CINTRAFOR Working Paper 78

Approximately 85 percent of all single family homes in the US include a deck or deck-like structure (e.g., patio, porch, or balcony), which is equivalent to roughly 30 million decks. Sixty percent of all new homes are constructed with a deck, while nearly 2.75 million decks are replaced on an annual basis (the average deck has a life expectancy of about eleven years). Furthermore, slightly over 4 percent of all households add a deck to their home on an annual basis, resulting in another 3 million new decks. Collectively, over 6.5 million new decks have been constructed throughout the US on an annual basis since 1995, which represents approximately $3 billion spent annually in deck materials. During the decade of the 1990s, the deck market grew at an average annual rate of 8.1 percent. Assuming a constant rate of growth of 8.1 percent, the deck market in 2010 could be as large as $6.5 billion. Despite the enormous size and healthy growth of the residential deck market in the US, very little research has been conducted evaluating consumer perceptions of the various deck materials available to them in the market. The objective of this study was to review secondary information regarding the residential deck material market in the US. Additionally, a survey of residential homebuilders in the US was conducted to characterize the industry’s use of various deck materials, as well as to assess the industry’s perceptions of these deck materials