If you are weighing up composite against timber for a new deck, the honest answer is that neither is better in every situation. It depends on your budget, how much upkeep you will genuinely do, and how you want the garden to look in ten years. Here is how the two compare in real terms, based on what we see fitting both across Bolton and the wider Greater Manchester area.
Timber wins on upfront cost and natural looks. Composite wins on lifespan and low maintenance, which matters more here than in drier parts of the country. Greater Manchester sees well over 1,000mm of rain in a typical year, so any deck around Bolton spends months at a time damp, and that is where the two materials really part ways.
Timber that is oiled or stained every year can look superb and last well. Timber that gets one coat when it is fitted and nothing afterwards will be slippery, grey and starting to soften in patches within five or six years. Composite asks almost nothing of you, but you pay for that convenience at the start.
As a rough guide, a professionally installed softwood timber deck typically comes in around £100 to £150 per square metre, while composite usually lands somewhere between £140 and £220 per square metre. The spread depends on the board brand, the height and shape of the deck, the subframe spec and how much groundwork is needed. Sloping or boggy gardens, which are common enough around here, add to the substructure cost whichever boards go on top.
The gap narrows over time. A timber deck needs cleaning and re-oiling or re-staining most years, which means either your weekend and £50 to £100 in materials, or paying someone to do it. Over 15 years that ongoing cost, plus the odd replacement board, often adds up to more than the original saving. Composite generally just needs washing.
This is where local conditions matter. Timber decks in shaded, north-facing gardens around Bolton grow algae quickly, and wet algae on smooth timber is genuinely slippery. Keeping a timber deck safe and smart means a proper clean each spring, letting it dry fully, then oiling or staining. Skip a couple of years and the surface greys, the grain opens up and water gets into the boards.
Composite is not maintenance free, whatever the marketing says, but it is close. A wash with soapy water and a stiff brush once or twice a year keeps it clean, and most modern boards have a textured or grooved surface that grips better underfoot when wet. It will not rot, and there is nothing to sand or re-coat. The one thing composite cannot do is be refinished: if a board is badly scratched or scorched by a barbecue, it is replaced rather than sanded out.
A well built softwood deck that is looked after should give you 10 to 15 years, sometimes more; neglected, it can need replacing inside 8. Decent composite boards commonly carry residential warranties of 20 to 25 years against rot and splitting, and the boards themselves usually outlast that. The weak point in any deck, composite included, is the subframe, so it is worth asking for treated timber joists at minimum, or a steel or aluminium subframe if the budget allows.
Ageing is also a matter of taste. Timber weathers to a silvery grey unless you keep it coated, which some people like and some hate. Composite fades slightly in the first few months and then holds its colour, so the deck you see in year one is close to the deck you will have in year ten.
Choose timber if the budget is tight, you like the look and feel of real wood, and you will honestly keep up the yearly maintenance. It remains the cheapest way to get a good sized deck, and a cared for timber deck is a lovely thing.
Choose composite if you want to build once and largely forget about it, if the deck is in shade or gets heavy use from kids and pets, or if you are staying in the house long enough for the lower upkeep to pay back the higher price. For most of the gardens we work on around Bolton, where decks spend a lot of the year wet, composite is the one we would fit at our own homes, but it is not the right answer for every budget.
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