Paul_Contreras

The lumber that is harvested today is inferior to lumber 25 years ago. Here on the West Coast we primarily used redwood for decking but it is near impossible to find quality redwood anymore. Using an exotic lumber is a gamble if you are looking for a sustainable resource due to the poor regulations/corruption in many of the lumber producing countries. For this reason I believe synthetic decking is the better value in the long term. I feel that in time the material will improve to the point where it will be the dominant material for decking. A good example of this type of transition is roofing material. Roofing has gone from wood shingles to man made products that are as attractive, longer lasting and are covered by warranties. I feel people who appreciate the qualities of wood like the feel of wooden hand rails and interesting grain patterns will be using better cuts of wood in conjunction with synthetic decking on future decks.