What type of timber should I use for a timber deck – hardwood or softwood?

OK, so you’ve decided to put down a wooden deck in your garden. An excellent choice. It will look beautiful and provide an area for barbeques and sunbathing. Decks are fantastic for bridging the space between the house and the garden. But now the question is – what should the wooden deck be constructed from? Hardwood or softwood?

The differences between hardwood and softwood

Well, the main difference between the softwood and hardwood is cost.

Hardwood for wooden decking is typically taken from trees in rainforest areas. Tropical hardwoods are teak, mahogany, ebony and lauan. Hardwood that enters the UK must have a timber certification stating that the wood is from a renewable source. However, as there are several certification councils, I would suspect that the practice of illegal logging is widespread and even hardwood sold in the UK has a fair chance of being illegal.

Hardwood trees grow slowly and therefore take longer to replace. This makes hardwood timber expensive.

Softwood on the other hand is cut from fast growing conifers. These trees grow in areas like Scandinavia, Russia and North America. Generally, these are stable, well regulated countries. Types of softwood include pine, spruce, hemlock, fir, cedar and redwood. Because they grow so quickly and are easily replaced, softwood is significantly cheaper than hardwood.

So, hardwood is not necessarily better than softwood. It is just different.

Softwood is not necessarily soft and hardwood is not necessarily hard. And some softwood is harder than hardwood and vice versa. Confused? Well, they can be confused even by competent gardeners.

Both types of wood are excellent for constructing wooden decks. Properly treated and maintained you should get 25 years or more out of either substance. Softwood decking can also be stained to look like hardwood. In fact, both woods will need an application of wood oil, stain or at least some protection from the elements.

So, tell me? What is best?

So, in the final analysis, which is the better wood to construct a wooden deck from? Well, there is no doubt that hardwood decks look beautiful. And if money is not a factor and you aren’t too worried about the environmental consequences – get a hardwood deck. But personally, I would choose softwood. It’s not far off in terms of quality. It is almost half the price of hardwood. And I sleep better at night!

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