What we build
Decking is one of the few purchases where the cheap option and the expensive option look identical on day one and completely different in year five. Here's the honest version — what the materials actually are, how they hold up, and what makes one deck twice the price of another.
Composite vs wood
Pressure-treated pine is the cheapest deck you can build and the most expensive one to own. Drag the handle and you're looking at the difference a Mississippi summer makes.
Drag the handle, or use the arrow keys.
It's the lowest number on any bid, and that's the whole of its appeal. Down here the humidity gets into it, and what follows is a maintenance schedule you didn't sign up for.
A protective cap surrounds the board, so moisture, stains and UV never reach the core. Maintenance is soap and water on a Saturday.
Product lines
Nearly every deck salesman says "composite" and stops there. There are actually two distinct materials, and the difference is worth understanding before you spend the money.
A core of recycled wood fibre and plastic, wrapped in a protective shell. Heavier underfoot, warmer in tone, and the more affordable of the two. All Trex decking is capped composite, as is TimberTech's PRO range.
All polymer, no organic content — so there is nothing in the board for moisture or mould to feed on. Lighter, noticeably cooler underfoot in full sun, and the best performer near pools and on the coast. This is TimberTech's AZEK range.
| Line | Tier | Warranty |
|---|---|---|
| Signature | Luxury | 50-year |
| Transcend Lineage | Premium+ · cooler surface | 50-year |
| Transcend | Premium | 50-year |
| Select | Mid | 35-year |
| Enhance Naturals | Entry+ | 25-year |
| Enhance Basics | Entry | 25-year |
| Line | Material | Warranty |
|---|---|---|
| AZEK Vintage | PVC Top tier · wide plank | 50-year |
| AZEK Landmark | PVC Premium+ | 50-year |
| AZEK Harvest | PVC Premium · wide plank | 50-year |
| AZEK Harvest+ | PVC Premium | 50-year |
| PRO Legacy | Composite · premium | 30-year |
| PRO Reserve | Composite · premium | 30-year |
| PRO Terrain | Composite · mid | 30-year |
| PRO Terrain+ | Composite · mid | 30-year |
The rest of it
A deck on its own is a platform. These are the things that make people actually sit outside.
The single biggest lever on both price and how the finished deck looks. Four routes:
The part nobody sees and the part that decides how long the deck lasts. Pressure-treated framing is standard; aluminium framing costs more and will outlive the boards on top of it. If you want a dry, usable space underneath, the drainage system has to be designed in from the start — it can't be added later.
Grill run, bar seating, refrigeration and storage. The decisions that matter are gas versus charcoal, whether you're running a water line, and how much prep counter you actually need — most people under-order counter and regret it.
A fixed pergola gives you dappled shade and a structure. A motorised louvered roof gives you full sun or a sealed roof at the touch of a button, and costs several times more. Which one you need depends on whether you'll use the space when it rains.
Gas fire tables are simple and safe on a composite deck. Wood-burning and masonry fireplaces need clearances, footings and often a permit — worth deciding early, because it changes the structure underneath.
Riser lights, post caps and path lighting on one low-voltage system. This has to be wired while the deck is open. Adding it afterwards means pulling boards, so it's the cheapest thing to include and one of the most expensive to retrofit.
Siding, trim & stone
A deck that looks bolted on is a deck nobody photographs. Column wraps, trim and stone are what make an outdoor room read as part of the house instead of an addition. We install three lines for this — two from Westlake Royal and one from Woodtone — and they solve three different problems.
Cast fibre-reinforced concrete panels with a 26-gauge galvanised steel strip moulded into the back. They screw or nail to the wall like siding — no lath, no scratch coat, no mortar, and no mason on site for three days.
Poly-ash — a blend of fly ash and polymers, minimum 70% recycled content, verified by SCS Global Services. The detail that actually matters: it is rated for ground and masonry contact, which is precisely where wood trim rots and PVC moves.
Woodtone does not make the board — they finish it. RusticSeries is a wood-look coating applied in a factory onto either LP SmartSide engineered wood or fibre cement, so the finish goes on under controlled conditions instead of off a ladder in a Mississippi August.
One thing worth saying plainly. Cladding, trim and stone are where a lot of outdoor projects quietly go wrong — not because the wrong product got picked, but because the transition between the deck and the house never got designed. We would rather work that out on paper with you than discover it on site.
What it costs
Two decks of identical square footage can differ by a factor of three. It's almost never the boards that do it.
A deck two feet up is straightforward. At six feet you're into deeper footings, taller posts, bracing and guard railing — the cost climbs faster than the height does.
The most labour-intensive part of any deck, per square foot. A long run down to grade, or a turn with a landing, adds real money.
Often 20–30% of the total. Glass and cable sit at the top, composite in the middle, aluminium usually gives the best look per dollar.
Rectangles are efficient. Angles, curves, wraparounds and picture-frame borders all mean more cuts, more waste and more hours.
If materials can't get to the back yard without being carried by hand, that's labour. Steep grades, tight gates and mature trees all show up in the price.
Tearing out and hauling off an old deck, or re-working footings that weren't done right, is work before the new deck starts.
Straight answers
We won't pretend there's one number. The honest answer is that it depends far more on height, stairs and railing than on which board you pick. What we will do is come out, measure, and give you a real range on the spot — not a number we'd have to walk back later.
Any decking gets hot in direct Mississippi sun, including wood. Lighter colours run cooler than dark ones, and capped polymer runs cooler than capped composite. If barefoot comfort matters, say so early and it will shape the recommendation — Trex Transcend Lineage and the AZEK lines are the ones built for it.
If you're selling the house in two years, probably not. If you're staying, it usually is — you're trading a higher build cost for no staining, no sanding and no board replacement over the next couple of decades. The maintenance you skip is worth more than most people expect.
It depends on size, weather and whether there's demolition first. We give you a real schedule with the proposal rather than a vague promise, and one crew stays on it start to finish.
Usually yes, and requirements differ between Flowood, Jackson, Madison, Brandon and Ridgeland. We handle the process as part of the job — it isn't something you have to work out on your own.
Yes, and we'd rather you did. Our Flowood showroom has full-size decks and railing standing at real scale. Photographs flatten grain and colour completely — most people change their mind about a board once they've stood on it. The showroom is appointment only and we book one at a time, so you have the floor to yourself.
Yes. We work with Acorn Finance, so you can check what monthly payments would look like in about a minute. It's a soft credit check — seeing your rate doesn't affect your credit score.
Bring your questions to the showroom, or we'll come measure your yard first. Either way it's free, and you'll leave knowing what things actually cost.
