Timber vs Composite Decking: An Honest Comparison

Decking splits people. Some love the warmth of real timber and happily oil it every spring. Others want to fit it once and never think about it again. The right answer depends on your garden, your budget and your tolerance for maintenance, so here is the honest version.

The three realistic options

• Softwood: pressure-treated pine or similar. Cheapest upfront, warm underfoot, needs cleaning and oiling every year or two to stay good
• Hardwood: balau, iroko and similar. Beautiful, dense and long-lasting, but expensive and still needs oiling to keep its colour
• Composite: wood-fibre and plastic boards. Higher upfront cost, near-zero maintenance beyond a wash, and consistent colour for years

Maintenance, honestly stated

A softwood deck that is cleaned and oiled on schedule will last fifteen years and more. Neglected, it greys, algae takes hold in the shade, and boards can start to go soft at the cut ends within five or six years. Composite asks for a soapy wash when it gets grubby and that is about it. If you know you will never oil a deck, do not buy timber; that decision made honestly at the start saves money and guilt.

The shady garden problem

Hampshire has plenty of north-facing, tree-covered gardens, and shade changes the calculation. Any decking in permanent shade grows algae, but on timber it soaks in and accelerates decay, while on composite it sits on the surface and washes off. For a dark, damp corner, composite earns its premium. For a sunny, open plot, timber is a joy and cheaper.

What sits underneath matters most

Whatever goes on top, the frame decides how long the deck lasts. Properly spaced joists, airflow underneath, weed membrane, and posts or pedestals that keep timber off wet ground: get these right and either surface performs. Get them wrong and even the best composite sags between badly spaced joists. Most deck failures are frame failures, not board failures.

Cost over ten years

Softwood wins on day one by a wide margin. Add a decade of oil, brushes and your weekends, and the gap narrows. Composite starts higher, sometimes double the material cost, and stays roughly flat afterwards. Hardwood sits above both and is bought for looks and feel rather than spreadsheets.

Want a straight answer for your garden?

Decking is a core part of our exterior carpentry work across Hampshire. Tell us about the plot and we will recommend what we would fit at our own place. Call 07983 630628 for a free quote.