When you start shopping for deck materials, pressure-treated wood looks like a total steal. A standard 400-square-foot deck runs about $2,800 to install with pressure-treated lumber, while composite materials push that to $7,200. That’s a difference of almost $4,400 just upfront. I get it. Your eyes go straight to that number, and suddenly, the composite seems like you’re throwing money away. Here’s the thing, though: that initial price difference is basically a financial trap that catches about seven out of ten homeowners. Once you hit year five or six, that savings vanishes completely. By year twenty, you’ll have paid dramatically more for the pressure-treated option, with nothing to show for it except worn-out wood. Let me break down exactly why. The Upfront Price Is Only Half the Story Pressure-treated wood costs between $5 and $7 per square foot installed. That sounds great until you realize you’re buying a product that…
