Hard vs. Soft Wood Decks

01 July 2019

Decks are a wonderful addition to any house. They create a feeling of warmth and richness, as well as adding value to the house. There are 2 types of timber you can use to deck your outdoor area with: soft wood and hard wood.

Soft wood is as it sounds, soft and generally more inferior to the hardwood varieties. It is usually treated with a chemical to help resist rotting and weathering in the outdoors. It will scratch and dent easily, and sometimes twist and warp (occasionally popping the nails or screws). It is much cheaper than hardwood. This variety of timber includes treated pine decking boards.

Harwood timber is harder and as such much more durable, hence less vulnerable to dents and scratches. It will last a lot longer than soft wood decking boards, particularly when completely exposed to the weather. Hardwood decking boards should not rot, warp or twist if correctly fixed to the frame and maintained. This type of wood is more expensive, usually $2.50-3.00ml more expensive than soft woods. This variety of timber includes Merbau, Spotted Gum, Stringy Bark, Jarrah and Black Butt.

Optimized by: Netwizard SEO