When I'm out pricing a deck job one of the questions I’m always asked, what’s better, composite decking or wood decking? My answer has always been I personally enjoy the feel, smell and warmth of wood. I’m not sure about you, but I really don’t want to enjoy the outdoors while sitting on a plastic deck, on plastic chairs at a plastic table. The composite decking gets too hot in the sun. It is slippery when wet, stains when oil of any kind is dropped on it, such as grease from your bar-b-que, sunscreen or bug spray. It grows mildew especially when it's in the shade and I would highly not recommend it especially in an area where ther is no sun, scratches easily, and yes, it does fade, never mind their 25 year warranty. It doesn’t cover replacement, disposal and labor.
According to the annual Remodeling magazine “Cost vs. Value Report 2014”,-* you'll get back nearly 87.4 percent of what you pay for a wooden deck as compared to a composite deck which is only 74.3 percent. (http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2014/trends)
So why anyone would want to pay twice the price for a composite deck compared to wood deck, and gets less of an ROI is beyond me. Are we not trying to get close to nature, to go green and save the environment?
I came across this great article here, on composite vs wood decking.