How Hot Do Zuri Decking Boards Get In the Summer?

Posted in: Decks in Maryland, Screen Porch, Decks in Virginia, Zuri Deck, deck questions, outdoor living, outdoor living spaces, porch topics, screen porch products, zuri decking, decking questions, Premium Zuri decking, Zuri decking questions, PVC decking material

James Moylan

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Zuri decking Zuri trim brazilia with deck light inserts

Does Zuri Premium Decking by Royal get too hot during the summer and in direct sunlight? How well does Zuri retain heat?

Living in an area with sweltering summers, the amount of heat your porch or deck retains is an important consideration when choosing the design of your deck or porch in Maryland or Virginia. And while Zuri Decking by Royal and alternatives to Zuri will unsurprisingly heat up in direct sunlight, it can be more difficult to set expectations for the temperature of a deck made with low-maintenance Zuri decking than for one made with a more familiar deck material like natural hardwood. However, composite decking materials like Zuri PVC decking are not liable to retain any more or less heat than natural wood.

Download your FREE deck building checklist

Zuri Decking Temperature and Heat Retention

As stated, all decking materials will experience some level of heat retention when subjected to direct sunlight. This holds true for types of wood decking as well as low-maintenance composite decking boards. It is more relevant to ask whether Zuri decking material heats up any more or less than those other products, which it doesn't. Zuri is comparable to similar synthetic materials on the market.

zuri deck design in potomac, maryland

Zuri Decking and the Length of Heat Retention

In terms of heat retention, Zuri distinguishes itself with how quickly it cools down after being exposed to direct sunlight. To this end, it releases its heat and decreases in surface temperature much more rapidly than similar composite deck materials.

Why Do Zuri Deck Boards Cool Down Quicker?

At the heart of each Zuri deck board is a white PVC substrate, while most other composites have black or dark cores. The latter is naturally going to absorb more heat energy than a light-colored core, so Zuri cools down quicker (or at least has less energy to give off).

How Are Zuri Boards Constructed?

The Royal Building Product product consists of the white PVC wrapped in a photorealistic print foil that emulates real wood patterns. This gives the boards their characteristic photorealistic wood appearance that is nearly indistinguishable from natural wood. Finishing off each board is a thin but highly durable acrylic capstock. It is interesting to note that Royal's goal in making Zuri is to so closely resemble natural wood that it isn’t possible to identify them apart.

zuri_deck_in_maryland_with_screened_porch_opt

What Are the Benefits of Using a White PVC Substrate?

Zuri’s white substrate offers three distinct benefits:

  • Boards cool off faster than comparable materials when removed from direct sunlight (or another significant heat source)
  • White substrate allows you to better see the fine grain detail in Zuri's photorealistic print or pattern (e.g. the trademark Zuri texture)
  • It keeps manufacturing costs down by avoiding the more costly and unneccessary staining of an interior substrate core

By virtue of its manufacturing process and the use of a white PVC substrate, Zuri trims cool down faster than dark-cored composite boards.

Other Sunlight-Related Concerns

In terms of direct sunlight and Zuri contractors, some potential clients may approach their Zuri distributor with concerns about fading. However, Zuri boards are put through extremely rigorous and intense UV testing designed to simulate extreme weather exposure over multiple-year periods. Even after 70+ years of simulated exposure, Zuri decking boards did not fade enough for a color difference to be registered by the human eye.

For more information about how direct sunlight is going to affect your deck or porch made with Zuri, you can visit the Zuri website or contact a representative of Design Builders, Inc.