✓ The Decision
- Build in pressure-treated if budget leads — it's the cheapest by a wide margin and perfectly sound when built well, as long as you'll reseal it every 1–3 years (or accept that it greys and ages faster if you don't).
- Choose cedar if you want a real-wood look without composite's price — natural beauty and natural rot resistance. Protect it with a penetrating UV stain or oil reapplied every 1–3 years to hold its colour and get the most life out of it; you can let it weather to silver instead, but it won't last as long.
- Step up to composite if you'll keep the deck 10+ years and you're done with staining — roughly double the material cost of PT, 25–30 years of life, and wash-only upkeep. Buy capped boards from an established brand.
- Go to PVC (the premium of the premium) if you want maximum lifespan and full waterproofing — all-plastic, 30–50+ years, the right pick for poolside, wet climates, or decking over a living space. Expect ~10–20% more than composite.
- Price your exact build before you commit — material is almost the whole story on a big ground-level deck and a rounding error on a tall one with long stairs and lots of railing.
Your decking material sets three things at once: what the deck costs, how long it lasts, and how many weekends you'll spend maintaining it. For most Canadian homeowners the choice comes down to two honest questions — how long will you keep this deck, and how much upkeep are you actually willing to do? Answer those and the material almost picks itself: pressure-treated is the lowest cost and the most upkeep, composite and PVC are the highest cost and the least, and cedar is the natural-wood middle. One thing that doesn't change with your choice: the structure underneath is always framed in pressure-treated lumber — the material below is about the surface you walk on, not the joists and beams, which are governed by your design and provincial code.
The Deck Cost Calculator estimates your DIY materials by size and material — pressure-treated, cedar, or composite — so you can price the trade-off directly.
Deck Cost Calculator What a deck costs in Canada
Pressure-Treated: The Budget Floor
Pressure-treated (PT) softwood is the default for Canadian decks and the budget floor for both the surface and the frame — figure roughly $8–14 per square foot in materials (decking plus framing) when you supply the labour. It's strong, available everywhere, easy to work with, and perfectly sound when built and maintained well. A PT deck typically lasts 15–25 years, with that range driven almost entirely by maintenance and site conditions — freeze-thaw, trapped moisture, poor airflow, and UV all shorten it.
The catch is upkeep. Plan to reseal or restain every 1–3 years depending on what you use — a penetrating oil, a stain, or paint all behave differently — and let a newly built PT deck dry for several weeks before its first coat. Keep it sealed and it lasts; let it go and it greys, checks, and ages faster. PT is the right call when budget leads, when you're comfortable doing the maintenance, or when you simply won't keep the deck long enough to recover a premium material's cost.
Cedar: Natural Wood Without the Composite Price
Cedar sits between PT and composite — figure about $18–28 per square foot in materials for good-grade decking plus framing. You're paying for looks and feel: a warm, knot-free natural wood whose own oils resist rot and insects better than PT. Lifespan runs about 15–20 years, and a bit longer if conditions are kind.
On maintenance, the move that protects your investment is a finish. A penetrating, UV-protective stain — transparent or semi-transparent — soaks into the wood, shields it from sun and moisture, and gets the longest service life out of the deck; plan to reapply it roughly every 1–3 years depending on the product and how exposed the deck is. Favour penetrating oils and stains over film-forming finishes, which flake and peel. You can skip finishing and let cedar weather to a silver-grey, but it greys unevenly and won't last as long unprotected. Either way, clean it once a year with soap and water (a cedar-specific cleaner for mildew), keep debris out from between the boards so they drain, and never power-wash it — the pressure damages the wood fibres. Choose cedar when you specifically want the look and feel of real wood and you'd rather not pay composite prices to get it.
Composite & PVC: Pay Up Front, Stop Staining
Composite is the popular low-maintenance upgrade: a board of recycled wood fibre and plastic wrapped in a tough synthetic cap. Materials run roughly double pressure-treated, it lasts about 25–30 years, and the major brands back it with 25–30 year fade, stain, and structural warranties. Upkeep is wash-only — soap and water a couple of times a year, no sealing or staining ever. It's moisture-resistant rather than fully waterproof, so on capped boards standing water is a non-issue but cheaper, uncapped product is not something to gamble on.
PVC is the premium of the premium — the same low-maintenance idea taken all the way. It's all plastic, with no wood fibre at all, so it's fully waterproof, won't rot or swell, and lasts 30–50+ years with warranties stretching from 30 years to "lifetime limited." It typically costs about 10–20% more than comparable composite. The reason to pay it is environment: PVC is the right pick poolside, in wet or coastal climates, or for decking built over a living space below, where being completely waterproof actually matters. For a normal backyard deck, good capped composite already does the low-maintenance job — PVC is the upgrade you buy for the extreme cases.
