A characterization of the U.S. residential deck material market

Current estimates indicate that over 6.5 million decks are constructed on U.S. residential structures on an annual basis at a cost of $1.9 to $3 billion. Over the past decade, the residential deck material market experienced robust expansion, growing at an annualized rate of 8.1 percent between 1991 and 1999. Despite its large size and healthy growth, very little empirical research has been conducted exploring the residential deck material market in the United States. The objective of this study was to characterize the use of seven different deck materials within the U.S. residential construction industry utilizing a mail survey of residential construction firms. A separate survey of the largest 100 residential construction firms in the United States was also conducted to determine if their deck material use differed substantially from smaller firms. Survey results indicated that nearly 60 percent of new spec homes and 68 percent of new custom homes were built with decks between November 1996 and October 1998. Custom home decks were found to be 64 percent larger than spec home decks, although the difference in cost per square foot between custom and spec decks was found to be insignificant. Slightly over 47.4 percent of the new home decks were constructed with pressure-treated lumber, followed by western red cedar, concrete, and redwood, representing 18.5, 14.1, and 11.1 percent of the market, respectively. Several differences were detected in deck material usage based on firm size and firms’ region of operation. Eleven deck material attributes were also assessed in the survey and the attributes of long life, beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, and durability were rated as the most important by survey participants when making their deck material purchase decision. Collectively, this research provides benchmark information that can be used to develop more efficient and effective marketing management strategies for residential deck material manufacturers.

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