About DecksToronto

Clear guidance for planning a deck in Ontario.

DecksToronto helps Ontario homeowners understand decking materials, maintenance, permits and project planning. Our free guides explain the options, name their sources and help you ask better questions before making decisions.

Ten members of the Composite Deck Shop team in matching T-shirts, standing between walls of decking samples under a DT and Composite Deck Shop sign in the Vaughan showroom
The Composite Deck Shop team in the Vaughan showroom, 2023. Photo: Composite Deck Shop.
Our story

From a North York store to an Ontario reference

For years, deckstoronto.com was the shop’s website, and its articles answered the questions customers brought to the counter. When the store became Composite Deck Shop, those articles still had readers. We kept them, checked them against current sources, and rebuilt the site around them.

Composite Deck Shop team standing together in the showroom among decking displays
Composite Deck Shop team, 2025. Photo: Composite Deck Shop.
  1. 2009

    A deck store in North York

    Alexander Krupin opens a deck-specialty store under the name Decks Toronto. The early focus is ipe decking and aluminium balusters, with design and permit help alongside a smaller range of composite and PVC.

  2. 2011

    An online store

    Decks Toronto starts selling online, so buyers outside the city can order decking and railings too. Over the following years the website gathers dozens of articles on materials, railings and permits.

  3. 2018–2019

    A larger home in Vaughan

    The store moves to Vaughan and then into a larger property there, with room for more decking, railing and fencing lines.

  4. 2022

    New stores, new name

    Stores open in Peterborough, Barrie and London. With several locations beyond Toronto, the business takes the name Composite Deck Shop.

  5. 2025

    First store in Quebec

    A Montreal-area store opens as Magasin de Patio.

  6. Today

    DecksToronto becomes a guide

    The shop lives at Composite Deck Shop. This site keeps the useful articles, rewritten and checked, as a free reference for Ontario deck projects.

Who runs it

The founder and the team behind the guides

Portrait of Alexander Krupin, founder of DecksToronto and Composite Deck Shop

Alexander Krupin

Founder and Director, Composite Deck Shop

Alexander began building decks in Toronto at 16. He started an installation company while earning a Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Toronto, opened the first Decks Toronto store in 2009 and launched its online store in 2011.

Guides on this site are written and updated by the DecksToronto editorial team, drawing on what our stores and installers see on real Ontario projects.

Alexander Krupin on LinkedIn
Editorial standards

How we write and check the guides

We work with many deck builders and have built longstanding relationships with them over the years. Their feedback from real projects helps us understand the questions homeowners face and informs how we write and update our guides.

  • Sources named on the page

    Figures are attributed to the manufacturer, code or municipality that publishes them, and each guide ends with the sources we used.

  • A visible fact-check date

    Checked guides carry a “Fact-checked” badge with the month of the last review. Guides still being reviewed say so.

  • No typed-in prices

    Prices come from the Composite Deck Shop catalogue and refresh in your browser. The store’s price at checkout is the one that counts.

  • Real project photos, credited

    Most photographs come from real Ontario projects by Delta Decks, Kawartha Deck Builders and our stores, credited in the caption. Illustrations are labelled.

  • Brands we sell, compared openly

    Composite Deck Shop is a dealer for several brands we write about, including Fiberon, Trex and TimberTech. We compare them on published specifications and say where each one falls short.

  • Corrections welcome

    If something is wrong or out of date, tell us. We fix it and update the review date.

Spotted an error? Tell us what to fix.

Visit us

See the boards in person

Composite Deck Shop has four stores in Ontario, with full-length boards and railings on display. Walk in for free samples, or order samples by delivery.

Hours, directions and other ways to reach us are on the contact page.

Start your project

Planning a deck?

Browse the guides, or send your deck size and material interest for an itemized quote.

Get a material quote Browse all guides