Cedar vs. Composite Decking in the Lower Mainland: Which Should You Build?

A deck is the best room in the house from spring through fall — but only if it's built from the right material for our climate. In Coquitlam, Port Moody and Burnaby, the deciding factor is almost always moisture. Here's the honest comparison.

Cedar looks and feels beautiful, costs less up front, and is easy to work with. The trade-off is maintenance: to keep it looking good and fend off our wet winters, cedar wants cleaning and re-sealing every year or two. Skip that, and it greys and checks over time.

Composite costs more at the start but asks for almost nothing after — no staining, no sealing, just an occasional wash. Modern composite boards have come a long way and look genuinely good. For a busy family that doesn't want a yearly project, it often wins on total cost over 15 years.

Whichever you choose, the structure underneath matters more than the boards on top. Proper footings below the frost line, flashing where the deck meets the house, and the right fasteners are what keep a deck level and rot-free. That's where corners get cut on cheap builds.

A note on what we do now: Zavrick Contracting no longer builds new decks. Our work is painting, carpentry and drywall. If your deck is solid but worn, we can repaint the boards, stairs and railings, like the deck in our portfolio, and we give free on-site quotes across Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Burnaby and New Westminster.