Harrisburg & the Sioux Empire
Composite vs wood decking in a South Dakota climate
An honest look at how each material behaves through freeze-thaw and hard sun, what upkeep it actually asks of you, and why the frame underneath matters more than either one.
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If you're planning a deck around here, the material question comes up first and gets settled last. Composite or wood. It's the most visible choice in the whole project, and it has less to do with whether the deck is still solid down the road than the parts that stay out of sight. Both materials work in South Dakota. Both fail early on a bad frame. What actually separates them is how they behave through freeze-thaw and hard sun, what you'll be doing to keep them up, and how much the structure underneath has to change to carry them.
Hols & Co is a licensed, insured general contractor based in Harrisburg, and deck building is core work here. Jace Jones, the owner, holds a Construction Management degree and runs the builds himself. We don't sell decking, and we're not a dealer, certified installer, or brand partner for any decking manufacturer, so none of what follows is a pitch for a product line. It's written the way the conversation goes at a kitchen table: here's how each one behaves, here's what it asks of you, and here's what stays the same either way. Call or text (605) 679-5223 if you want to walk the yard and get a written estimate.
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Pick a time for your estimateHow each material handles freeze-thaw and UV
Wood is a sponge with a grain direction. It takes on water in spring, sheds it in summer, and trapped moisture expands inside the board every time it freezes. Run that cycle through enough winters and you get the familiar results: surface checking, cupped boards, raised grain, fasteners that work loose. Sun does its own work on top of that, breaking down the surface fibers and graying the board wherever the finish has worn thin. Pressure-treated pine and cedar both do this. Cedar is more stable and easier on bare feet, but the same cycle still applies to it. Capped composite behaves differently because it isn't porous the same way. The core is wood flour bound in plastic, and the cap is a polymer shell wrapped around it. Water sits on top instead of soaking in, so the freeze-thaw cycle that splits wood has less to work with. What composite does instead is move with temperature. It expands and contracts along its length more than lumber does, and this climate swings hard between deep winter and midsummer, which is why end gaps and fastening details aren't optional here. Composite is not refinished the way stained wood is, so the color you buy is the color the cap has to hold. How a specific board holds its color is a question for that manufacturer's published warranty rather than for us.
The maintenance you'll actually be doing
With wood, the real job is refinishing. Clean it, let it dry, and put stain or sealer back on the walking surface on the cadence the finish manufacturer calls for. Sooner on the south and west exposures, sooner on stairs and rails that take the most traffic and weather. The catch in South Dakota isn't the work, it's the window. You need dry boards and temperatures inside the range the finish requires, and the stretch between snowmelt and the first hard freeze is short. Plan the refinishing around that window rather than waiting until the deck looks rough and then scrambling for a dry stretch. Composite trades refinishing for washing. Soap, water, a soft-bristle brush, and attention to spills, because grease, leaf tannin, and rust from a planter can all set in if they sit. Follow the manufacturer's limits on pressure washing, since a too-aggressive tip can scar the cap and there's no sanding that out. Composite can't be refinished, so the color you buy is the color you own. In winter, use a plastic shovel with no metal edge, and only the ice melt the maker approves. It's less work than staining, though it still belongs on the list.
The frame is what decides how long the deck lasts
Here's the part that doesn't change with the material: everything under the boards. Footings set deep enough that frost can't lift them, at the depth adopted local code requires and the inspector confirms on site. Beams and joists sized for real snow load and for the spans you're actually building. A ledger flashed so water can't sit against the house, because rot behind a ledger is covered by the finished surface. Hardware and fasteners rated for contact with treated lumber, since the wrong metal corrodes inside the connection where nobody is looking. Those footings are concrete work, and they're where a deck either gets built for this climate or doesn't. None of it shows in the finished photos. A wood deck on a well-built frame will outlast a composite deck on a failing one, which is why the structure gets looked at first. So if you're re-decking rather than starting fresh, answer this before any material gets picked out: are the footings, posts, ledger, and joists sound enough to carry a deck through another full life? If the frame has gone soft or the footings have moved, that part gets addressed before a new surface goes down.
Spans and joist spacing: composite is pickier
This is the practical difference that shows up when re-decking an older structure. Composite boards are more flexible than sawn lumber, so they need more support underneath to feel solid underfoot. Every manufacturer publishes a span table for its boards, and that table is not a suggestion. What enforces it is adopted local code plus the warranty terms the manufacturer writes, and building outside it can cost you both. The spacing your deck needs comes off the published table for the board actually purchased, read against local code and confirmed at inspection. Running boards on a diagonal tightens the spacing. Stair treads are usually tighter still. We build to the table for the specific board, not to a rule of thumb. Older decks were often framed to a wider joist spacing because sawn wood decking could carry it. Put composite on that frame and it can feel springy between the joists, and it will telegraph every crown and dip in the existing lumber. Fixing it means adding joists or sistering the ones that are there, which is real framing work and belongs in the conversation early, before any material gets ordered. There's blocking to plan for too, under picture-frame borders, at butt joints, and anywhere the pattern changes direction.
