My name is Biscuit. I'm a four-year-old Lab mix living in Columbus, Ohio, and I have opinions about decking materials. I know, I know. You didn't ask. But hear me out — because I spend more time on that deck than anyone else in this house, and for years, nobody consulted me before they built it. Big mistake.
The old deck was pressure-treated pine. I don't want to talk about it. What I will tell you is that my humans eventually called Archadeck of Columbus, and they put down a new TimberTech deck, and my quality of life has improved significantly. Here's my full review.
My Nails Don't Sound Like a Tap Dancer Anymore
On the old wood deck, every time I walked across it, my nails would catch. Little snags, little scratches, that awful sound. Mom kept looking at the floor like she was personally offended by it. And fine, it did look rough after about a year of me doing my normal laps between the door and the yard.
The new boards? Smooth. My nails glide. I can do my full pre-zoomies lap without a single snag. The surface doesn't gouge the way the pine did. Mom seems happier. I seem happier. Everybody wins.
The Cleanup Situation Has Improved Dramatically
I'm going to be real with you. I've had some accidents on the deck. It happens. I'm not proud of it, but I'm also not going to pretend the old wood deck handled it well, because it did not. That stuff soaked right in. The smell lingered for what felt like forever, and every time the sun hit that spot in the afternoon, I knew about it.
The new low maintenance deck surface doesn't absorb anything. My humans hose it down and it's just... gone. Same with the muddy paw prints I bring in after it rains. Same with the water that sloshes out of my bowl approximately six hundred times a day. It all rinses off clean. I don't know the science behind it, but I know the results, and the results are good.
Nobody's Pulling Splinters Out of My Paws Anymore
The vet visit I don't talk about. The old deck, late summer, second year — a splinter got into my front right paw pad, and nobody noticed for three days. You don't need the details. It was a whole thing.
These new boards don't do that. The surface stays smooth, full stop. No splintering as they age, no rough patches, nothing catching on my feet. I now exit through the back door with full confidence, which is how it should be.
I Can Actually Stand on It in August
This is the big one. Since I am a dark-colored dog, July and August are already not my best months. But you want to know what made it worse? Standing on a dark wood deck at 2pm when it was 96 degrees out. I'm low to the ground. The heat coming off those boards was something else.
My humans switched to TimberTech/AZEK, which has something in the boards that keeps the surface from getting as hot as wood does in direct sun. Is it perfect? No. They still check with their hand before they let me out during peak afternoon hours, and honestly, I appreciate that. But it's noticeably better than what we had before. I can do a mid-afternoon patrol of the yard without coming back in looking like I've been through something.
Construction Was Loud, But It Only Happened Once
When they built the first deck, I was two. It was terrible. Strangers in the backyard, nail guns, the whole thing. I did not handle it gracefully.
The new deck comes with a 30-year warranty on fading and staining. What that means for me is that this is probably the last time anyone builds anything back there for a very long time. No more construction. No more strangers with loud tools. No more being stuck inside while they tear up my territory.
One and done. I fully support this.
My Humans Spend More Time Out Here Now
This one surprised me. The old deck needed to be sanded and sealed every couple of years. That meant weekends where my humans were stressed and busy and not throwing the ball. With the composite boards, the maintenance is basically just hosing it off a few times a year.
More free time for them means more deck time for all of us. My dad grills out here three nights a week in summer. My mom has her coffee out here every morning. I have claimed the sunny corner by the railing as my official spot, and nobody is disputing me on it. Life is good.
I Recommend Calling Archadeck Of Columbus
If your humans are thinking about a new deck — or if the one you have is looking rough and smelling like old wood and bad decisions — tell them to call Archadeck of Columbus They work with families all over Central Ohio, and from what I observed during the consultation, they actually listen. My mom mentioned me and the other dog, Pretzel, early in the conversation, and the guy from Archadeck immediately started talking about material options and gate configurations with us specifically in mind.
Call them at (740) 265-3905 or fill out their easy online form to schedule your free design consultation today. They have decking samples you can see and touch before anything gets built. Archadeck is there to figure out what works for your house and your people — and your dogs.
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The Archadeck of Columbus Team
