If you're looking to add a new deck to your outdoor space, one of the questions you're most likely to ask is "how long will the colour last?" or "will the colour fade?" With some deck boards costing in the thousands, this is a perfectly reasonable thing to ask, as the last thing you'd want is to spend a lot of money on a deck that will begin to look aged and tired after only a few years.
Well, with the rise in popularity of composite decking over the last couple of decades and traditional wood decking known to fade, a lot of people are now asking "does composite decking fade?" The experts at DeckPlus are here to let you know!
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Unlike traditional timber decking, composite decking is made using a combination of materials, including recycled wood and polymer resin. This results in a decking material that is extremely fade-resistant and capable of maintaining its gorgeous appearance for up to three whole decades.
When it comes to capped composite decking, the fade-resistance is taken up another notch thanks to the protective polymer sleeve that wraps around the body of the deck board. Here, the board's outer layer and core are protected from both strong UV rays and moisture, meaning your deck lasts much longer.
Is composite decking fade-proof?
Despite the excellent fade-resistant powers that composite decking offers, unfortunately, it is like everything in the world in that Father Time does tend to take its toll. No composite decking is 'fade-proof' and as such, you should be wary of any companies that claim their products are.
The sun impacts all materials at an atomic level, breaking down the chemical bonds which leads to the fading of colours. As such, all composite decking boards will to some degree experience a slight 'fading' from the colour they hold when they're first installed.
Stages of fading
Each composite deck board will go through a process of fading over its lifetime. This process is as follows:
- Stage 1 - This first stage is known as extractive bleeding, where the natural wood oils used in the manufacturing process are washed out by rain and moisture in the air. This occurs during the first 8-10 weeks after installation and goes largely unnoticed.
- Stage 2 - The second stage of the natural weathering process is caused by the sun's UV rays and occurs during the first six months of your deck's lifetime. This stage's effect can be weakened through the addition of UV ray stabilisers during the manufacturing process of the decking board. The decking board's resistance to UV rays will depend on the quality of raw materials used during production.
- Stage 3 - The final stage of the fading process will occur after the first six months of your deck's life. Here, the colour fade will stabilise and progress at a much slower rate, meaning you should start to see the natural colour of your deck appearing.
Despite these stages, with composite decking, the effects of the sun's UV rays are far less potent and noticeable than you'd find with traditional timber decking. Our advice would be to choose a lighter coloured deck board, where the difference in colour after the natural weathering process is far less noticeable. You can find our full range of composite deck boards below.
Browse Our Decking Range >
For more information on our composite decking range or the fade-resistant properties that it offers, be sure to get in touch with a member of the DeckPlus team today by calling 0800 028 8756 or emailing us at info@deckplus.co.uk - we'd love to hear from you!
