Best Wood Decking
We evaluated cedar, ipe, pine, and redwood to find the best wood for building a deck
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It’s hard to match the beauty of a wood deck. Manufacturers of composites have tried for years to mimic the look and feel. Some brands mix wood pulp into their formulations. And others, like Trex and Azek, even produce decking boards with random grain patterns, in an effort to resemble the natural variances you’d find in real wood.
But if all this still won’t cut it for you, we get it. Wood decking remains the most popular choice in most of the country. And it’s not just about looks. Despite varying performance levels when it comes to stains and dents (as a group, composites are better at resisting those), “all wood decking tends to shine when it comes to resisting flexing and slipping,” says Rich Handel, who oversees CR’s tests of decking.
If you’re unsure about which type of decking to buy, start with our decking buying guide, which provides more details about the ins and outs of wood and composite decking. CR members can also jump right to our decking ratings.
How Consumer Reports Tests Wood Decking
We put wood and composite decking through the ringer, starting with the locations where we perform our testing: Hot, dry Arizona and warm, muggy Florida. We drop multiple weights on our samples to see which dent and which don’t, and apply ketchup and mustard to see which are best at resisting stains. We also use specialized instruments to test each decking sample for resistance to flexing, to ensure that boards won’t bow or bend if you’re entertaining a crowd. Finally, we look at slip resistance—especially important if your deck is near a pool—and we see how the samples age over a span of three years at our two testing sites.
Here, we zero in on the pros and cons of cedar, ipe, pine, and redwood—the four most common options you’ll find. Keep in mind, we test our wood decking samples without any protective stain—you can potentially add years to the life of your wooden deck if you stain and seal the wood properly.
Best Wood Decking
Other Wood Decking Options
