Materials

Materials for sundecks and porch construction need to be the best

At Sublime we have the best installers, period and we demand the materials we use match the quality of service we provide. We are constantly evaluating our great products ensuring you get the best quality, diverse patterns, and you can take pride in knowing you received the best possible deck for your budget, lifestyle and family.

Create a Beautiful and Durable Deck with Our Wide Selection of Materials

Check out the ever-evolving patterns and vinyl deck and patio covering designs provided by our trusted suppliers by clicking on their website links below. If you have any questions about the options available feel free to contact me!

Do you know how to determine the thickness of vinyl, and why it’s important?

Vinyl thickness is measured in mils. Mils aren’t millimetres. Mils refer to weight. 60mil vinyl would be pretty thick if it was millimetres!

In the early days of vinyl, it was very thin compared to today. 25mil, 30mil, then 45 and now 60+. Despite being very thin the vinyl from the olden days held up very well. Back then they were allowed to use chemicals that they are no longer allowed.

Like lead paint, the colour of lead paint stayed vibrant for a very long time, but they are not allowed to make paint with lead anymore. The same goes for vinyl decking; the rules changed, and to make it stronger, they had to increase the thickness. A lot of people think that the thickness of vinyl is synonymous with quality, but that just isn’t the case. I have yet to see someone wear a hole through vinyl by walking on it.

Tufdek compared to other vinyl

Tufdek vinyl is reinforced. That means that it will not stretch or shrink. It is more puncture resistant and almost impossible to tear. Typical vinyl decking can shrink, especially if it’s in the sun a lot, and has glass railings refracting the light on it.

Most vinyl decking uses a fuzzy back or a woven backing. For this vinyl, the backing is what gives it its strength (the PVC itself is weak and stretchy). Since Tufdek uses non-wicking reinforcement in the center of the material it can get away with using PVC backing. PVC backing is superior because it doesn’t absorb water like fuzz or woven backing and when you weld the seams there are no impurities in the weld (PVC on PVC) making for much stronger welds.

Around the outside edge of a vinyl sundeck, there is flashing. Regular vinyl decking uses a thin metal flashing and the vinyl is glued down the outside edge and then a plastic clip is put on to hold the vinyl in place. This isn’t a great detail. The plastic clip has a tendency to shrink and fall off. When this happens it looks ridiculous and the material will start to curl up and the fuzzy backing will start absorbing water and then it all goes pear-shaped after that. Tufdek uses a thick PVC laminated flashing. The material is trimmed at the top edge of the deck and welded directly to the flashing. This is a proper roofing detail. The advantage to this is you don’t have a plastic clip, or material over the outside edge to curl up.

The Tufdek prints are more detailed and vibrant because they used water-based inks and a polycarbonate top finish. Your vinyl’s colour will last longer than other vinyl because of this. This is very important if your deck gets a lot of sun. If your deck isn’t south facing it’s not as much of an issue. In the Okanagan vinyl decks prematurely fading is a big problem for most vinyl decking because of the heat.

If you have questions about your deck, and whether TufDeck or WeatherDek is better for you, contact us for an estimate!