Need to redo the decking in our garden. Would prefer decking to patio

Has anyone got an experience of the composite stuff? Seems like a good idea as there’s less maintenance but wondering what I’m missing – is it too good to be true?

but wondering what I’m missing

The astronomical price?

It’s great stuff. Only ever seen it used commercially due to the price though

Well my builder has quoted another 25%/£500, which in the grand scheme of things doesn’t seem ridiculous for a hassle free garden

Used it on benches, can get a bit slippery with age.

Regular decking doesn’t look great after a few summer / winters and maintenance is a pain. I’d go for it.

Hopefully your contrators will not be like the guy one house up that seems only to be able to work on his new deck between 8am and 9am every Sunday morning.

Recently had a composite deck laid. Materials are expensive but I’m told it will last 25 years and no painting required. It’s a shady area in winter so cleaning and painting it every other year wasn’t cheap.

Probably getting it myself (once I actually commit to spending thousands on sorting my garden, have postponed it a few years now…). Will likely go for the Millboard stuff as it seems to get the best reviews (it is also unfortunately one of the most expensive options, although not a straight composite either). I’d be wary of cheap stuff (from what I’ve read, not from personal experience), I’d at least be asking your builder what make of stuff he’s proposing using and then doing your own research on it.

yes, fitted it for our roof terrace, and for the house next door and friends have it in their garden.

Good stuff. Most have a ‘grip’ layer so far less likely to get slippery than timber and lasts much better. Blunts saw blades. Very heavy.

Yep got a big deck in the back garden with the Eurocell Hollow composite.

Looks really good although chairs etc can ‘scratch’ the surface. Ours was double sided with wood effect one side and simple grooves the other.

Uses hidden clips which were a pain as I laid the whole deck and then realise the final bit was not going to fit so had to lift it all and start again with slightly different spacing – I was not happy.

Didn’t bother with the edge/step profiles and just used alloy angled trim based on advice from the local branch. On some of the vertical surfaces (steps) I had to drill and use visible screws as there was no way round it. You have to be very careful as the decking is brittle and will crack.

Overall, more pain to fit than wood, costs more than wood and I’m still happy we did it.

We have composite/wood veranda at our static home. Holds up very well, with little maintenance (other than mopping down and a good scrub every spring. Don’t go doing ‘skids’ across it on your bike – tyre rubber marks it badly (or did ours when my son did a skid across it – we had it ‘ramped’ for MIL’s wheelchair at the time – son came bombing in off the campsite road, and why not, up the ramp).

Personally got wood at home – much prefer it (general look).

Friends have an early composite (over 15 years old) and it’s warped quite a bit.

In the end we just had a patio done. I looked into plastic wood as the next best option. Especially as it would have been DIYable in a weekend rather than 2 weeks for two guys to pay the patio!

Cost ££££ but we have a failry high maintenance garden so sonething had to give and paving over 10% should make it a bit less of a chore. Next step is to put a big shed up top so I never have to dig over the sodding veg garden ever again.

Helpful input, thanks

This is the proposed decking

https://www.wpc-decking.co.uk/4m-hollow-domestic-grade-composite-decking-board?gclid=CjwKCAjwyqTqBRAyEiwA8K_4O10Y1PL-8bVb375Q83oSaiTYg_fP2YTEZJ1C-BNDRubXrUFUImD62hoC_dcQAvD_BwE

While canyoning in Snowdonia we walked over a section of boardwalk. Didn’t notice until the guide pointed out that it was plastic. It was a few years old and still grippy. I’ll be looking in to it soon as I have a small patio on the north side of the house that needs extending and relaying over the next few years….

Yep. There’s different types of composite decking. We spent a bit extra and went for the solid stuff with a 30% timber content. I was told the hollow stuff is not as rigid, lighter and could be damaged easier (eg high heels and cracking). Has a grip surface so don’t notice it becoming slippery due to algae. I don’t need to paint or treat it (been down 5 years). We went for the light grey colour. Still have to clean it once a year due to blackspot. No problem tho, just power wash it off. Got ours from Greensquares online.

Had some decking installed next to the house (north facing, never indirect sunlight so probably a challenging environment for actual wood) and around the hot tub about 7 years ago. Used Ecodeck, which is the solid mix of wood and resin. It can be machined just like wood. Zero maintenace. It has lightened in colour from a dark brown to a light brown. Because of the wood content, it can be stained. It was (and probably stil is) the most expensive decking you can get. Makes mahogany look cheap.
BUT
It will last and last and last. In the long term it will be cheaper.

Ecodek is wood flour, polymer and a few additives. Bit of a UK success story though recently bought out. Still made in Wrexham if supporting UK industry over China imports important to you

Had it a couple of years, where we replaced an old deck that was dangerously slippery (no tread) and an under frame that had serious water damage from poor design (thanks previous owners).

Not cheap, but I’d recommend it. looks fantastic, doesn’t need any maintenance. Has a strange spring to it that the original did not. I’m cautious with the fire pit.

Recommended. ours is black faux railway sleeper.

Thanks all, composite it is!