As a homeowner or a soon-to-be homeowner, when you hear the word “decking” two things or rather questions pop into your mind; “Natural or Composite?” This intuition is entirely understandable because knowing which type of decking meets your needs is an unavoidable and hugely recommended step.
Narrowing down to the two major categories, each homeowner has a preference depending on what works best for them in terms of aesthetics, quality, cost, maintenance among others. However, most of these preferences tend to lean more towards the composite decking materials. Here is the reason why.
Why composite?
Some users with a little less experience in this field tend to go for the natural wood decking. This is genuinely understandable because, compared to composite, the purchase cost of natural wood decking is lower. However, natural decking requires more maintenance and you might end up using way more than you planned. The case with composite decking is different because, while its initial cost is a little high, it barely requires any maintenance, and this equals to less expense.
Additionally, composite decking is on edge in aesthetics, it’s amazingly durable and it has a wide range of color and profile choices.
Top PVC Decking Brands
For now, we shall single down to one type of composite decking; PVC, and look at some of the top PVC decking brands.
TIVA Decking
TIVA is by far the best PVC decking brand you could wish to have for your home. Besides being quite affordable, TIVA decking is also Environmentally-friendly. Its durability is also unmatched, thanks to the industry-leading technology used to construct its core; Carbon Nanotechnology. The technology ensures the strength of the product as well as its stability.
Though some customers keep off PVC decking materials because of price, TIVA is reasonably priced. It is also barely high-maintenance and you will get an easier time cleaning it, since its stain-resistant. Lastly, the Acrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA), used in capping, enhances the color retention of TIVA, hence little to no fading.
Azek
Another of the top PVC decking brands is Azek. This decking brand has been in the market for quite a while and managed to gain a reasonable market share. The products are reasonably priced and the attractiveness is also incredible and this is the reason why some users like it.
However, other users tend to prefer other brands because Azek is not stain-resistant. When it stains, you will need to do power washing which will get rid of the stain but also mess with the finishing. The color retention of Azek is also low and it fades faster than TIVA. Some customers also complain about its quick rotting and the fact that it sags from the pressure of heavy loads.
Timber Tech Decking
Since 2007, Timbertech has been offering its decking products to its users and PVC decking material is one of them. However, this number of customers is not as large as other decking materials because of its high price.
On the upsides, TimberTech’s warranty of 30 years is remarkable. It is also quite durable, thanks to the four-sides protective shells.
Trex Decking
Lastly, is Trex decking which is a little bit different from the other PVC decking materials. This is because, instead of being pure PVC, Trex is a combination of reclaimed wood and plastic. Both ingredients have their role, whereby the plastic improves the wood’s resistance to water and insect damage. The wood, on the other hand, protects the plastic from UV rays. This combination makes the product quite durable as well as low maintenance.
However, Trex is very expensive. Customers also complain that the material changes color after 10-12 weeks due to exposure to sunlight and moisture. The company explains that this is a natural process that does not mess with the quality, but the effect on attractiveness is still significant. Trex is also quite slippery and you might need to use a carpet.
