Melbourne's climate is uniquely hard on decks: 40°C UV-soaked northerlies in summer, weeks of damp in winter, and temperature swings that make timber move. Composite boards were engineered for exactly these conditions — but they aren't automatically the right call for every home. Here's the honest comparison.
The case for composite
- Zero oiling. Timber decks need oiling every 12–18 months to stay looking good; composite needs a wash with soapy water once or twice a year.
- No rot, no splinters, no termite interest. Wood-plastic and capped composites simply don't decay.
- Colour stability. Quality composites fade slightly in the first months, then hold tone for years — no silvering off in Melbourne's summer UV.
- Perfect for small spaces. Courtyards in Seddon and Kensington get built on quickly, with no mess and no ongoing schedule.
- Consistency. Boards are straight, uniform, and hidden fastening systems give a clean face with no screw lines.
The honest downsides
- Heat. On a 38°C afternoon, darker composite boards can get too hot for bare feet around pools — worth choosing lighter tones for pool surrounds.
- Upfront cost. Typically from around $550/m² installed versus $440 for hardwood.
- The look. Good composites are very convincing, but nothing quite has the grain, depth and warmth of real hardwood underfoot.
- Subframe still matters. Composite still sits on a timber or steel substructure — cheap work underneath still fails, whatever the boards are made of.
The case for timber
Real hardwood — Merbau or Spotted Gum — brings a natural warmth that lifts a heritage or period home, it can be sanded and refreshed many times over a 25-year-plus life, and repairs are simple board swaps. Timber is also cooler underfoot in summer and costs less to install.
The price of that beauty is maintenance: cleaning, occasional mould treatment in shaded spots, and oiling. A typical 20 m² deck takes half a day to oil. If that half-day is never going to happen, choose composite — a neglected timber deck looks far worse than an unwashed composite one.
Rule of thumb: family homes that use the deck hard and don't want a maintenance schedule → composite. Character homes where the deck is a design feature → hardwood.
What about the money over time?
Composite's higher install cost is partly clawed back within a decade by skipped oiling and repairs. On a pure numbers basis the two converge; the real decision is aesthetic and lifestyle, not financial.
We install both, so we have no horse in this race: timber species guide here, and a seasonal care plan for either in our maintenance guide. Book a free measure and we'll quote both materials side by side, fixed in writing.