Aluminium Decking

We build decks across Sydney’s Hills District, Hawkesbury and North Shore — from Dural and Galston through to Hornsby, Wahroonga and Pymble.

Aluminium, composite or timber — we build decks in all three, and which one is right depends on your block, your budget and how you want to spend your weekends. What follows is the version we’d give you standing in the backyard.

Every photo on this page is aluminium, for the simple reason that it’s what we’ve built for years. That’s not the recommendation; it’s just what we’ve got pictures of.

Options

We build in all three materials. Which one is right comes down to your block, your budget, and how you want to spend your weekends.

Aluminium

134mm x 25mm · lengths to 6.5m

Boards are 134mm wide and 25mm deep, in lengths up to 6.5m — long enough that most decks run without a join. They lay over timber, steel or aluminium framing.

They clip onto concealed connectors fixed down to the joists, so nothing is driven through the face of the deck. A hard-baked powder coat gives a hard-wearing, P4 slip-rated finish that never needs oiling, painting, staining or sanding.

134mm x 25mm
Lengths to 6.5m
Concealed fixings
P4 slip rated
Never needs oiling

Composite

Closest to timber underfoot

Reclaimed timber blended with recycled and new plastics, and the closest of the three to the feel of real timber underfoot without any of the upkeep — no oiling, no staining, no sealing. It is also the recycled option, which matters to a lot of people, and the warranties are the longest going: up to 25 years on some products, at full value for the first decade.

The thing to know is that ‘composite’ isn't one product. Quality across the market varies enormously, and so do the fire rating, the colour-fastness and what the warranty is actually worth once you read the conditions. So we won't quote you a range — we'll tell you the specific board we'd use, and put its warranty and its BAL certificate in front of you before you commit to anything.

Recycled content
Up to 25-year warranty
No oiling or sealing
Quality varies by board

Timber

The only one you can bring back

Timber is the real thing, and nothing else looks or ages quite like it. It's the cheapest of the three to buy, and the only one you can bring back — sand it, re-oil it, and a tired deck looks new again. With aluminium or composite, a damaged board gets replaced.

The trade is upkeep: oiling or staining every year or two, and a sand-back eventually. And on a bushfire-prone block it may be restricted by species or ruled out altogether, so it's worth knowing your BAL rating before you settle on a board.

Cheapest to buy
Can be sanded back
Oil or stain every 1-2 years
BAL restrictions apply

Deck lighting

In-floor LED, set flush

We fit in-floor LED deck lights, set flush into the deck surface, weather-rated and long-lasting. Beyond the look at night, lighting the deck and its steps is a genuine safety improvement once it's dark.

If you've seen a fitting or a style you like, tell us and we'll price it.

Flush into the boards
Weather rated
Lights the steps

Compare

We'll build in any of the three, so here is the version we'd give you standing in the backyard — including where aluminium loses. The heat figures come from manufacturer testing of all three materials: 132 minutes, 64 of them in direct sun, at 31–36.5°C ambient. Worth knowing that test was run by an aluminium supplier. It's still the only side-by-side measurement we've seen, and the method is published.

Aluminium, composite or timber?
	Aluminium	Composite	Timber
Underfoot	Coolest of the three at 48–52°C, and it stopped climbing after about an hour of sun	Warmest of the three at up to 65°C, but the closest of the three to the feel of real timber	60–61°C, and the only one that's actually timber
Bushfire (BAL)	Non-combustible, and meets performance requirements up to BAL FZ (Flame Zone)	Rated to BAL-19 on the products we'd put forward — check the certificate for the specific board	Restricted by species, and excluded altogether at higher BAL ratings
Upkeep	Wash it. No oiling, staining or sanding, ever	No oiling or sealing either — washing is the whole job	Oil or stain every year or two, and sand it back eventually
Movement & rot	None — it doesn't swell, cup, splinter or rot, and termites have no interest	Won't rot or attract termites, but moves 1–1.5mm per metre with temperature, so it has to be gapped properly	Moves with the weather, and needs protecting from rot and termites
Made from	Aluminium, with a baked timber-look finish	Reclaimed timber blended with recycled and new plastics — the recycled option of the three	Hardwood or softwood, renewable if it's sourced well
Warranty	12 years on the finish	Up to 25 years on some products — full value for the first 10, then reducing each few years after	No product warranty; it comes down to the timber and the upkeep
Cost	Highest to buy, lowest to keep	In between, and it varies a great deal by brand	Cheapest to buy, dearest to look after
The catch	It costs the most, it's a timber look rather than timber, and if the finish is ever damaged you replace the board — you can't sand it back	It's the warmest underfoot, and quality across the market ranges hugely, so the specific product matters more than the word 'composite'	It'll ask you for work every year, and on a bushfire-prone block it may not be an option at all

