Short version: paving lasts longer, costs less over time and needs less of your attention. Decking looks and feels better in the right position, and is often the only sensible answer over a slope, a pool edge or an uneven level. In Cape Town’s specific mix of wet winters, high UV and coastal salt, a good paved surface will comfortably outlive a timber deck, and usually outlive a composite one too.
We are a paving company, so read that with the appropriate scepticism. But we also turn down paving jobs where a deck is clearly the better answer, and we will say plainly below where that is. The only South African comparison currently ranking for this question was written by a decking company, which is not much use to anyone trying to decide.
The decision in one table
| Factor | Paving | Timber decking | Composite decking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical lifespan in Cape conditions | 25 years plus | 8–15 years with upkeep | 15–25 years |
| Ongoing maintenance | Sweep, wash, occasional re-sand | Clean, sand and re-oil every 1–2 years | Wash; no sealing |
| Wet-winter performance | Excellent if drained properly | Slippery when mossy; timber stays damp | Can be slippery; boards do not rot |
| High UV performance | Slight fade, no structural effect | Greys quickly, splits if unoiled | Fades over years; cheap grades fade badly |
| Coastal salt air | Unaffected; fixings not exposed | Fixings and substructure corrode | Good, if stainless or coated fixings used |
| Underfoot in summer sun | Warm; light colours stay comfortable | Comfortable, cooler than most | Gets hot, dark colours very hot |
| Best on a slope | Needs terracing and retaining | Excellent — frame over the fall | Excellent |
| Resale perception | Solid, permanent, low risk | Attractive, but buyers check its age | Attractive and low-maintenance |
Cost: upfront versus over twenty years
Paving in Cape Town runs roughly R380 to R900 per m² installed for most materials, with the detail set out in our paving prices guide. A practical patio in bevel brick or large-format slabs sits in the lower half of that; travertine and natural stone push past R900. A 25m² entertainment patio in large-format slabs comes in around R16,000 to R22,500.
Decking prices vary far more, because the timber species, the substructure, the height above ground and whether balustrades are needed all move the figure enormously. A ground-level deck on a simple frame and a raised deck on posts over a fall are entirely different jobs. We do not publish deck rates, and we would not trust a per-square-metre deck price given without a site visit — get at least two written quotes from decking specialists with the substructure itemised.
What we can say confidently is the shape of the lifetime cost. Paving has a high day-one cost and a very low annual cost afterwards: a professional annual service — clean, re-sand, treat moss, inspect — runs around R2,500 to R5,500 for a typical home with 80 to 120m² of paving, and plenty of homeowners do it themselves for R600 to R1,200 in materials. Full detail is in our paving maintenance guide.
Timber decking has a comparable day-one cost and a real recurring one. Cleaning, sanding and re-oiling every year or two, board replacement as individual boards cup or split, and eventually substructure work. Over twenty years, that recurring spend is what closes the gap and then opens it in paving’s favour. Composite sits in between: highest upfront, minimal maintenance, but a defined lifespan after which the whole thing gets replaced rather than repaired.
How each one handles a Cape Town winter
Our winter is the test. Long soaking frontal rain from roughly May to August, on surfaces that spent the previous five months baking.
Paving handles it well provided the base and the drainage were built correctly — which is the whole argument, really. Water goes through the joints and into a designed sub-base, or across a designed fall to a channel. Where paving fails in winter it is almost always a base or drainage failure rather than the pavers themselves, and it is fixable by lifting and relaying that section. The moss and algae that appear on shaded southern-suburbs paving are cosmetic and come off with a wash.
Timber decking stays damp. Boards sit above ventilated space, which helps, but the top face holds moisture, grows algae and gets genuinely slippery. Untreated or under-maintained softwood in a shaded Constantia or Newlands garden can go from new to soft in a handful of winters. Hardwoods do much better, but the substructure is still the weak point: joists and fixings sitting close to damp ground are where decks actually die, long before the visible boards do.
Composite does not rot, which removes the main failure mode. It can still be slippery when wet and the substructure — often timber or steel — still needs to be detailed properly and ventilated.
How each one handles Cape sun and salt
South African UV is punishing. Untreated timber greys within a season and, without oil, surface fibres break down and boards check and split. That is a maintenance schedule, not a defect, but it is a schedule you are committing to for the life of the deck. Cheap composite fades too — the difference between a good capped composite board and a budget one shows up in year three.
