Composite Decking Boards

With many brands of synthetic decking on the market, few stand out as being ultra-low maintenance. You may ask yourself, what is ultra low maintenance? Well, in my opinion, ultra-low maintenance decking is a deck board that withstands staining and fading that can occur on standard wood plastic composite decking. It should also require only periodic cleaning with soap and water. Latitudes Capricorn^® is a great example of ultra-low maintenance composite decking.



Inspired by Nature. Perfected by Latitudes. 
Capricorn decking uses advanced co-extrusion technology for a surface that not only is virtually impervious to stains, but also keeps its rich, elegant color from fading over time. Capricorn composite deck boards are fully encased in a durable, protective surface layer and are fortified with the same Strandex^® technology used in all Latitudes^® composite decking products.

Latitudes Capricorn decking features two unique tropical colors, adobe and koa. These richly colored boards resemble the exotic hardwoods mahogany and ipê. With a natural-looking woodgrain pattern on both sides, Capricorn bridges versatility and aesthetics in one unique style.

Resistant to fading and moisture, and virtually impervious to stains, Latitudes Capricorn is barefoot-friendly and proven not to splinter, split or rot, providing long-lasting beauty and comfort with no sealing, painting or staining required. In addition to a deck on your house, Capricorn is perfect for pool decking, walkways, porches or anywhere ultra-low maintenance deck material is desired. Latitudes Capricorn is covered by a 25-year limited warranty.

Become a Latitudes FAN on Facebook.

I knew that Latitudes Capricorn tropical composite decking was more than just another pretty board—and others agree! Latitudes Capricorn composite decking is a BUILDERnews awards 2009 Best Products winner in the Decks and Railings category.

Each year, BUILDERnews chooses winners based on criteria including ease of use, durability, inventiveness and innovation in the building industry. Readers are also invited to submit their favorite tools or products they have used throughout the year. “Even in a down economy, there are still hundreds of products released and brought to the market every year. This year’s honorees represent some of the nation’s most innovative products in the industry and ones that our editorial team felt readers would find most useful to build better and stay competitive,” said D.C. Curry-Lawrence, CEO and publisher of BUILDERnews.


Latitudes Capricorn features two unique tropical colors, adobe and koa. These exotic-looking synthetic deck boards resemble tropical hardwood like mahogany and ipe. With a natural-looking woodgrain pattern on both sides, Capricorn bridges versatility and aesthetics in one unique style.

Capricorn tropical decking is fortified with the same proven Strandex technology used in all Latitudes composite products. And it’s co-extruded, which helps make it an ultra low maintenance decking product.

With the addition of Capricorn tropical composite decking, Latitudes has one of the most diverse, attractive and user-friendly lineups of composite decking in the industry.

Resistant to fading and moisture, and virtually impervious to stains, Latitudes Capricorn is barefoot-friendly and proven not to splinter, split or rot, providing long-lasting beauty and comfort with no sealing, painting or staining required. Capricorn is perfect for pool decking, walkways, porches or anywhere low-maintenance deck material is desired. Latitudes Capricorn is covered by an all-new 25-year limited warranty.

Capricorn tropical decking is available in 12-, 16- and 20-foot lengths, in slotted and standard planks. Slotted planks feature the patented Equator® Hidden Deck Fastener. The fastener’s unique design automatically gaps each board and delivers automatic, consistent alignment of deck boards for striking results and considerable savings.

See video on Latitudes Capricorn Composite Decking.

Become a Latitudes FAN on Facebook.

Exposed decks take a beating from Mother Nature, and general wear and tear from moving outdoor furniture around, kids playing and occasionally the family pet. Whether your deck has constant sun beating down on its surface or you live in an area that typically gets a lot of rain or has harsh winters, your wood deck boards may wear faster than expected and become unsightly or even dangerous to walk on. Provided your deck structure (framework underneath decking boards) is solid and up to code, consider refacing / replanking the surface (deck boards)—It's more cost-effective and most DIYers can handle this type of project.

If the original deck builder installed the wood substructure correctly, like adding properly installed flashing to protect the frame and the ledger board (part of the frame that attaches to the house), you may be able to save your structure and simply reface the top with new pressure treated wood or composite deck boards—Regardless, make sure you check and replace damaged or rotting structural boards if needed. If you do find some structural issues, consider consulting with your local building inspector or hire a licensed builder.

If you can move your deck by simply pushing it from side to side, you may be facing some structural issues. Make sure your deck substructure is sound before adding new planks. By starting with a sound substructure, your project should be easier and more affordable than building a new deck from the ground up. Keeping your deck safe

You have multiple options when it comes to refacing your deck. You could install new pressure-treated decking, switch to synthetic decking or even tropical hardwood decking. I’ll cover some of these options in a series of posts starting with composite decking.

This alternative to pressure treated wood is surprisingly sustainable. The decking market offers dealers and contractors a clear opportunity that is growing in a number of ways. First is market size: The Cleveland-based Freedonia Group says that decking is expected to grow by about 20 percent annually to become a 3.6-billion-lineal-foot industry by 2011. Secondly, the decking market is growing in sophistication. Decking contractors are no longer banging galvy 10d nails in CCA #2 southern yellow pine, as we did in the 1980s. Today decks are part of so-called outdoor living space, and that has even developed into a designer specialty.

For dealers and contractors alike, decks and deck building material offer good-margin, low-maintenance products to customers, who are increasingly willing to pay premiums for products that they will proudly display in high-profile areas of their homes. Today, although decking is still a product that most general-contractors offer, you are seeing an increased number of specialty deck-only operations, and there is a great opportunity for dealers to cater to them.

Decking in the broadest sense of the word now includes four category of products: All-plastic decking, Wood, Composites, and—increasingly uncommon—Aluminum.