Fasteners, gaps, and drainage
Composite usually goes down with hidden clips that ride in a groove milled into the board edge. It looks clean and it sets a consistent gap on its own. Where you have to face-fasten, on stairs, borders, and the first and last board, you use the manufacturer's screws and color-matched plugs. Wood gets face-screwed with fasteners rated for treated lumber, stainless or a coating built for that contact, set so the head sits flush without crushing the fiber around it. Gaps carry more weight than the finished look suggests. Wood shrinks after installation, so boards go down snug and open up as they dry. Composite moves with temperature, so end gaps get sized to the conditions on the day it's installed, which is why a cold morning and a hot afternoon call for different numbers out of the manufacturer's installation instructions. Underneath, both materials want air. A deck sitting close to grade with no ventilation and bare dirt below holds moisture against the framing, and that shortens the frame's life no matter what's on top of it. Keep the surface gaps clear of leaves and needles so water drains through instead of sitting.
How to make the call
We don't hand out a firm answer on material without seeing the yard, the exposure, and the structure that's already there. What we can give you is the set of questions that usually settles it. How long do you plan to be in the house? How much upkeep do you honestly do, not intend to do? How much direct sun does the deck get, and will people be on it barefoot in July, since darker composite runs hot? Do you want the option to change the color later, which is a wood-only feature? Is the frame getting replaced anyway, which takes the joist-spacing question off the table? And are you matching a railing or stair system that comes from the same product line? Both answers are legitimate. Wood is not a compromise and composite is not maintenance-free. We install what you choose. Trex and TimberTech are two of the capped composite lines on the market, and there are other capped composite and PVC lines out there as well. Hols & Co is not a dealer for, certified by, or partnered with any of them, so there's no brand relationship steering the conversation. Jace walks the site, talks through both, and puts the scope in a written estimate. Call or text (605) 679-5223.
Recent work
Whatever goes on top, this is the part that decides how long it lasts — rafters at spacing, a metal tie at every connection.
Photographs of Hols & Co projects
In their words
Nineteen reviews. Every one of them five stars.
Highly recommend Hols & Co. if you are looking for someone to build your deck. The whole team was excellent to work with. They were professional, respectful and communicative. They were very efficient when they were on site and kept out property clean while they worked. Solid craftmanship and the finished product is exactly what we were envisioning. We would definitely hire this crew again for future projects.
The team was great. The quality of work is fantastic. I saw their ad on social media and took a chance and contacted them. So glad I did! Wanted my back deck replaced and they did a beautiful job. Even worked Saturday because the wood for the deck didn't show up on time. Looking forward to having them back for my next project!
Hols and Co. replaced our deck with a covered and screened in deck. We are extremely pleased with the workmanship and attention to detail they put into the deck. They were a pleasure to work with and would definitely recommend them for your home construction needs. Myron H.
FAQ
Fair questions, straight answers.
Does composite decking crack or split in South Dakota winters?
Capped composite isn't porous the way lumber is, so the freeze-thaw cycle that opens checks and splits in wood has less to work on. What composite does instead is expand and contract with temperature, which is why end gaps and fastening done to the manufacturer's instructions matter more here than they would in a mild climate. When composite does show winter damage, the causes we look for first are a metal shovel edge, an ice melt the maker doesn't approve, and a frame that heaved because the footings weren't set deep enough for frost.
How often does a wood deck need to be stained here?
Go by the finish manufacturer's guidance and by what the boards are telling you. When water stops beading and the color has flattened out, it's time, and the south and west exposures plus the stairs will get there first. The real constraint in South Dakota is the calendar, not the cadence. You need dry boards and temperatures inside the finish's working range, and the stretch between snowmelt and the first hard freeze isn't long. Plan the refinishing into that window rather than waiting until the deck looks rough and then scrambling.
Can I put composite decking on my existing deck frame?
Sometimes, and it comes down to two things. First, whether the frame and footings are sound: heaved footings, rot behind the ledger, or soft joists mean the structure gets addressed before anything new goes on top. Second, joist spacing. Composite generally needs more support than sawn wood decking did, so an older frame often needs joists added or sistered first. The spacing requirement comes off the published span table for the board you're buying, read against adopted local code and confirmed at inspection. We check both during the walkthrough and tell you which one you're looking at before material gets ordered.
Does composite decking get hot in the sun?
Yes, generally more than wood, and color is the biggest factor since darker boards absorb more heat. If the deck faces west with no shade and kids will be on it barefoot in July, that belongs in the decision rather than as a surprise later. Lighter colors help. So does putting a roof, a pergola, or shade over part of the surface, which is worth planning at the same time as the deck instead of adding on afterward. Some product lines publish heat information for their boards, so it's a fair question to ask about the specific one you're considering.
Do you install Trex or TimberTech?
We install the decking the homeowner selects, including capped composite lines like those. To be clear about it, Hols & Co is not a dealer, certified installer, or brand partner for any decking manufacturer. What we do is build to the published span, gap, and fastening requirements for whatever board you buy, because that's what the manufacturer's warranty terms and the local inspection both come back to. South Dakota doesn't issue a state general contractor license; the credential we carry is City of Sioux Falls Residential Building Contractor license #15868, and we're on the city's approved Bonded Right-of-Way contractor list. We serve Harrisburg, Sioux Falls, Tea, Brandon, Lennox, Canton, Worthing, and rural Lincoln and Minnehaha counties, and travel farther when the scope justifies it. Call or text (605) 679-5223.
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