Deck (building)

In architecture, a deck is a flat surface capable of supporting weight, similar to a floor, but typically constructed outdoors, often elevated from the ground, and usually connected to a building. The term is a generalization of decks as found on ships.

Wood or timber "decking" can be used in a number of ways: as part of garden landscaping, to extend living areas of houses, and as an alternative to stone based features such as patios. Decks are made from treated lumber, composite lumber, composite material, and Aluminum. Lumber may be Western red cedar, teak, mahogany, ipê and other hardwoods. Recycled planks may be high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polystyrene (PS) and PET plastic as well as mixed plastics and wood fiber (often called "composite" lumber). Artificial decking products are often called "wood-plastic composites". These days, WPC's have more widely known by different brands like Trex, Azek, Ecornboard etc.

Historically, the softwoods used for decking were logged from old growth forests. These include Atlantic white cedar, redwood and Western red cedar (redcedar). Atlantic City built the first coastal boardwalk in the United States, originally constructed of Atlantic white cedar. However, it was not long before the commercial logging of this tree and clearing of cedar swamps in New Jersey caused a decline in the availability of decking. Atlantic City and New York City both switched to Western red cedar. By the 1960s, Western red cedar from the US was declining due to over-logging. More expensive Western red cedar was available from western Canada (British Columbia) but by then, pressure treated pine had become available.

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