Question 1

Cedar versus pressure-treated for a deck in Ottawa weather?

Accepted Answer

Pressure-treated starts lower on published Ottawa and Ontario builder prices: about about $25 to $65 per square foot installed, while cedar runs about $45 to $80 per square foot installed. Those are wide ranges, and quotes differ on what the rest of the deck involves. What the materials actually do differently The USDA Forest Products Laboratory notes that the service lives of naturally durable and preservative-treated woods are quite comparable in above-ground uses such as decking boards.

Question 2

Capped composite versus old composite boards in Ontario?

Accepted Answer

Capped composite (a wood-plastic core wrapped in a polymer shell) and older uncapped composite (wood fibre and plastic blended through, no shell) are both sold as composite decking, and what you can compare is what each manufacturer publishes. Manufacturers of capped composite lines publish 25- and 30-year limited product warranties alongside fade and stain warranties. We found no neutral source on uncapped boards' warranties or lifespan.

Question 3

Was my pre-2004 Ottawa deck built with CCA lumber?

Accepted Answer

If your Ottawa deck was built before 2004, Health Canada says it is likely to have been made from CCA-treated lumber, which stands for Chromated Copper Arsenate. There is no way to know for certain just by looking at it, but the pre-2004 date is the clearest indicator Health Canada gives. CCA is no longer available for residential construction projects in Canada. The treatments used today are Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ) or Copper Azole (CA-B).

Question 4

Do composite warranties cover fading on Ottawa decks?

Accepted Answer

Composite decking manufacturers publish fade and stain warranties on their capped wood-plastic composite lines, including 25- and 30-year limited terms, and some cellular PVC lines carry a lifetime limited product warranty with a 50-year fade and stain warranty. These are manufacturer warranty terms, not lifespan guarantees, and the coverage, exclusions and claim process vary by product. A few things are worth understanding before you rely on a warranty for an Ottawa deck.

Materials & Boards

Cedar versus pressure-treated for a deck in Ottawa weather?

Capped composite versus old composite boards in Ontario?

Was my pre-2004 Ottawa deck built with CCA lumber?

Do composite warranties cover fading on Ottawa decks?