Composite decking
- Thread starter stosh
- Start date
I redid my deck last year using Procell decking and Fiberon railings. Read up on all the different products though. Check for stain resistance, scratch proof and also how much they fade. Procell is vinyl decking and is the same color all the way through. You can also put a screw as close to the edge as you want without splitting and there was no pre-drilling.
It does cost quite a bit when you start to add in the railings. Though it should last for a long time.
It does cost quite a bit when you start to add in the railings. Though it should last for a long time.
It will last much longer than normal treated wood for decking with much less care, if any. When I was working for a lumber yard we went through a healthy amount of it and people seemed pretty pleased.
I don't remember prices, but keep in mind you get what you pay for. I wouldn't expect warping or discoloration or any of that kind of thing due to prolonged exposure to weather. That's common with wood, so there are definite benefits. Oh yeah, no splinters!
I don't remember prices, but keep in mind you get what you pay for. I wouldn't expect warping or discoloration or any of that kind of thing due to prolonged exposure to weather. That's common with wood, so there are definite benefits. Oh yeah, no splinters!
Yeah you're right. I guess I'm not going to use P.T. decking, I'm just looking for the cheapest composite then.
Honestly I would go down to a lumber yard and get some information from them. They'll be able to give you the info you need, as far as the pros and cons of Trex, or another company that makes composite decking.
You should ba able to get samples of anything you are going to use. Take them home and leave them out in the sun. Also try scratching them, pouring different things on them to see oif they stain. You would be surprise at how much some of them fade.
I just realized our dogs are out on our deck a lot so I need to find a product that doesn't scratch as easily.
Our deck was built with Trex. It was there when we bought the house. I know that doesn't help you out too much but you asked.
I wouldn't expect you to have actually "built" anything anyway.
I built our Ikea TV stand. Took me four hours.
My wife "built" an ikea table once. It took me 1hr to take it apart and build it correctly.
the only real negative I've heard about trex is it's made with fiberglass strands to make it stronger and over time the strands will raise to the top and can be abrasive - i.e. little ones crawlin' around or bare feet.
My dad used Eon decking when he built a deck a few years ago. It's certainly far from the cheapest option, but it's one of the best. It hasn't faded much and is pretty durable and looks really nice. The only downside is you have to use their special fasteners to hold it down because it grows and shrinks a lot so if you just stick a screw in it it will crack. Trex and other similar options are a decent alternative to wood but seem really cheap looking to me, however I'd still take it over the constant maintenance a wood deck requires in the northeast.
We considered composites when we re-did our deck a couple of Summers ago. We ended up deciding against the composites and going with Ipe - a Brazilian hardwood. It's been great! And looks great with white accents/trim. It's beautiful when it's wet.
toby
toby
isn't that Ipe stuff really expensive? i've heard good things about it, it's a really hard wood and takes a beating, but i thought the price was thru the roof.
I've use Trex a few times, & it seems to hold up pretty well. The oldest deck I used it on is 5 years old now and still looks good. holds up well to pressure washing too
God help you if she ever reads these forums
That said if it was my house and I planned on staying there
for 10 years or more I would go with the manufactured or recycled stuff. It lasts forever but the cost is very high. If you don't plan on staying there for that long go with the PT at the most you may have to replace a few boards every now and then. My $0.02
I'll offer my services and tools if you need the help.
Different quality grades are available to choose from to help with the cost. If I remember the price was comparable to higher end composite materials. The 4"x4" posts for the bench seating supports were ridiculously expensive, though.
toby
FWIW, my parent's deck is about 20 years old, made of PT. It has been power washed once and resealed once and it looks and lasts just fine.
Really?
Where do you live? Up here in NE ILL I cant imagine that being true. Having seen PT decks around here treated like that, they are shot. raised fibers, cupping boards...Blech.
My nieghbor rebuilt his after that kind of treatment, and now he seals it every year.
I had our deck done in a two-tone Trex. Looks good ,faded nicely. HOWEVER, it develops mold stains
Last year I had to clean it with some chemical , and while it was a chore, it came out lookin brand new. It was spotty again by the fall though. Alot less work than staining esp railings......But not the kind of maintenance I expected. I wonder if the deck is not pitched properly...If at all. It does not mold much near the house, but 4 feet out its ugly...
