Natural wood decks have advantages that no other decking materials possess:
Wood is nontoxic and extremely strong for its weight, as well as beautiful and easily worked. Wood is a renewable resource if it’s intelligently managed. Wood is produced with comparatively less fossil-fuel inputs compared to other materials used for decking, especially if harvested products come from forests that are local to the buyer. Wood is also easy to reuse, recycle, and it biodegrades naturally without any polluting byproducts.
The problems associated with wood decking surprisingly spring from its advantages: The natural inclination of your beautiful wood deck is to return to the soil from which it came, by the action of weather, insects, bacteria, and molds. To delay this effect, woods that have innate rot-resistance, such as native cedar and redwood, are commonly used, in addition to imported tropical hardwoods such as teak and ipe (a Brazilian hardwood pronounced ‘ee-pay,’ also known as ironwood).
It is worth noting that the famed rot-resistance of redwood is considerably greater in lumber made from old-growth trees. This wood is now unavailable except as recycled wood from old buildings. If recycled redwood or cedar wood is available in your area, it is worth seeking out to use for decking, both to conserve natural resources and as a superior material. Another consideration is that the farther away the wood is grown, the greater the carbon input involved in getting it to you.
Wood is a product of forests that can be managed for the benefit of the whole planet, but most often, they are not. Clearcutting and monocropping degrade and deplete our forestlands. To support sustainable forestry practices, look for wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
