Taking Decks to the Next Level

Even though composite decks have been around for a few decades, it is only recently people seem to have woken up to its benefits. The reason for its popularity is simple. It has changed a lot over years with the improvement of technology. With the resurgence in popularity, demand for composite material grew. And with it, manufacturers rose to the occasion and came out with several different products based on the composite material. Hence, consumers started looking at their houses, especially the backyards, differently.

What are Composite Decks?
In a nutshell, a composite material is made by combining plastics with wood. The plastic part is usually made from recycled plastic. The wood part can either be from wood chips or sawdust. The two are then mixed together in a process called Extrusion. This produces a mixture of molten plastic and wood. This is then compressed in molds, giving its final shape, color, and texture. From all this, it may sound like composite materials is a modern invention. But in reality, composites have been around for centuries in different forms. That means, even early humans understood the usefulness of composites. 

As far as composited decks are concerned, they first hit the scene in the early 1990’s. At first, they became quickly popular. As time went on people realized that composite decks just doesn’t have what it takes in way of weather resistance. With time, cracks began to show, and they lost their color. And eventually, composite decks went out of fashion.

However, manufacturers did not give up on this material. They kept experimenting and finally found the right mix of products. These new mixtures were organic fillers and minerals. In the end, they were able to create a product with better tensile strength and durability, especially in bad weather. Along with this, they were fitted with end caps which gave them even more durability. The color also does not fade nearly as quickly. Carpenters also found them to be easy to work with, needing only conventional tools to get the job done. And once installed, they require less upkeep and maintenance. 

Costs and warranties
The cost of composite decks can be anywhere from two to five dollars per foot, making it very affordable. That does not include the cost of installation. However many manufacturers will also include a warranty. Some warranties are even transferable to another owner if the house gets sold.

Faux brick wall
This brings us to another manufactured product and that would be faux bricks. As the name suggests, it is an artificial material made to look like bricks. And making a wall out of them will look like the real thing. Faux brick walls will look just as good as a wall made of real bricks but will be much cheaper. As an additional bonus, they will be more resistant to weather-related damage. As with regular bricks, you can get many different colors and textures. Do you want a wall that has a granite-like look and texture? Or do you want a wall that looks more like a traditional red brick wall? Then no problem. This can be achieved with a faux brick wall.