The Four Compared
Planning ranges for 2026 — materials only (decking plus framing, DIY). Installed costs run higher; see what a deck costs in Canada. The Deck Cost Calculator uses defaults of $14 (PT), $20 (cedar), and $30 (composite) per sq ft.
| Material | Materials $/sq ft | Lifespan | Maintenance | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure-treated | $8–14 | 15–25 yr | Reseal/stain every 1–3 yr | Lowest cost, DIY, shorter horizon |
| Cedar | $18–28 | 15–20 yr | UV stain ~1–3 yr (or weather to grey) | Real-wood look on a mid budget |
| Composite | ~$25–35 (≈2× PT) | 25–30 yr | Wash only | Keeping it 10+ yr, done staining |
| PVC | Composite +10–20% | 30–50+ yr | Wash only | Max life, waterproof, poolside / over living space |
How to Choose
Start with the two questions that actually decide it. How long will you keep the deck? If you'll move in a few years, PT recovers its cost best; if you'll stay a decade or more, a premium material's longer life and zero staining start to pay for themselves. How much upkeep will you tolerate? If resealing every couple of summers sounds fine, PT or cedar are great value; if you're already tired of staining, that fatigue alone is worth the jump to composite or PVC.
Then layer on budget and a couple of site facts. Want the look of real wood without composite money? Cedar. Building poolside, in a wet climate, or over a living space? That's PVC's lane. And watch colour in the sun: dark composite boards get hot underfoot in full sun, so on a south-facing, unshaded deck lean toward lighter colours.
The Real Cost Over Time
A sticker price hides the rest of the story. Pressure-treated is cheapest to buy but costs you a weekend and a few hundred dollars in product every one to three years to stay sound. Composite and PVC cost more up front and then ask for almost nothing — a wash twice a year. Cedar lands in between — protected with a penetrating stain it asks for a recoat every 1–3 years, much like PT, though you can let it weather to grey and just keep it clean if you'll accept a shorter life. The honest framing most cost guides skip: with the premium materials you pay more up front to buy back weekends later. Whether that's worth it comes straight back to how long you'll keep the deck.
✗ Deal-Breakers — Stop and Solve These First
- Dark composite on a full-sun deck. Dark boards get hot enough underfoot to matter in direct sun — choose a lighter colour for south-facing, unshaded decks.
- Buying cheap, uncapped composite. Uncapped or bargain product fades and stains; the cap is most of what you're paying for. Buy capped, from an established brand.
- Trusting bargain or first-generation boards to last. Cheaper and older composite has been known to break down and literally disintegrate over the years — the brand and the cap are exactly what protect you from that. Don't price-shop the board itself to the bottom.
- Believing "zero maintenance." Composite and PVC are wash-only, not no-wash — debris and shade still grow mildew if you ignore them.
- Framing in the surface material. The structure underneath is always pressure-treated; the composite, cedar, or PVC is the surface only. Spans and hardware are governed by code regardless of what you walk on.
The Safest Path Forward
- Answer the two questions first — how long you'll keep the deck, and whether you'll keep up with staining. Budget follows from there.
- Match the material: PT to lead on cost, cedar for a real-wood look, composite to stop staining, PVC for maximum life and full waterproofing.
- If you go composite or PVC, buy capped boards from an established brand — skip the bargain product that fades or breaks down.
- On a sunny deck, choose lighter colours to cut heat underfoot.
- Frame in pressure-treated regardless, and price your exact build in the Deck Cost Calculator before you order.
Bottom Line
There's no single best decking material — only the best one for how long you'll keep the deck and how much upkeep you'll do. Pressure-treated wins on price if you'll maintain it; cedar buys real-wood looks for a mid budget; composite buys back your staining weekends for about double the material cost; and PVC buys maximum lifespan and full waterproofing for a premium over composite. Put your dimensions and material into the Deck Cost Calculator to see the cost gap for your own deck.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the cheapest decking material in Canada?
Pressure-treated lumber, by a wide margin — roughly $8–14 per square foot in materials (decking plus framing) for a DIY build. Cedar sits in the middle, and composite or PVC is the premium, costing about double pressure-treated in materials.
How long does composite decking last?
About 25–30 years for capped composite, backed by 25–30 year warranties from the major brands. PVC lasts longer still at roughly 30–50+ years. By comparison, pressure-treated lasts 15–25 years with maintenance and cedar about 15–20.
Is composite decking really maintenance-free?
No — it's wash-only, not no-maintenance. Soap and water a couple of times a year keeps it clean, with no sealing or staining ever. Buy capped boards from an established brand: cheap or first-generation composite can fade, stain, or even break down over the years.
Does cedar decking need to be sealed?
To get the most out of it, yes. A penetrating, UV-protective stain — transparent or semi-transparent — reapplied roughly every 1–3 years shields cedar from sun and moisture and extends its life, and penetrating products are better than film-forming ones that flake. You can instead let cedar weather to a silver-grey, but it greys unevenly and won't last as long. Either way, clean it yearly with soap and water and never power-wash it.
Pressure-treated or composite — which is better?
It depends on your horizon and upkeep tolerance. Pressure-treated is cheaper to buy but needs resealing every 1–3 years; composite costs about double in materials but lasts longer and only needs washing. If you'll keep the deck 10+ years and don't want to stain, composite usually wins; if budget leads or you'll move soon, pressure-treated does.