Paving fades slightly. Charcoal pavers soften a little over years and clay brick barely changes at all. Structurally, UV does nothing to it.
On the coast — Blouberg, Table View, Big Bay, Melkbosstrand — salt air is the other factor. It attacks metal, and every deck depends on metal: joist hangers, screws, brackets, post shoes. Specify stainless or properly rated coated fixings for a coastal deck and expect to inspect them. Paving has no exposed metal in it, which is one reason it dominates on the West Coast side of the city. Our Table View and Blouberg work is almost entirely paving for exactly this reason.
Where decking genuinely wins
Being honest about this matters more than winning an argument:
- Over a significant fall. A deck framed over a slope gives you a flat platform without retaining walls, cut-and-fill and drainage design. On a steep Hout Bay or Vredehoek site this can be dramatically cheaper and less disruptive than terracing. If you are weighing the alternative, our guide to landscaping a sloped garden shows what the paved version involves.
- Matching an existing floor level. When you need the outdoor surface flush with an interior floor that sits well above ground, a deck gets there without a raised, retained platform.
- Over an existing slab you do not want to break out. A low-profile deck floats over ugly concrete cheaply.
- Where you want warmth and softness underfoot. Timber feels better barefoot than any hard surface. On a shaded morning-sun patio, that is a real quality-of-life difference.
- Over tree roots. A deck spans them; paving over roots will lift within a few years.
- Where a fully permeable, minimal-excavation solution is needed — for instance around a protected tree.
Where paving wins
- Anything a vehicle touches. Driveways are not a decking question. See driveway paving.
- Ground-level patios and outdoor rooms. No substructure, no ventilation gap, nothing to rot underneath, and you can put a heavy braai, planters and furniture anywhere without checking joist spans.
- Pool surrounds, in most cases. Constant water, chlorine or salt chlorination, and sunscreen are hard on timber. Textured pavers with a proper anti-slip rating handle it far better — specify R11 or R12 finishes within 1.5m of the water, as covered in our pool deck paving ideas. Our swimming pool paving pages cover the detailing.
- Braai areas. Sparks and coals on timber is a permanent low-level worry. On paving it is a sweep.
- High-traffic and service areas. Bins, washing lines, side passages, dog runs.
- When you want to install it and then not think about it. This is the honest headline reason most people end up with paving.
The combination most Cape Town gardens actually want
The best gardens we work on rarely choose one. A paved ground-level patio off the kitchen where the braai, the table and the traffic are, and a smaller timber deck at the far end where the afternoon sun lands or where the ground falls away. Each surface where it performs.
If budget forces a single choice, our practical test is: is the ground reasonably level and does the area take traffic, heat, water or vehicles? Then pave it. Is it a raised, sloped or root-bound position, or is bare-foot comfort the whole point? Then deck it, and budget for the oiling.
Getting the quotes right
Whichever way you lean, compare like with like. For paving, insist that the quote states excavation depth, sub-base material and compacted thickness, bedding layer, paver type and thickness, edge restraint and drainage — a bare “supply and lay R650/m²” is a starting point, not a finished number. For decking, insist on substructure spec: joist size and spacing, timber species and treatment class, fixing material, ventilation clearance and ground contact detail. The substructure is where deck quotes differ, and it is invisible the day it is finished.
Our guide to choosing a paving contractor covers the questions worth asking, and most of them apply equally to a decking installer. If you want a paved option priced properly against a deck quote you have already had, send both through — we will tell you straight if the deck is the better answer for your site. Start on our contact page or look through the gallery for comparable jobs.
Quick answers
Is decking cheaper than paving in South Africa?
Not reliably, and the substructure is what decides it. A ground-level deck on a simple frame can be competitive with paving; a raised deck on posts over a slope is usually more. Over twenty years paving is cheaper, because decking carries a recurring cleaning, oiling and board replacement cost.
Which lasts longer, decking or paving?
Paving. A properly based paved surface will run 25 years or more with minimal upkeep. Timber decking in Cape Town’s wet winters and high UV realistically gives 8 to 15 years with regular maintenance, and composite around 15 to 25.
Is decking or paving better around a swimming pool?
Paving, in most Cape Town gardens. Constant water, chlorine and sunscreen are hard on timber, while textured pavers with an R11 or R12 anti-slip rating stay safe underfoot and need no sealing. Decking still makes sense where the pool sits well below the house level.