very professional. Price 1600 Euros
__________________

I got a quote for Fiberon composite decking in Luxury Living in Limerick. A 4m x 4m deck supply only of composite material only 1300 euros

ted said:

I got a quote for Fiberon composite decking in Luxury Living in Limerick. A 4m x 4m deck supply only of composite material only 1300 euros

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Thant's a very good price.
Had not heard of Fiberon previously but I must say it looks good at least on their web site. It bears similarities with the brite sample I got from betterdeck.

The fact that composite decking is pretty much a novelty in this country, seemingly lets individuals and companies mess around with prices.
ed, could you forward any contact info on the Limerick company.
TIA

Luxury Living Limerick - beside B and Q on the Tipp road - contact Liam 087 2605416 - I've a sample and yes it does look quite good.

regedit2 said:

Thant's a very good price.

The fact that composite decking is pretty much a novelty in this country, seemingly lets individuals and companies mess around with prices.
TIA

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I dont understand the novelty, it goes down exactly the same as a ordinary timber deck. Still needs to be cleaned every year if any leave get on it during the autumn. People are paying way too much for composit decking when a timber deck will last a good 20 or more years.

Alot of people are afriad of the hard work involved in keeping a timber deck, but to be homest, its not really that hard, spend a nice sunny day taking your time at an average size deck and you should have it maintained and ready for another year.

our deck went down less than a year ago - ribbed pressure treated wood - it looks okay but its full of cracks and splinters already - I don't know if this is normal for wood but its a bit of a concern for me with kids running around in bare feet and don't say they should have shoes on - try telling that to a 2 year old!

Composite deck wouldn't have this prob and for me thats a huge advantage.

Also, when the sun was hot we couldn't open our back door some days because of warping - even after we shaved it down, its settled again now its cold.

Toby said:

our deck went down less than a year ago - ribbed pressure treated wood - it looks okay but its full of cracks and splinters already

Composite deck wouldn't have this prob and for me thats a huge advantage.

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Toby, when you got your deck in did you treat it with anyhting (Stain or preservative). Sometimes this happens if you dont get to treat your deck on time.

But when it comes to a 2 year old, I think composite decking is the best thing for you. You can get some really good composite decking that will look very much like the real think, but be prepared to pay for it.