Are you looking for a wood decking that delivers low maintenance and high performance? Does constant warping, cracking, and repainting or staining have you rethinking your decking choice?
Fear not, fellow deck enthusiast! There's a world of beautiful, low-maintenance decking options waiting to transform your backyard into an oasis. But with so many choices, how do you find the perfect wood for your project?
Hardwood deck made for relaxing with planters built in
Types of Wood Decking – Softwood, Hardwood, or Thermally Modified Wood?
There are three basic wood types to choose from for decking: several softwood decking species, many hardwood decking species, and a few thermally modified wood species.
Strength isn't all you get from top performing choices! Quality wood decking offers stunning design versatility. Imagine crafting built-in seating, pergolas, overhangs, planters, or outdoor kitchens – the possibilities are endless. Three big considerations for wood used for built in features are longevity, maintenance needs, and strength.
Sustainability is an important factor. Not only do you want your decking material to be responsibly sourced, is the decking safe to recycle when it’s time to replace it?
Want even more? Get your free copy of the Ultimate Guide to Selecting the Right Decking here:
Find out which material works best for your deck.
We break down what you should know for each popular wood decking.
Softwood Decking Options:
Pressure Treated Decking
Because of its low price, pressure treated wood is by far the most popular type of wood decking. Pressure treated lumber is injected with various chemicals (under pressure) to make the wood resistant to mold and insects. Southern yellow pine and Douglas fir are the most popular wood species to make into pressure treated.
Pressure treated lumber (pine or fir) is very strong and works extremely well for deck framing. Because the deck framing is not directly exposed to UV rays and standing water, it lasts a long time and is exceptionally strong.
On the other hand, pressure treated wood decking often becomes a high-maintenance nightmare. Under direct UV exposure and standing water, pressure treated decking often misbehaves.
Detail of pressure treated pine decking when weathered showing splintering and checks
Warping, checking, cracking, twisting, splitting, and constant upkeep are all too common. A yearly or every other year repainting or staining is needed to keep your deck in top shape. Otherwise, this decking material weathers poorly, and will often “ugly out” before it wears out.
Redwood Decking
Redwood is a North American product primarily from the West Coast of the U.S. Considered the “king of softwood decking”, Redwood is strong, beautiful, naturally resistant to rot and insects, and exceptionally durable. Famous for its medium red to darker red tones, you can re-stain your redwood deck as needed to keep it looking great over many years.
Redwood decking planks starting to show weathering
Concerns about the overharvesting of old growth redwood in the past have gone away. Redwood is now sustainably harvested in managed forests to prevent over-foresting. Availability of redwood decking (especially clear vertical grain boards) is somewhat limited. The initial cost of redwood is on the high price side but over its whole lifecycle redwood remains a great value.
Red Cedar Decking
Western Red Cedar is a beautiful native North American softwood species. Red Cedar has beautiful pale brown to reddish brown colors and is naturally resistant to insects. For a rustic look, knotty cedar is readily available and moderately priced. Clear vertical grain cedar has very limited availability and is high priced. Red Cedar decking must be re-stained or repainted yearly (or every other year) or it will rot.
Cedar decking planks showing splitting and wear
Exceptional Thermally Modified Wood Options
ThermaWood Hem-Fir deck in boathouse leads to private dock
Thermally modified wood is a general term that means that the original type of wood was heated in a specialized kiln in an oxygen-free chamber. This changes the chemistry of the wood at the cellular level to create a highly durable wood.
There are different thermal modification processes that produce different results. Some processes are far better than others.
Some types of wood perform better than others in the thermal modification process. Pine, spruce, fir and ash woods are commonly used with varying results and performance.
ThermaWood TM Hem-Fir
When wood is thermally modified properly the result is a rot-resistant, insect-resistant decking material that is very stable, indoors or out. Most thermal modification processes make the boards more brittle. The ThermaWood Hem-Fir process uses lower heat with steam under high pressure to create a wood that is less brittle than the original wood and kiln-dried wood.
ThermaWood Hem-Fir is a gorgeous, thermally modified Hemlock that offers long lasting, high durability, highly stable decking that is comparable to hardwood. Sustainably harvested in North America, ThermaWood Hem-Fir decking has the look of the lighter brown tones of red cedar at a fraction of the price.
Thermally modified rooftop wood deck (and siding) can handle all kinds of weather
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Premium Hardwood Deck Options
There are many species and types of hardwood decking.
Medium Density Hardwoods
- Some of the “Philippine mahogany” subspecies are considered medium density hardwoods.
- Their performance varies by species, but overall, they need to be re-stained or repainted annually to maintain their good looks and last.
- Without refinishing, medium density hardwoods will rot outdoors.
High Density Hardwoods
There are also many species of high density hardwood decking options. These perform exceptionally well, even without annual refinishing.
You can also rest assured that all Mataverde hardwood lumber, like all our lumber materials, is sustainable and responsibly harvested and certified by environmental protection organizations.
