The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Decking for Holiday Homes

Why? Because it expands the space available, enhancing a holiday home’s appearance and usability.

But to get the most out of the decking, you need to choose the right type.

In the past, the choice of decking materials has included wood. Today, uPVC and composite materials remain the preferred solution, offering durability, low maintenance, and a modern aesthetic for enhancing any holiday home.

At Vinyl Solutions, we’ve been designing and installing composite and uPVC decking for over 30 years, producing innovative and eco-friendly solutions that challenge the perception of traditional wood.

We believe that composite and uPVC are the best decking materials for your holiday home, and in this blog, we explain why.

Key Considerations When Choosing Decking

While it might not first seem like the most exciting decision, choosing the right material is actually very important for the overall look and style of your decking area.

At the end of the day, you don’t want to rush the decision and end up with a space that you don’t like and don’t use.

This is why you need to think about the following:

• Durability – how long will each material last?
• Weather resistance – seeing as we live in the UK, it goes without saying that your decking needs to be able to withstand copious amounts of rain, the occasional cold snap and the even less frequent heat wave.
• Maintenance – how much time are you willing to spend keeping the decking looking perfect?
• Look and style – what look do you have in mind, and how will it integrate with your holiday home?

Benefits of uPVC And Composite Decking

While made up of slightly different materials (composite decking is a combination of wood fibres and recycled plastic, and uPVC is 100% plastic), they share similar benefits.

Benefits of Both Materials

• Low maintenance
• Easy to clean
• Weather resistant
• UV resistant
• Durable with lifespans of 20-30 years
• Scratch resistant
• Design flexibility with a choice of colours
• Slip-resistant

Of course, because they are slightly different, each has a few additional benefits that the other doesn’t have.

Eco-friendly

Composite Decking

Extremely eco-friendly because it often uses recycled plastics.

uPVC Decking

Not as eco-friendly as it is made from synthetic materials.*

*Even though uPVC is not as eco-friendly as composite the recyclability of our uPVC still makes it a sustainable choice.

Resistance to mould and mildew

Composite Decking

Has some resistance but if not cleaned mould can develop.

uPVC Decking

Highly resistant.

Matching Your Decking to Your Holiday Home’s Aesthetic

As mentioned above, both materials are available in a variety of styles, colours and configurations, which can create different looks and feels for your outdoor area.

This means you need to think about how the material will match your holiday home’s aesthetic.

Styles Choices

Decking styles are simple; they can be classic or contemporary. If you’re looking for a traditional feel to match your classic holiday home, a decking that has balustrades and rails on top of the decking structure is the way forward.

A more modern look will have the posts seamlessly integrated with the decking structure, and balustrade options open up to include glass.

Colours and Patterns

Both composite and uPVC decking come in a range of colours.

Composite decking has a more natural look because it includes wood fibres.

While uPVC decking has grains, knots and patterns, it is made of plastic, so will always feel more man-made.

Thanks to the variety of colours available, it is fairly easy to find an option that will complement your holiday home aesthetic.

Configurations

Every holiday home layout is different and will have different outdoor spaces available, so you need a decking configuration that will work with what you’ve got.

Configuration options are limitless, so you don’t have to worry about getting a solution to fit what you have. Instead, the decking will be made to fit.

Lighting and Accessories

Lighting and accessories make all the difference to the look and feel of your decking and will be the finishing touches to matching your decking with your holiday home aesthetic.

Continuing the traditional style is easy with the lantern-style lighting, or you can choose a low-profile LED light for a more modern look.

Of course, you could also use these to add modern elements to an overall traditional feel or vice versa.

Maintenance of uPVC and Composite Decking

Maintenance requirements should play a small part in your decision to choose composite or uPVC decking.

You don’t want to be spending all your time doing chores on the decking when you are on holiday. So, you need to bear in mind the seasonal maintenance that will be needed.

Both materials are low-maintenance and simply require a clean and sweep to be kept in good condition. So, when you choose either of these, you will be able to walk away knowing you can enjoy your time with family and friends without worrying about your decking.

Enhance Your Holiday Home with Vinyl Solutions’ Decking

uPVC and composite are excellent material choices for decking for your holiday home, if we do say so ourselves!

They both offer design flexibility, durability, and weather resistance and are low maintenance.

If you’re looking for something more sustainable, then we would recommend composite decking, as it often uses recycled plastic.

More important about these materials is the fact that they are easy to match to your holiday home aesthetic because there are so many options, from the colours and styles to configurations and accessories.

At Vinyl Solutions, we’re proud to have been working with these materials for over 30 years, preaching them as a sustainable and low-maintenance alternative to wood. Our solutions are completely bespoke to you, and you will have a visual of your vision with your quote.

Our team are composite and uPVC decking specialists and can provide expert and up-to-date guidance and support on this decision. We know it might seem like a boring choice, but we aim to break that judgement with our enthusiasm; because with great enthusiasm comes great choices.

Still not sure which is the best decking for holiday homes? No worries!

We are on the end of the phone and ready to have a chat about each option and how they might fit in with your needs and aesthetics. Give us a call today at 01202 650 700 or complete our call back request form below and we’ll get back to you shortly.