When you decide to make home improvements, one of the major influences on the decisions that you make might be maintenance. Running a home is already a lot of work, so in a lot of cases, you want the improvements that you make to minimize this work, rather than intensify it.
So, if you are thinking about adding decking to your backyard, it is understandable that you might want to choose a material that is low maintenance.
In this guide, we’ll be taking a look at the types of maintenance you need to complete on decking, and the lowest maintenance options available. So with no further ado, let’s get started.
As we have just said, yes, decking does require maintenance. In fact, decking actually requires quite a lot of maintenance, and this is something that can put people off this home improvement.
Backyards are already a lot of hard work without adding any more work to them. So, you might find yourself in a real debate about whether, or not, decking is for you.
Almost all backyard additions will require some maintenance. When people consider decking, they almost always think of wooden decking straight away.
Wooden decking is a lot of work, and you have to up-keep the maintenance on this type of decking because it will quickly become damaged if you do not. But, there are lots of other types of decking that you might not even know exist.
Wooden decking is the traditional type of decking, but there are lots of modern alternatives that are a lot less effort to look after. In fact, some types of decking require absolutely zero maintenance, which is perfect if you want your yard to look good without having to spend hours working on it.
We’ll take a look at these types of decking shortly, but first, let’s take a look at some things you may need to do to maintain decking.
What Maintenance will Decking Require?
If you do not own a deck yet, then you might know that they require maintenance, but not know what maintenance this is. There are lots of different things that you might need to do to maintain your decking, ranging from big jobs to little jobs. So, let’s have a look at what some of these jobs are.
One of the most important pieces of maintenance that you have to complete on your decking is keeping it clean. The best way to do this is by regularly brushing your deck.
As your deck is outside, it will quickly pick up dust, debris, and other things such as dead leaves and moss. It is very easy for all of this stuff to build up, and this can result in damage to your decking. But, if you brush the deck regularly, there is no risk of this debris building up.
Additionally, you might need to do things such as cleansing the deck, and oiling the deck if the material requires. You might have to do other maintenance jobs such as securing floorboards that have been lifted and so on.
But, if you want a decking that requires very little maintenance, let’s take a look at some of the best materials to consider.
The Best Low Maintenance Decking
As we said, some types of decking actually require very little to no maintenance. If you want decking that doesn’t require a lot of up-keep, consider one of these options.
Composite Decking
One of the best types of decking if you want a low maintenance option is composite decking. Composite decking is made of both wood fiber and plastic binding ingredients to produce a strong board that requires minimal maintenance.
Composite decking is great if you want wooden decking, but don’t want the maintenance that goes with it, as it looks very convincingly like wood. The issue with wood decking is that it expands and contracts with things such as heat, and water, but this isn’t an issue with composite decking.
Alternatively, another great option is PVC decking. PVC is made with polyvinyl chloride, which is one of the most popular types of plastic in the world, and this is primarily because it requires such a small amount of maintenance to keep it looking good.
However, PVC decking is very different to the traditional decking that you might have pictured in your mind, and this is why some people decide against using this option. But, if you want a low maintenance decking, then you need look no further than PVC.
Aluminum Decking
Finally, you should think about choosing an aluminum decking. This is a fairly new invention, and something that definitely isn’t common. So, if you fancy something a little special, then aluminum decking might be the best option for you.
This type of decking requires pretty much zero maintenance, and is a lot nicer than PVC decking, which is why you might prefer this option. But, this type of decking has a very modern finish, and so it may not be a good fit with all homes.
So, before you choose this type of decking, consider the type of look that you are going for in your backyard.
Summary
In short, there is no single best low maintenance decking, instead there are lots of great options that require minimal maintenance.
From PVC to aluminum to composite decking, there are lots of different low maintenance options, all with different finishes so that you can choose the best one for you.
So, if you want decking, but don’t want the high levels of maintenance that come with traditional decking, check out the options that we have outlined above to find the perfect one for you.
