Replace the deck or put in a concrete patio?

Question

The wooden patio on our rental property is on its last leg. We bought the property knowing the deck was at the end of its life span, and that time has come.

The question now is, do I redo a similar wood/composite deck or put in steps and pour a slab?

I am confident in my ability to build the deck and pour the slab myself. The work does not come into a factor. What I am more interested in, is what will be the best benefit for me?

This property is a 2 bed 1.5 bath side by side duplex. Property is in a small Wisconsin town with about 3600 people. Not sure what other information would be helpful for making a decision, so feel free to ask!

Dennis M. · Answer

How bout just remove it altogether and replace with nothing . If it doesn’t make the rent increase I wouldn’t bother

Mitch Ferraro · Answer

Hey @Jeff Milas! I'd say costs are going to be you biggest determining factor on this one. Right now in our area of Wisconsin we are finding it's about $15 sq/ft for material and labor to build a deck. About $7 sq/ft to pour concrete. Add about another $2 sq/ft for any demo work for existing deck. Now, since you are able to do the work yourself you can almost cut those numbers in half since you will just be paying for material, unless you pay yourself for labor on your own properties.

I don't know exactly what part of Wisconsin you are in but if it's a more woodsy area I'd say a deck would be the way to go and would mostly likely get more value for you in the long run. If more of a suburban area I'd say concrete slab. Hope this helped. :)

I don't know exactly what part of Wisconsin you are in but if it's a more woodsy area I'd say a deck would be the way to go and would mostly likely get more value for you in the long run. If more of a suburban area I'd say concrete slab. Hope this helped. :)

Pat L. · Answer

Cement!!!

10 years ago we changed our decking to Trex & because of the trees we still need to power wash it every year. Now the 23x23 cement patio we put in next door (SFR we own) is stamped grey so it just needs to be occasionally washed down with a hose. My sons wife insisted on a pressure treated wooden deck off of their kitchen & now it's an annual PITA staining blitz.

Mike S. · Answer

If your substructure is still in good shape and you're only talking about top board rot, then I suggest you get a tool called a "deck wrecker". It's amazingly fast and you can pull and replace boards in a day.

Bryan Devitt · Answer

@Jeff Milas a patio is cheaper, lasts longer, requires almost no maintenance and very importantly has much less chance of an accident (deck failure, deck causing rot, person falling over the rail, etc.)

Jeff Milas · Answer

Thanks everyone for the feedback on the topic! Greatly appreciated.

Max T. · Answer

A deck is nicer than a patio. (opinion)

They cost about the same.

The patio will hold up longer than the deck (forever vs 15-20 yrs).

Zachary LaJoye · Answer

@Jeff Milas I would say pour the concrete patio. One of my side by side duplexes has an existing patio which was poured 20 years ago and still looks great. The side porch decks of similar age had to be replaced when I bought the place because they were in such bad shape. My duplex is in a B area and each 3 bed 2 bath unit rents for $1250. As long as you provide an area for grilling/entertaining I personally don’t think people are going to have a preference on concrete vs decking. If you’re worried about the aesthetics I would look into what was mentioned earlier and rent some concrete stamps. The combination of stamps and dye makes a world of difference.

Paulie Singleton · Answer

Concrete will be the easiest to maintain, and won't wear and rot like wood or composite. You can always stain or texture the concrete to make it more aesthetic.

Corina Eufinger · Answer

Wood that needs to be stained every few years wouldn't be your best cost effective measure.

Composite decking has come a long way in the past 5 years.  I used to find it slippery and fragile but the new stuff is much better.  Concrete will be your most expensive option but least maintenance intensive.  Composite generally has no maintenance, maybe an occasional broken board as it wears from sun damage and temperatures changes but that's like 10 years or more down the road.

Also consider the look you are going for.  Is concrete ok with the aesthetics or would the property benefit form the pop of color a composite deck might bring

Replace the deck or put in a concrete patio?

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