Tarimatec vs TimberTech: An Honest Canadian Comparison

TimberTech wins on availability, published pricing, a Class A flame spread to ASTM E84 on its Advanced PVC lines and a 50-year headline warranty. Tarimatec wins on wet slip to UNE-ENV 12633, a verified EPD, water absorption data to UNE-EN 317 and 31 colours. Read the warranty terms before you decide.

You have probably already held a TimberTech board. Most Canadians shopping this tier have. It is on the shelf at Home Depot Canada, the colours are handsome, and the 50-year number on the brochure does quiet work in a buyer's head.

We distribute Tarimatec in Canada, so read this with that in mind. We will not pretend TimberTech is a weak product. On several rows below it beats us outright, and if you are on a tight schedule with a building official asking hard questions, it may well be your board.

The short version

The materials are genuinely different

TimberTech sells two different things under one name. The Advanced PVC lines, Landmark and Vintage, are cellular PVC: foamed polymer, no organic filler. Prime+ and the wood-fibre lines are capped composite, wood flour under a polymer shell. Different boards at different prices, and comparing the wrong one is how buyers end up disappointed.

Tarimatec is a third thing: PVC as the matrix, rice husk as the fibre, limestone as the mineral load, roughly 100:50:40 parts, made in Valencia by Plasticos Viters S.A. and sold as Ecofiber Stone Composite. The mineral content makes it heavier than foamed cellular PVC. Set the two on a joist bay and the difference is audible before it is visible: the denser board thuds, the foamed one knocks. Neither is a defect. The full range sits in the Tarimatec composite decking range.

Slip, fire and water

Three numbers decide most professional specifications, and the honours split.

Wet slip goes to Tarimatec. Class 3 / R11 to UNE-ENV 12633 is the highest class in the European wet-pendulum scale and the one required around a pool surround. TimberTech publishes no equivalent class, because the North American market does not habitually test to it. No failure on their part, but if you are specifying a chlorinated pool terrace in Oakville or a Halifax waterfront landing wet from October to May, a published class is the difference between an argument and a document.

Fire goes to TimberTech, and it is not close in a Canadian submission. Advanced PVC lines carry a Class A flame spread to ASTM E84. Tarimatec is Bfl-s1 for floorings and Broof(t1) under UNE-EN 13501-1 and ENV 1187, European classifications, tested differently and not interchangeable with a North American Class A. Tarimatec holds no CAN/ULC S102 flame-spread test and no CCMC evaluation today. Several North American brands do: Fiberon holds CCMC 13500-R, and Trex and Deckorators hold CCMC reports too. On a multi-family balcony where the authority having jurisdiction wants Canadian documentation, that gap is decisive, and we will say so on the phone.

Water absorption goes to Tarimatec on published evidence alone: 0.59 per cent at 24 hours in the hollow profile, 0.38 per cent in the solid, and 1.66 per cent at 28 days, all to UNE-EN 317. TimberTech does not publish to that standard, though a cellular polymer core has no organic fibre to swell in the first place, which is a fair rebuttal.

The warranties, read line by line

This is where the brochure numbers mislead most.

TimberTech's headline is a 50-year residential warranty, and the coverage is real, but it is pro-rated on a declining schedule. Recovery runs at 90 per cent in years 11 to 14 and steps down to 10 per cent in years 43 to 50. TimberTech also separates fade-and-stain coverage and labour coverage into their own terms with their own periods. So the honest reading of that 50 is not fifty years of full replacement. It is fifty years of a shrinking contribution.

Tarimatec offers a 25-year manufacturer warranty, flat across its term, administered in Canada by Zinodeck, and it excludes damage from weight overload. Half the headline number, no declining schedule. Whether that is better depends on when you expect to claim, and on a Canadian administrator answering the phone rather than a desk in another country. Our guide to composite decking warranty transfer covers what happens when the house sells.

Sustainability documentation

Both companies have an environmental story. They prove it differently, and for a LEED submission the difference is everything.

Tarimatec publishes EPD S-P-07588, verified by Tecnalia and registered with EPD International (Environdec), plus ISO 14001 and an Oeko-Tex and AITEX VOC pass (2023AN6040). Per that EPD, 33 per cent recovered composite is re-used in production, and the recipe diverts five million kilograms of rice husk from burning or landfill. An EPD is an audited document a specifier can attach to a submission.

