MERRIMACK, NH – September 02, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –
Villandry Home & Outdoor Living has issued installation guidance for homeowners planning composite decks in the closing weeks of the 2026 building season, addressing how air temperature on the day of installation affects the spacing set between deck boards.
Composite decking expands and contracts as temperature changes. The gaps established when boards are fastened have to account for that movement, and the ambient temperature at the time of installation is part of what determines them. Boards secured on a warm afternoon are already expanded when they are fixed in place. The same boards installed on a cool October morning are not, and the spacing that suits one condition will not suit the other.
That distinction matters most during periods of seasonal transition. New Hampshire moves through a wide annual temperature range, and a deck built in late summer will pass through the full swing within months of completion. Spacing that appears correct on installation day can behave differently once the material has been through both extremes of that range.
“The temperature the day we set boards is a real input, not a detail we work around,” said Rich Villandry, Co-Owner of Villandry Home & Outdoor Living. “It gets recorded and the spacing follows from it. That is a decision made once, and it stays with the deck for as long as the deck is there.”
Requirements differ between products. Manufacturers publish spacing instructions specific to each product line, based on the composition of the material and its expected movement, and those published instructions govern the work rather than any general rule of thumb. The instructions address end gaps and clearances at fixed structures such as posts and walls, not only the spacing between adjacent boards.
The standard behind those instructions is ASTM D7032, which establishes performance ratings for wood-plastic composite and plastic lumber deck boards, stair treads, guards and handrails. Among the properties it specifies testing for are temperature and moisture effects, ultraviolet resistance and freeze-thaw resistance. The standard notes that composites should not be assumed to behave in the same way as wood, and that the presence of plastic in the material calls for particular attention to temperature sensitivity.
Those same tested properties describe conditions common across New Hampshire. Decks in the region encounter summer heat, winter cold and repeated cycling between the two, along with sustained ultraviolet exposure through the warmer months. Material selected and installed with those conditions in mind is working within the range the standard tests for.
Villandry Home & Outdoor Living installs composite decking over steel framing and carries projects from planning through the final walkthrough. Three-dimensional design modeling forms part of that process, allowing layout, board direction and the connection to the house to be resolved before material is ordered. Further information is available at villandryhome.com.
The company notes that installation decisions of this kind are rarely visible in a finished deck. Board spacing, fastening and the framing beneath the surface are settled during construction and are difficult to revisit afterward, which places weight on the decisions made while the work is underway rather than on the material alone.
“Homeowners tend to focus on colour and railing, which is understandable, because that is what they will look at every day,” Villandry said. “The things that determine how a deck ages are decided earlier than that, and most of them are not visible once the work is finished.”
Villandry Home & Outdoor Living is a family owned design-build firm that has built custom decks, porches, patios and outdoor living spaces in New Hampshire since 1997. Founded by Rick Villandry, the company is a Deckorators Certified Pro and installs composite and PVC decking, steel framing, railing, under-deck drainage systems, porches, patios, pergolas and related outdoor structures.
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For more information about Villandry Home & Outdoor Living, contact the company here:
Villandry Home & Outdoor Living
Richard Villandry
+16038108180
rvillandry@gmail.com
165 Baboosic Lake Rd, Merrimack, NH 03054, United States
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