Aluminium

This is the material we've built in longest, so it's the one we hold full test data for — which is why it gets its own section rather than because it's the answer for everyone. Ask us for the same detail on whatever composite or timber we quote you and you'll get it.

Non-combustible

Tested to AS 1530.1 by CSIRO and classed non-combustible under the NCC, meeting performance requirements up to BAL FZ — Flame Zone, the highest rating there is. On acreage around Galston, Kenthurst, Dural and Annangrove that's often the deciding factor rather than a preference.

Coolest of the three underfoot

In the heat testing below, aluminium peaked at 48–52°C where composite reached 65°C and timber 60–61°C. It also stopped heating after about an hour of direct sun while the other two kept climbing.

Rated P4 for slip, wet

Class P4 on the wet pendulum test to AS 4586 — the one that matters when the deck runs to a pool and everybody's walking on it with wet feet.

12-year finish warranty

Twelve years on the timber-look finish in normal conditions, six in extreme coastal or corrosive environments. The finish is baked in rather than painted on, so there's nothing to flake.

1/23LED deck lights illuminating the deck surface and stairs at night

2/23In-floor LED deck lights set flush into the deck, lit at dusk

3/23Timber-look powder-coated aluminium deck boards, concealed-fixed with no visible screws

4/23Aluminium deck running under a pergola to an outdoor kitchen and dining setting

5/23Aluminium deck and covered patio seen from the far side of the courtyard

6/23Close detail of the timber-look aluminium deck boards and their shadow-line gaps

7/23Mitred aluminium deck corner cut to follow the angled pool coping

8/23Aluminium decking stepping down to the lawn in broad mitred treads

9/23Aluminium decking wrapping a triangular pool, travertine coping between board and water

10/23Close view along the deck boards to the pool edge, a fixing set flush into the board face

11/23Aluminium deck wrapping the pool on three sides, travertine coping between the boards and the water

12/23The deck meeting the pool at an angled corner, boards mitred to run into the point

13/23Aluminium deck boards running to the infinity edge, loungers and a canopied daybed on the deck

14/23Close detail of a mitred deck step corner, the boards changing direction at the edge

15/23Deck boards running the length of the alfresco to a concrete dining table, bushland beyond the glass balustrade

16/23The deck and pool set into the slope, seen from above with bushland all around

17/23Deck running the length of the alfresco past a window servery, pool alongside

18/23Pale deck boards running out through the open end of the alfresco at dusk

19/23Deck and outdoor kitchen lit at dusk, in-floor lights set along the boards

20/23Close view of timber-look aluminium deck boards and their shadow-line gaps beneath an outdoor lounge

21/23Deck running along the house under the pergola at dusk, pool and glass fencing alongside

22/23Deck running out from a freestanding pavilion to the pool coping

23/23Deck boards beneath the pavilion lounge setting, clad wall behind

Free design consultation

Let's design your outdoor space

Tell us about your backyard and we'll arrange a free, no-obligation design consultation. We service the Hills District, North Shore & surrounding suburbs.

Request my free quote 1300 789 169 Mon–Fri 8am–4pm · accounts@aussieoutdoorliving.com.au