Decking brands
Every major composite and railing brand publishes its own warranty documents, and those documents - not brochures, not sales conversations - are the only reliable statement of what you're buying. Composite installs at $28 to $40 per square foot regardless of badge, so compare on published warranty terms, installation requirements, and local availability of installers who've worked with that system.
We do not publish brand warranty terms secondhand. Coverage lengths, what counts as fade or stain, and what voids the warranty vary by product line and change over time. Ask the contractor or the manufacturer for the current warranty PDF for the exact product line in your quote, and read it yourself. If nobody can produce it, that's a decision point.
Warranties are conditional on installation. Decking warranties typically depend on the product being installed per the manufacturer's instructions - joist spacing, gapping, fastener type, ventilation. Which means the installer matters as much as the brand. Ask what joist spacing the system requires and confirm it matches what's in your framing plan.
The product line, not the brand, is the unit of comparison. Most manufacturers sell several tiers at different prices and different coverage. A contract that says only the brand name has told you almost nothing. Get the exact line named.
Railing systems are separate products with separate warranties. Composite railing runs $80 to $165 per linear foot installed and cable systems $115 to $175. Those are engineered assemblies; the guard post requirements in the prescriptive deck guide still apply to the structure they attach to.
Choosing decks a brand
The judgement calls that decide the bill, before anyone quotes you.
- Get the warranty PDF before you sign Current version, exact product line. Anything told to you verbally is not a warranty term.
- Name the product line in the contract "Composite decking" spans $28 to $40 per square foot installed across very different products. Specificity protects you.
- Ask about required joist spacing Warranty compliance often depends on it, and it has to be designed into the frame - not discovered after.
- Ask who honors the warranty and how Material-only coverage means you still pay labor. Find out before, not after.
- Prefer an installer with experience in that system Improper installation is the most common way a decking warranty stops applying.
All decks brands
Trex
TimberTech
AZEK
Fiberon
Deckorators
Wolf Decking
MoistureShield
Cali Bamboo Deck
Feeney CableRail
TimberTech Rail
Where these figures come from
Sources last checked
- Fixr - Cost to Build a Deck · retrieved 2026-07-26
- American Wood Council - DCA 6 Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide · retrieved 2026-07-26
You know more than the last homeowner they quoted.
That is worth something only while you are still choosing. Tell us what is going on and we will match you with a few decks pros whose licence and insurance we have already checked - free, no obligation.
Free · No pressure · Only your matched pros get your details