The all-plastic decking products are different from “composite decking,” which contains plastic and fiber (more on that below), and plastic decking breaks down into sub-categories by differentiating themselves from one another by the source and type of plastic, and sometimes by the plastic’s recyclability. The most popular choices of deck plastics break out into five categories:

1. Common HDPE  (#2, milk jugs);
2. Recycled high-density polyethylene plastic (ReHDPE);
3. Polypropylene (think Tupperware);
4. Solid polyvinyl chloride a.k.a. PVC;
5. Cellular PVC (polyvinyl chloride with a foaming agent).

 (It important to know the difference between the types of plastic, because they are also used in composite decking material.)

With so many kinds of plastic, manufactures of all-plastic decks will point out differences in the plastics they use, especially where the plastics come from. Marketers of decking will take great pride in features like “virgin plastic,” or a high percentage of “post consumer resins” (PCR), and even “100% recyclable.” Also, since plastic decking can be manufactured through extrusion (that is, product that is pushed through a mould), even the speed of extrusion can be a selling factor, because a product that is extruded too quickly is considered poorer quality.

Whether you are dealing with all-plastic decking or composites, HDPE is the most commonly used product. It performs very well in most situations, and expands only along its length, like vinyl siding. Plus, it does not swell, as many lumber products will. Manufactures argue that it retains color well. Plus, the all-plastic product is entirely recyclable.

Another product, all-plastic PVC decking generally has resistance to scratching, staining, and fading that is superior to composite decking. But PVC decking has been getting slammed for the toxicity of the manufacturing process, which can release mercury and dioxin. That said, there is a green case to be made for PVC’s performance and durability, and it goes like this: If you use PVC (in all-plastic or composite products), you are less likely to harvest, manufacture, and ship replacement products, which therefore makes PVC a viable alternative to wood. What’s greener: a 30-year plastic or PVC deck…or a wood deck that has to harvested, shipped, installed and shoveled into the landfill three times in those three decades?

Now, on to composite decking. It’s called composite or synthetic decking because it has more than one component, and this class of decking has some characteristics of wood and some of plastic. Most composite wood decking is created when wood is added to plastic resin (usually polyethylene). Since the properties of composite decking vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, marketers will differentiate their products using various metrics or features, most notably:

• The source of their plastics (“post-consumer” is considered greener),
• The percent of recycled plastic (for those who want to use recycled products),
• The percent of virgin plastic (for those who don’t want to use recycled plastics because of perceived quality issues),
• The source of the non-plastic components used (recovered wood is the greenest alternative),
• The quality of the post-consumer resin used in the plastic (you don’t want chopped-up milk and vitamin labels in the deck boards),
• The color-fast properties of the decking (fading is so common among some it’s sometimes called a “mellowing process”),
• The surface feel and slip-resistance,
• The structural performance of the product (look for 16 o-c span-ability),
• The UV-protection the decking (anything to frustrate the sun’s punishing rays), and
• The deck board’s weight per board food (for transportation, easy handling during installation, and span loading).

 For a good composite example, let’s look at a popular product and see how it presents itself in these categories. Latitudes composite wood decking is made with both recycled and virgin polyethylene, and 100% of the wood additive is reclaimed product. Indeed, Latitudes is made from approximately 70% recycled materials. It’s “barefoot friendly,” slip-resistant, and reversible with a brushed finish on one side, and a wood grain look on the other, so you can choose look-and-feel. Latitudes comes in six colors—gray, cedar, redwood and walnut, and the specialty colors of Koa and Adobe in the tropical wood-look Latitudes Capricorn composite decking.

No matter what composite deck boards you're looking for, be sure they can span 16-o.c. joists, and that they comply with the all the crucial codes and standards. Look for a warranty of at least 10 years, and it should cover splintering, corrosion, as well as rot, warp, cupping, checks, or damage caused by termites or fungal decay. And finally, urge your customers to purchase premium products, for their own sake. If they always use low cost as the ultimate metric of value, they risk their reputations, as well as the prospect for annoying callbacks that are hard to solve without painful and costly tear-outs.

Composite decking is an excellent choice for above or in-ground pool decks. Whether you're a do-it-yourself or a professional deck builder, consider installing composite deck building material in your pool or spa area for its aesthetics, barefoot friendly, slip-resistant surface and its low maintenance performance. Most composite lumber deck boards now days are available with hidden fasteners and in several attractive colors to complement your home and outdoor living area. 

When planning your new composite lumber pool deck, don’t let the deck railing system be an afterthought. There are several attractive options on the market that will complement your home and pool design, ranging from aluminum and composite to vinyl.

Metal deck railing, with an all glass panel infill or glass balusters, is one of my favorite styles, as it allows for unobstructed views of the pool area. 

Since composite wood decking is low maintenance, periodic washing with soap and water will remove surface dirt and chalk that accumulate on the composite deck surface. This will also prevent the buildup of pollen and debris that can cause mold and mildew growth.

Pressure washers (with fan-tip nozzle) should be used for wetting and rinsing only. Pressure washers should not be used to “blast off” soiling agents; attempting to do so can drive the dirt deeper into the composite deck boards. In most cases, applying the cleaning agent with a pump sprayer and scrubbing thoroughly with a synthetic brush will clean the surface.

Grime, Ground-in Dirt, Rust
In most cases, soap and water will maintain the appearance of composite decking material. If grime, ground-in dirt or rust marks become a problem, use a cleaning product with an oxalic acid base. Do not use bleach, abrasive cleansers or pads when cleaning.

Mold
Mold may form on any surface where moisture is prevalent, where there is heavy shading, or where pollen and debris are allowed to collect. To remove mold, use conventional deck washers or cleaners that contain sodium percarbonate and detergent. These cleaners can be found at most home centers.