Deck Materials 101: Wood vs. Composite

By ll_york | May 25, 2020

A beautiful deck can truly help your backyard shine, but building a deck comes with a lot of choices. If you’re thinking about building a deck (or upgrading your current deck), you may hear words like composite and polyethylene roaming around.

Don’t let those words be a head scratcher. Our team at York Companies are local Kansas City pros when it comes to deck building. Keep reading to learn more about the difference between wood and composite decks.

What is a wood deck?

Okay, this might sound like an obvious answer, but we still want to briefly touch on it. A true wood deck contains no manmade materials—they’re simply 100% wood. Within this category are different types of wood you could use for your deck, which will vary in price depending on what you choose. These include:

Pressure-treated wood
Cedar
Redwood
Tropical hardwood

What is a composite deck?

Composite lumber consists of a mix of wood and plastic (usually polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride). Because of this, composite offers a variety of color choices so that you can customize it to your home.

Pros:

Won’t splinter, crack, or rot
Low maintenance
Weather resistant

Cons:

Can look like “fake wood”
Scuffs and scratches easily
Mold and mildew may grow in shady, damp areas

York Companies has got your outdoor kitchen needs.

If you’re looking for help building your deck or patio, York Companies is here to help! We are KC’s go-to shop for pools, decks, and outdoor living. We work with you from start to finish to ensure that we bring your dream to life.

Get a free quote.

We couldn’t be more pleased with our room addition and pool. York Companies didn’t just build what we wanted, they took the time to offer suggestions to help us get the most out of our room and outdoor living space. Their crews are professional and knowledgeable. We plan to use York again in the near future to remodel our bathroom. It’s refreshing to work with someone who listens and understands your vision, builds upon it, and makes it a reality. Thank you York Companies… We love it!

Mr. & Mrs. Bonk, Prairie Village

“Rich & I were so happy with the entire process. We had owned pools at two previous houses, but this is our first fiberglass pool. We chose to work with Kevin York because of his professionalism & ability to work with our schedule. We interviewed four pool builders & decided on Kevin after our first meeting. We were particularly impressed that he had entered in to this business because he wanted a fiberglass pool in his own yard & wanted someone who specialized in this type of pool installation. From start to finish & with several contract changes requested by us, Kevin & his staff kept us informed & answered any questions that arose. We can’t wait to open our pool this spring & Charlotte will be the first one to get swimming lessons from me, Nana…though not the last as we are expecting two more new grandchildren late this summer. Thanks!”

Mr. & Mrs. McGaughey Prairie Village, KS

Pools by York installed a fiberglass pool for one of our customer’s in Leawood. The installation and coordination was smooth and quick. There was no hold ups on the project except for the weather. The site was left clean when completed. Our customer said that Pools by York was easy to work with and the communication between the parties was very good. Thanks again for a job well done!

Tracy Hall, Covenant Homes

We decided to purchase a pool and so I went out to pool websites and put in inquiries. I got two phone calls out of the 6 inquiries I emailed. York responded immediately. The other contact took two weeks to respond. When York came to my house, he was wonderful with my dogs and my five million questions. The other company was uncomfortable with my dogs. I worked with both companies to get two quotes. The quotes were different but the key piece was that when I called York with questions they responded in 24 hours. When I decided to sign, he came out and he we signed that night. That was just the beginning of a wonderful relationship. The crew who installed the pool were amazingly kind to my children. Specifically my 13 year old who would watch them and ask them questions and they would stop and joke with him and then back to work. The biggest piece that shocked me was when York left – my yard looked wonderful – they did a tremendous job and there was a wonderful pool left behind.

K. Johnson

Kevin and his crew were easy to work with and we were very happy with the end product. When doing outside construction, things will come up that were not expected, but Kevin was always reasonable and fair, which was a breath of fresh air. I would highly recommend York if you want the job done right.

A. Eades

We couldn’t be more pleased with our room addition and pool. York Companies didn’t just build what we wanted, they took the time to offer suggestions to help us get the most out of our room and outdoor living space. Their crews are professional and knowledgeable. We plan to use York again in the near future to remodel our bathroom. It’s refreshing to work with someone who listens and understands your vision, builds upon it, and makes it a reality. Thank you York Companies… We love it!!

Phil & Rebecca

We wish to thank you for the work your company has performed on our residence in Lenexa. During our summer get -togethers, we’ve had guests with very discerning eyes pay compliments on the deck you constructed several years ago. Last summer’s carpentry work and paint job were done in a timely, economical, and professional manner. You have always provided us with good advice and fair quotes. Your workers have been respectful and on the ball. We hope to use your group for any future needed work. Here’s wishing that you have plenty of success in the coming seasons.

Ed & Maribeth

We installed a fiberglass pool at our home 7 years ago, and the pool has been virtually maintenance free. Meanwhile our friends who installed a gunite pool around the same time, have had their pool surface repaired 2 or 3 times. We are in the process of building a new home and we will be installing a fiberglass pool there as well! Thanks for your work!

Scott A. in Prairie Village

We were pleased with the work completed by MY Contracting. They work showed craftsmanship, was done on time and met all of the conditions we agreed upon. We were impressed by the follow up as well. A small issue needed an adjustment after the project was completed and paid for; as soon as we contacted MY Contracting they came back and made the adjustment. You don’t always see that kind of commitment to quality and customer care. We would certainly use them again and have recommended them to our friends.

Greg & Cheri

Kevin and his crew were easy to work with and we were very happy with the end product. When doing outside construction, things will come up that were not expected, but Kevin was always reasonable and fair, which was a breath of fresh air. I would highly recommend York if you want the job done right.

A. Eades

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