CDT
Thanks man!God help you if she ever reads these forums
That said if it was my house and I planned on staying there
for 10 years or more I would go with the manufactured or recycled stuff. It lasts forever but the cost is very high. If you don't plan on staying there for that long go with the PT at the most you may have to replace a few boards every now and then. My $0.02
I'll offer my services and tools if you need the help.
I still make fun of Aubrey for that ikea assembly. I'm assuming we'll be here 10+ years. Either way I guess I worry about Brinley getting splinters too.
Heres some pics. Look at those spots. And see near the house, nothing even though as you can see it gets just as wet? We have about a two foot eave. With that in mind I was thinking maybe its not really mold, maybe it's some sort of particulate from all the planes flying over..........The deck gets plenty of sun too, no trees.
CDT
CDT
Attachments
I recently did a friends deck with Lowes version of trex.. the also carry trex now too. It was about $3 less per 12 ftt board.
I'm convinced that no matter what material you choose, there will be certain advantages and disadvantages. I have a small 5x12 deck area that receives direct sunlight all day. When I layed the original deck surface, I hand picked only the quarter sawn, pressure treated lumber and permitted the material to air dry in a garage for about 1 year so the decking would be stabilized before installation. After being installed for about 2 years , the pt lumber was nice and flat but severely cracked. I removed the pressure treated lumber and replaced it with composite lumber. My wife hated the composite deck because deck surface would get really hot in the summer. Round Three. I replaced the composite deck with Ipe. After about three years, the Ipe looks pretty good but you do have to seal Ipe or it will turn from the dark walnut color to gray. I'm convinced there is no ideal deck surface.
The only positive thing that I have learned from my entire experience is that the use of stainless steel fasteners sure make the deck removal for replacement easier. Actually if you're using the newer pressure treated framing lumber , stainless steel fasteners are a good idea. Most of the newer pressure treated framing lumber is very corrosive and will ruin conventional fasteners.
The only positive thing that I have learned from my entire experience is that the use of stainless steel fasteners sure make the deck removal for replacement easier. Actually if you're using the newer pressure treated framing lumber , stainless steel fasteners are a good idea. Most of the newer pressure treated framing lumber is very corrosive and will ruin conventional fasteners.
Awesome!
A true field study!
I don't mind the look of grey'ed out wood. It actually resembles the color of real tree bark IMO.
My experience with composite was that it faded quickly, but then again, it got full afternoon sun in the NM mountains. Also, in our relatively dry climate, walking on it it created static elec. potential that was painfully discharged when you went to open the alum.-framed screen door to go back inside (my kid would call us to let her back in rather than open the door herself). But yeah, the maintenance was significantly reduced vs. both stained and painted wood decks.
- Joe
- Joe
I've heard about the static problem before. How long ago did you install the decking. Do you know what brand you used?
Installed about 7 years ago, and I don't recall the brand. We sold the house last Fall and left all the warranty info w/ the new owner, otherwise I'd look it up for you. My recollection was that, 7 years ago, there were really ony two big companies making the stuff, and got it from the one NOT named TREX. Hope that helps,
- Joe
- Joe
we just did two decks (upper and lower) with Rhyno one of several brands we were looking at, and I must say for what we spent, I am really dissapointed in this stuff. My son had a little cookout with his buds, and the hambuger drips that they got on it are permanent. The guys went after it with Simple Green, which bleached out the color. We were warned that composite might stain, but this easily? I realize we can't baby a deck but we can't exactly rip it all and do something else now.
gg
gg
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We used trex in the flooring of our screen porch. Only had it for a little less than a year. Everything is fine.
The issue we had was that sprinklers close to the decking of the screen porch and we needed to make sure that we were not changing out the wood in a few years (like on our deck). Since we have rugs down it was no big deal.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but if I was doing a deck that was very visible, I would probably use some real wood.
The issue we had was that sprinklers close to the decking of the screen porch and we needed to make sure that we were not changing out the wood in a few years (like on our deck). Since we have rugs down it was no big deal.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but if I was doing a deck that was very visible, I would probably use some real wood.
I'm just about to replace our decks with composite. We live in the woods on a ridgeline and the bark beatles make mince meat of wooden decks. Then you add in 100* summers, snow and 30-75" of rain and average storm winds of 85mph and wood takes a beating. I'm tired of stripping, staining,sealing, replacing parts of, the deck every other summer [if that much of an interval]