How we review

In short

• We don't publish expert reviews, star ratings or "best" lists of our own. If we ever do, we'll publish how they're made on this page first.
• Our product pages set out what each maker publishes, with the source and the date we checked every fact.
• Six ranges are our own recommended pick. They come first in lists, and we explain the pick where they're listed. No brand or seller pays for the place.
• Customer reviews are written by customers and shown separately. See our review policy.
• Nobody pays to change a comparison, a price we show or the order boards are listed in.

What our product pages show

Each range page brings together what the maker publishes about it: sizes, colours, warranties, fixing systems, bushfire (BAL) and slip ratings, and the maker's own documents.

• Every fact shows its source and the date we last checked it.
• Facts we haven't checked for more than 6 months are marked as older on the page.
• If two sources disagree, we say so rather than pick one quietly.
• We link the maker's documents, such as data sheets, installation guides and warranties. We don't copy them onto our site.

These pages report what the maker states. They are not tests we ran, and they don't give the product a score.

Prices

• A price is the average of what the sellers we track ask in your state, with the dates we saw those prices. Where a state has no prices, we say the figure is the national average.
• Prices more than 90 days old are flagged, and prices more than 180 days old are left out.
• We don't name the sellers.
• Prices are indicative and include GST. Check the price with the seller before you buy.

The recommended ranges

Six ranges sit first in lists of boards under the heading "Recommended and featured on the deck designer", and the deck designer starts with them. They're our own pick, and no brand or seller pays for the place. We explain this where they're listed.

Every other range we track is listed below them in the usual order. On price pages, that's average price per square metre, lowest first. In the board finder, you can also sort by price, warranty or name.

Comparisons in our guides

Some of our guides set two or more products side by side. Each comparison uses the makers' own documents, cites them, and doesn't score the products. When a guide quotes star ratings from another review site, it says where they come from and that they aren't our ranking.

How our guides are researched, checked and approved is set out in our editorial policy.

Customer reviews

Customers can review products they've used. We publish positive and negative reviews, and we only hold back or reject a review for one of the reasons on our published list. Customer ratings are the only ratings we show. See our review policy.

Commercial relationships

Builders and suppliers pay us for leads. Being a paying business never changes a comparison, a price we show or the order boards are listed in. Brands and sellers can't pay for a place in the recommended ranges.

Errors

If a fact or a price looks wrong, tell us through the contact page, by email at info@compositedecks.com.au, or by phone. Include the product, your state and where you saw the right figure. We check it against the source and fix confirmed errors.