- High density exotic hardwoods have a higher fiber density than most other woods, making it a strong, resilient decking material. These hardwoods are sought after by architects and homeowners for their excellent durability, extremely low maintenance needs, and rich colors they provide.
- Hardwood strength comes from the high density. If you choose high density hardwood decking you can expect naturally high resistance to insect damage, moisture damage, rot, and scratching. Your deck will stay more attractive for many years and with fewer repairs.
This group of hardwood options also offers impressive dimensional stability, which helps it resist warping, cupping, or checking. It has excellent bending strength, an advantage if are planning heavy loads like built in planters or a hot tub or adding a pergola. - Hardwood has an impressive lifecycle for years of enjoyment, a high return on investment, and it can be safely recycled when it’s time for disposal. This makes them an affordable option and environmentally friendly option.
- The maintenance required for hardwood decks is exceptionally low. Expect to regularly clean your deck as needed. If you want to maintain the natural color of the wood, plan to reapply an oil-based hardwood penetrating UV protectant from Penofin, or a similar product, every one to two years. If you prefer the naturally weathered look, stop applying the UV protectant and the deck will age gracefully to a silvery gray patina. Unlike weathered softwood, no additional maintenance is needed to protect a weathered hardwood deck.
RELATED: Best Way Clean A Hardwood Deck Step by Step
Ipe Decking
Ipe deck overlooking the ocean
Ipe is an incredibly high fiber density exotic hardwood that grows in Central and South America. Ipe is also available as FSC Certified. Ipe wood is sought after by homeowners for its durability, incredibly low maintenance needs, and rich colors. Ipe has been known to last over 20 years, untreated, without rotting. The long lifecycle of Ipe gives you many years of enjoyment, a higher return on investment, and when it is ready for disposal it can be safely recycled.
RELATED: Ipe Decking Photo Gallery
Check out the 15 Year Wood Deck Weathering Test including Ipe :
Of the exotic hardwoods, Ipe’s highest fiber density equals the highest resistance to insects, moisture, and scratching or gouging. It also has a low splintering risk and high slip-resistance when wet, making it ideal for families and around pool decks.
Ipe has a naturally occurring rich medium to dark brown color range that is one of the most popular hardwood decking colors. Ipe has interesting graining and figuring that continue to look beautiful even as the wood ages.
Although Ipe has a reputation of being high priced decking material option, it lasts so long, the long-term value is worth it. Compare the price of Western Red Cedar decking and Redwood and you will see that Ipe is much more affordable. When considering the cost of Ipe versus composite decking, you might be surprised to find Ipe to be comparable or less expensive.
RELATED: Request Wood Decking Samples
Jatoba Wood Decking
A newly installed Jatoba wood deck
Jatoba is sustainably harvested from South America. Jatoba is also called Brazilian Cherry. Jatoba colors start as a cherry pink to red-brown color range that has the unique feature of getting deeper with exposure to sunlight. As it is acclimated and installed, the exposure to UV will change the lighter pink tones of Jatoba into luxurious, deeper tones of medium and dark reddish brown. It has a beautiful vertical grain that creates a design element of its own.
RELATED: Download 150+ Deck Design Ideas Portfolio
Garapa Wood Decking
Garapa is a responsibly harvested lumber from Brazil. Garapa colors are a unique mix of golden blonde to medium brown tones with an exotic grain pattern. The lighter amber tones of Garapa are frequently chosen for decks with modern exteriors but fit any architectural style.
A Garapa deck and covered overhang lends welcome and comfort to this porch
RELATED: Garapa Decking Photo Gallery
FSC® Machiche Wood Decking
Forest Steward Council® Certified Machiche hardwood is sourced from Guatemala with a Rainforest Alliance Certified approved harvesting process. Machiche is heartwood with a color range of light to medium chocolate brown with a medium grain. It is an extremely resilient decking choice with a higher bending strength than Ipe.
FSC Machiche shows off design versatility in this pool deck and rainscreen siding
RELATED: Machiche Decking Photo Gallery
The same residence also chose FSC Machiche for their rooftop deck above, and allowed it to naturally weather to a beautiful silver for a lower maintenance option.
RELATED: How Exterior Woods Weather
Cumaru Wood Decking
Cumaru is a durable South American hardwood with beautiful graining and color. It is also available as FSC Certified. Cumaru has a dramatic color range of yellow light, reddish medium, and purple dark brown tones.
RELATED: Cumaru Decking Photo Gallery
Built in benches along a Florida canal showcase the beauty of Cumaru
In the final decision, finding the right wood decking for your project comes down to your priorities. If budget is your main concern, pressure-treated lumber might be a good option. But if you're looking for a low-maintenance deck with a long lifespan, durable ThermaWood or high-density Mataverde hardwoods are worth considering.
No matter which wood you choose, with proper care and maintenance your deck can be a beautiful and functional addition to your home for years to come.
Download our ultimate guide to selecting the right decking to learn more about the different types of wood decking and find out which material works best for your deck. Questions? Please contact us.
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