TimberTech is simply the best deck board on the market and the details prove it. Most composite decking products are capped on three sides. TimberTech caps all four sides of every board. That might sound like a small thing but it's the difference between a board that's protected and a board that's waiting to fail from the one exposed edge. Four-sided capping means moisture, mold, and staining have nowhere to get in. TimberTech also has a Class A fire rating — the highest rating available. If a grill tips over or a fire starts near the home, that matters. Most homeowners never think about this until they need to. Beyond protection, TimberTech takes the appearance seriously. They put real effort into recreating the look of natural wood — the grain, the variation, the feel. You get the beauty of wood without any of the maintenance that comes with it. I've looked at a lot of deck products over the years. TimberTech is where I landed and I stand behind it on every project.

This one is genuinely hard to pin down because scope varies so much from project to project. If we're skinning an existing deck — just replacing the boards on a solid existing structure — that can be done in a couple of days. If we're replacing framing, adding footings, or expanding the deck's footprint, that takes longer. New posts need time to set. Permits need to be pulled. Utility locates have to come out before we can dig — and that timeline isn't always in our control. As a general expectation for a full deck build, plan for close to a week. But the honest answer is that it depends entirely on the scope of what we're doing. We'll give you a realistic timeline during the design phase so you know what to expect before we start.

The signs we look for: rot and mold in the boards, excessive fading that can no longer be stained or painted over, rotting around the posts and footings where the structure meets the ground, and movement. If you walk on your deck and it moves, or it doesn't feel solid underfoot, that's a structural concern that needs to be addressed — not ignored. Wood decks in particular reach a point where they've taken on enough moisture that sealing and staining no longer work. Once you're past that point you're fighting a losing battle. The deck is telling you it's done. If you're not sure, walk it. Push on the railings. Look at the base of the posts where they meet the ground or the footing. If anything looks soft, dark, or spongy — call us.

Most homeowners think the choice is between wood and composite. But there's actually a third option that's worth understanding — PVC decking — and it's the one we get most excited about. Wood is the traditional choice and it has real appeal. But it requires constant maintenance — staining, sealing, treating — and it's fighting a losing battle against Iowa weather the entire time. Eventually it absorbs enough moisture that sealing stops working and rot sets in. It's not a question of if, it's when. Composite decking is a combination of recycled plastics and wood fiber with a protective coating that seals the board. It resists rot, mold, and fading significantly better than wood and eliminates most of the ongoing maintenance. TimberTech composite carries up to a 30-year warranty. For most homeowners it's a substantial upgrade over wood. PVC decking is the next level entirely. It's air-filled PVC — no wood fiber at all — which means it is completely impervious to moisture, rot, mold, and fading. There is nothing in the board for the elements to attack. TimberTech's PVC line backs that up with a 50-year limited lifetime warranty. It's the most attractive, most durable, most protected board available. If you're building a deck and you want to do it once and never think about it again, PVC is the answer.

Here's how a deck project flows from start to finish with Taylor Exteriors: Design — we start by understanding what you want. Size, style, levels, features. The bigger and more creative the better — we can build around pools, do multiple levels, incorporate picture framing of boards. Whatever you can imagine, we can design. Permits and locates — before anything goes in the ground we pull the necessary permits and call for utility locates. This step takes time and isn't fully in our control, but it's non-negotiable and we handle it so you don't have to. Posts and footings — once locates are cleared we dig and set the posts and footings. These need time to cure properly before framing begins. Framing — the structural skeleton of the deck gets built out. Decking and railings — boards go down, railings go up, and your deck takes shape. The process requires patience because permits and locates add time that has nothing to do with how fast our crew works. But doing it right means your deck is permitted, inspected, and built to last.

TimberTech's warranty depends on which product line you choose: PVC decking — 50-year limited lifetime warranty. This is the strongest deck board warranty available and it reflects how the product is built. No wood fiber means nothing to rot, nothing to fade, nothing to fail. Composite decking — up to 30-year warranty depending on the specific product line. Taylor Exteriors backs all deck installations with our standard labor warranty. We'll walk you through the specific warranty details for the product you choose during your consultation so you know exactly what's covered.

Anything. The bigger the better. We build single level, multi-level, wrap-around, poolside, and elevated decks. We do picture framing of boards for a finished, custom look. We design around obstacles, grade changes, and unique lot conditions. If you can imagine it we can build it. The projects we get most excited about are the ones where a homeowner has a vision for what their outdoor space could be and they just need a team that can execute it. Bring us the big ideas — that's where we do our best work.