TimberTech's recycled-content claim is the manufacturer's own figure. That does not make it false, and the volumes are meaningful. It makes it self-declared rather than third-party verified, a different category of evidence when somebody asks for documentation rather than a statement.

Colour, availability and lead time

Tarimatec offers 31 colours across three finishes, in hollow or solid profiles, which is a wider design range than any single TimberTech line. You can see them all on the Tarimatec finishes and colours page.

TimberTech takes availability outright, and it is not a small win. Boards sit on Home Depot Canada shelves with wide dealer coverage, so a contractor can start Thursday. Tarimatec boards are import-to-order at 8 to 12 weeks, matched to a project rather than pulled from a shelf. Paid samples ship from Vaughan, Ontario in 5 to 10 business days. If your build has a hard date inside two months, that timeline decides it, and no test data changes that. Ordering is set out on where to buy Tarimatec in Canada.

Price

TimberTech publishes retail prices, which we respect. At Home Depot Canada, verified September 2026: Prime+ at $4.92, Landmark Advanced PVC at $10.62 and Vintage Advanced PVC at $11.87 per linear foot in CAD.

Tarimatec is quoted per project in CAD and no per-foot figure is published, so we will not print one here for you to be disappointed by later. Finish, profile, board run and substructure move it too much. Request a project quote in CAD and you will get the real one.

Choose TimberTech if, choose Tarimatec if

Choose TimberTech if:

• Your authority having jurisdiction wants a North American fire result, such as Class A to ASTM E84.
• You need boards on site inside eight weeks.
• You want a published price to budget against before you speak to anybody.
• You want a dealer twenty minutes away for the extra bundle you always need.

Choose Tarimatec if:

• Wet slip is a specification requirement and you need a published class, not an adjective.
• A verified EPD has to go into a submission.
• You want a denser board underfoot and a colour outside the usual six wood tones.
• Your schedule carries an 8 to 12 week import, and a flat 25-year term suits you better than a declining 50.

If you would rather see the whole field before narrowing to two, our roundup of the best composite decking in Canada puts both alongside the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Is Tarimatec better than TimberTech?

Neither is better across the board. TimberTech wins on Canadian availability, published pricing and a Class A flame spread to ASTM E84 on its Advanced PVC lines. Tarimatec wins on Class 3 / R11 wet slip to UNE-ENV 12633, published water absorption to UNE-EN 317, a Tecnalia-verified EPD and a 31-colour range. Match the win to your project.

Is TimberTech's 50-year warranty better than Tarimatec's 25-year warranty?

Only if you read the terms. TimberTech's 50-year residential warranty is pro-rated on a declining schedule, from 90 per cent recovery in years 11 to 14 down to 10 per cent in years 43 to 50, with separate fade-and-stain and labour terms. Tarimatec offers a flat 25-year manufacturer warranty, administered in Canada by Zinodeck, excluding damage from weight overload.

Which costs more, Tarimatec or TimberTech?

TimberTech publishes retail prices in CAD per linear foot at Home Depot Canada, verified September 2026: Prime+ $4.92, Landmark Advanced PVC $10.62 and Vintage Advanced PVC $11.87. Tarimatec is quoted per project in CAD and publishes no per-foot figure, so the only honest comparison is a quote for your actual deck.

Does Tarimatec have Canadian fire certification?

No. Tarimatec is classified Bfl-s1 and Broof(t1) under UNE-EN 13501-1 and ENV 1187, which are European standards, and it holds no CAN/ULC S102 test or CCMC evaluation today. TimberTech Advanced PVC reaches Class A flame spread to ASTM E84. If Canadian test documentation is required, that is a genuine reason to choose otherwise.

How long does Tarimatec take to arrive in Canada?

Boards are import-to-order at 8 to 12 weeks, matched to your project rather than pulled from a shelf. Paid samples ship from Vaughan, Ontario in 5 to 10 business days. TimberTech is available immediately through Home Depot Canada and its dealer network, which is the correct choice if your build has a hard date.

Settle a material argument with the boards in your hands. Order Tarimatec decking samples, which are paid and ship from Vaughan, Ontario in 5 to 10 business days, and set them beside a TimberTech board from the store, in your own light, wet. If Tarimatec is the one, request a project quote in CAD. If it is not, buy the TimberTech. We would rather you got the right deck.