Composite decking for Ottawa's hard winters.

Through deep freeze and humid summer.

Ottawa's deck has to survive months of snow and freeze-thaw, then humid 30°C afternoons. Tarimatec's mineral-rich composite absorbs under 0.6% water, won't rot or splinter, resists fungi, and holds Class 3 slip resistance for icy steps — no sanding, staining or sealing, ever, and a 25-year warranty.

Ottawa permits, frost-depth footings and snow load.

A deck attached to a house in Ottawa needs a building permit from the City of Ottawa, and it is inspected against the Ontario Building Code. Tarimatec is the surface and railing material — it sits on the frame your builder engineers to code — but the capital's deep-cold, heavy-snow climate shapes how that frame and surface are specified. Here is what matters locally.

• Frost-depth footings

  Ottawa's design frost depth is among the deepest of any large Canadian city, so deck footings are taken well below grade to bear beneath the frost line. That keeps seasonal frost heave from lifting and twisting the structure through the freeze season — the movement that opens gaps and cracks boards on an under-built deck.

• Snow load on the structure

  The capital carries a heavy specified ground snow load, and a deck that doubles as a winter walkway or catches roof shed-off has to be framed for it. The Ontario Building Code governs joist spacing and beam sizing; Tarimatec boards span the joists your builder lays out for that load.

• Freeze-thaw board gaps

  Ottawa swings from below −30°C in January to humid 30°C-plus afternoons in July — one of the widest annual temperature ranges in the country. Boards are gapped end-to-end and side-to-side to the manufacturer's spec so the surface stays stable and quiet as it moves through that range.

• Road salt and ice-melt

  Steps and paths salted through the capital's long winter are hard on ordinary surfaces. Tarimatec's mineral composite is unaffected by de-icing salt — independently tested to a 1.25 ΔE colour change under salt spray (EN ISO 9227) — so treated stairs and landings hold their tone.

Tones that suit an Ottawa backyard.

Tarimatec comes in 31 tones across three collections — Chromatic, Wood and Ethnic — in brushed Nature, grooved Tecno and deep Surco finishes. For the capital's established residential streets — the century homes of the Glebe, the family lots of Barrhaven and Kanata — the warm and mid-brown wood tones read naturally against brick and limestone, while cooler greys and charcoals suit newer builds.

Because the colour is engineered through a mineral composite rather than a stained wood surface, it holds its tone through Ottawa's high-UV summers and salted winters — no annual re-staining to keep a deep colour looking deep. See every tone and finish on the composite decking colours and finishes guide, or browse boards on the Tarimatec decking page.

Composite decking in Ottawa: common questions.