Composite and PVC Deck Installation in Gainesville

In full unshaded sun on a July afternoon, dark composite is hot enough that most people do not walk on it barefoot. This is not a defect and it is not brand-specific, it is what a dense dark surface does under a north Florida sun. Two things fix it: choosing a lighter colour, which makes a real and noticeable difference, and putting shade over at least part of the deck. A deck that is used in the evening rather than at midday is far less affected either way.

It depends on how long you intend to keep the house and how you feel about maintenance weekends. Composite costs meaningfully more up front and roughly eliminates the stain-and-seal cycle, which in this climate is not a trivial saving of time. Treated pine costs less to build and needs cleaning and re-coating on a regular rhythm to look after itself. Over a long ownership the numbers converge; over five years they do not. The honest answer is that both are reasonable choices and the wrong one is the one bought without knowing which trade you were making.

Composite contains wood flour bound in polymer, usually with a hard cap on the outside. PVC has no wood content at all. PVC is lighter, tends to run slightly cooler than a comparable dark composite, and has nothing in it for fungi to feed on, which is a real advantage in a humid climate. It generally costs more and some people find it looks less like timber. Both are installed over the same treated frame and both come with detailed manufacturer instructions that determine joist spacing and gapping.

Any smooth surface is slick when wet, and in a climate with a daily summer storm cycle that matters. Where composite specifically causes trouble is when a shaded, damp deck grows a film of algae, which is common under a tree canopy here. It washes off with a cleaner made for the board and it comes back if the deck stays permanently damp. Textured board surfaces help, and so does keeping the deck clear enough of overhanging growth that it dries out between storms.

Sometimes, and only after the frame has been properly checked. The frame has to be sound, at the right joist spacing for the new board, and free of rot at the ledger, the post bases, and the joist ends. Reusing a frame that is fifteen years old to carry a surface with a twenty-five year warranty is a false economy, and any competent contractor will say so after opening it up. Where the frame is sound, resurfacing is a good value job.