Hardwood or pine decking?

When choosing what timber you want to use for your decks (assuming you want to build with timber), there are a number of things to consider. You have the option of hardwoods like Garapa, Vitex or Kwila, or a local timber like pine.

Pine

Pine is faster growing and therefore normally a little cheaper, and you can generally be sure that it has been sustainably harvested if it comes from New Zealand.

Pros:

• easy to stain
• generally stays cool in our harsh climate
• cheaper
• sustainably harvested if from NZ

Cons:

The drawbacks to pine are based around its aging:

• pine generally doesn’t age as well as hardwoods
• pine tends to shrink, opening up gaps, causing nails to ‘pop’
• it can warp more easily than hardwoods.
• it is also not as dense as a hardwood, meaning that it will dent and mark far more easily.

Hardwood

Hardwood decking, on the other hand, is far more dense meaning it often looks nicer for longer.

Pros:

Hardwoods whilst generally more expensive than pine will:

• last longer
• are more resistant to mould and rot
• less likely to shrink
• the boards come much wider than with pine, which can make a deck look fantastic

Cons:

Drawbacks of Hardwood decks are:

• hardwoods ‘bleed’ a lot before they settle down, meaning that unless you seal it immediately much of the beautiful colour leaches away quite quickly and can stain surrounding areas
• hardwood trees grow much slower than pine trees, so it is arguably less sustainable
• the supply chain has a chance of corruption where unsustainably harvested timber could be present

At the end of the day there are a number of pros and cons to both hardwood and pine decking to consider. Come and have a talk with us to discuss the best option for you.