Every second deck quote we do around the Gong starts with the same question. Hardwood or composite? And people usually want me to just tell them which one's better.
I won't, because there isn't one. There's the deck that suits your budget and how much weekend maintenance you're actually willing to do. For most people those are two different things, so let's go through it properly.
Hardwood — merbau and spotted gum
This is still what most Illawarra decks are built from, and for good reason. Merbau (you'll see it called kwila too) has that deep reddish-brown colour, it's hard as nails, and it copes with our weather. Spotted gum is the local hardwood — greyer-brown, gorgeous grain, a bit pricier and a bit harder to work. But it's a properly Australian timber and it lasts.
On materials alone, merbau decking boards run somewhere around $9 to $14 a lineal metre depending on width and where you buy. Spotted gum sits a touch above that. So hardwood's usually the cheaper start.
Here's the catch, and it's a real one. Hardwood needs oiling. Not once — forever. A new merbau deck wants a coat in the first few months, then realistically once a year, sometimes twice if it cops full afternoon sun or sits near the pool. Skip it and the timber doesn't fall apart, but it greys off. That silver-grey weathered look. Some people love it and let it go on purpose, which is totally fine. Just know that's the deal you're signing up for.
The other thing nobody mentions at Bunnings: hardwood moves. It checks, it cups a little, and after a few years the surface can throw the odd splinter, especially around the nosing and the board ends. A sand and re-oil sorts it. With bare feet and kids running about, you'll want to stay on top of that. None of it's a dealbreaker — it's just the nature of a real timber deck.
Salt air doesn't bother the timber much. What it bothers is the fixings. If you're anywhere near the coast — and round here that's most of us, from Thirroul to Shellharbour to down past Kiama — you want stainless steel screws, not the cheap galvanised ones. Galv rusts out near salt and you get black bleed stains weeping down every board. Cheap fixings on a good deck is the most common mistake I get called out to fix.
Composite — never touch it again
Composite is a wood-fibre and plastic mix made up into boards. The big sell's dead simple: no oiling, ever. You hose it, give it the occasional scrub, and that's your lot. No greying, no annual ritual, no splinters. For a lot of busy households that alone wins it.
It's not cheap to buy in, mind you. Good composite boards land around $90 to $160 a square metre just for the deck surface, where hardwood might be half that on materials. Labour's much the same either way, so the gap really sits in the boards. You're paying upfront to save yourself years of oiling. Whether that maths works depends on how long you're staying and how much you value your Saturdays.
A couple of honest downsides. The first is heat. Dark composite in full Illawarra summer sun gets hot underfoot — properly hot, the kind where the kids hop across to the pool. Lighter colours and a bit of shade help a lot, so have a think about your aspect before you lock in a colour.
The second is the look. The good stuff genuinely looks the part these days. The cheap stuff still reads a bit plasticky and uniform up close, so you get what you pay for.
Where composite really earns its keep is pool surrounds. No oil washing into the water, no splinters near bare feet, and no constant re-coating in the one spot that cops the most sun and the most traffic. Around a pool I'll often steer people toward composite even if they've gone hardwood everywhere else.
So which one's for you
Quick gut-check:
- Hardwood if you want a real-timber look, you've got a tighter budget to start, and you genuinely don't mind oiling once a year (or you're happy to let it grey off).
- Composite if you'd rather never touch it again, you've got a pool, or you just want your weekends back — and the higher upfront cost sits alright with you.
It's a budget-and-upkeep call, not a quality one. Either one builds into a deck that'll outlast plenty around here, provided it's framed properly, flashed right against the house, and screwed off with the correct fixings. Honestly, that last bit matters more than the board you pick. I've pulled up beautiful merbau decks rotted out underneath because the bearers weren't done right.
If you're weighing it up for your own place, give us a call and talk it through. Dave can come out, look at your block, your aspect and how you actually use the yard, and give you a straight answer either way — plus a free quote with both options costed so you can see the real difference. We're local and fully licensed, covering Helensburgh down to Nowra.
Ring 0414 007 351 whenever suits. No pressure, happy to just give you a steer.
Want a hand with this at your place? Get a free quote or call 0414 007 351.