Composite Decking

[mr47930]

Anyone have a composite deck/porch like Trex or a similar brand? We're looking at replacing our wood deck with some type of composite (I don’t feel like staining every other year) but some of the reviews im reading are not good. Your personal stories weather love or hate are much appreciated.

 

[razerface]

mine has existed for 4 years now. I don't see anything wrong with it yet. It is under roof but sun angles in on it. Menards brand,, whatever they sell,, I don't remember.

 

[webfish]

I put in Trex, 2003. It does fade, got some mold over the years. Really have done nothing to it other than wash it. This last summer I power washed it and re stained it. Can't remeber what I used but recommended by painter. It was a light brown and I went to a redwood stain. Looks brand new, beads up water again.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

I usually build one big Trex deck a year compared to 5 wooden decks, generally due to cost (if you haven't researched this yet, you will see what I mean). Trex of 10 years ago is junk, we usually rip out 2-3 of these older decks a year that are stained, swollen, broken boards, etc..., too bad, because it was touted as a lifetime deck back then too. The new Trex has a PVC encapsulation, but it's still a mix of sawdust and plastic in the core, and the end grain is still going to be exposed, their new style of spacers keep the boards a full 3/16" gap to avoid any standing water that may happen on a sloppy install, and hopefully avoid any swelling of the boards. Anytime you have saw dust mixed in there, there's a potential for swelling and mold growth.

Overall, I wouldn't use it on my house primarily due to cost, especially if you use their railing system as well. When I have customers who want a composite deck, I've used Trex, Kleer, Inspirations, and a couple of others (these companies come and go every year) the past two years, I've stuck with only Trex. They have a great product line, good dealers, and fantastic customer support should you need it, they've been around for long time, and don't look like they're going to go away anytime soon. You will pay a little more for their name, but I think it's worth it.

You shouldn't have to stain it, but plan on washing it every year.

This was one we did last year, all Trex, decking and railings with their LED lighting system, I never take a "finished" picture because we're busy cleaning up and getting out of there, but it was a great deck, but it replaced a 14 year old Trex deck.... See what it looks like in 2028.

 

[shoot-straight]

dont know the brand, but i have a tongue and groove system. i think its great. no exposed hardware and less sag than the regular boards. one thing is for sure- DO NOT SKIMP ON THE JOISTS! i think 16" is even pushing it. if i could do it over again, id put them 12" on center.

 

[mr47930]

Im well aware of the cost unfortunately. I realize its going to be expensive which is why I want to make sure others have had a good experience. Just a little history, our current deck structure is very sturdy, its just the top boards that need replaced. What I plan to do (or should I say pay to have done) is rip up the old top boards including stairs, replace all railings and wrap the skirt of the deck with the composite fascia boards. Im guessing this should cost ~$6K for our 12X16 deck. Please let me know if you think that price is in the ballpark.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Yep, they "okay" 16 o.c. but if it's a dark color, it sucks up the sun, it's plastic, it gets soft, they definitely will flex a bit, and I've installed a "Kleer" brand where you could actually see it sag between joists under it's own weight from the right angle. I've never used the T&G style, but on their regular boards the blind fastener system that goes with the pre-grooved boards are the way to go. Just don't forget to order a few non grooved boards for your border.

 

[mr47930]

We will definitely be going with the light grey color so it wont be very dark at all. I have heard that it will still get pretty warm in the sun though.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Im well aware of the cost unfortunately. I realize its going to be expensive which is why I want to make sure others have had a good experience. Just a little history, our current deck structure is very sturdy, its just the top boards that need replaced. What I plan to do (or should I say pay to have done) is rip up the old top boards including stairs, replace all railings and wrap the skirt of the deck with the composite fascia boards. Im guessing this should cost ~$6K for our 12X16 deck. Please let me know if you think that price is in the ballpark.

You're in the ballpark. There's a hundred options to increase or decrease the price, but if it's a straight forward as it sounds and the stairs aren't anything crazy, you should be able to get it done for that and have enough left over for a six pack to enjoy on your new deck.
Trex has a great website too. The one pictured above I think was 24 by 14, started as just a face lift, found some rot, lots of poor construction, so we ended up extending it out 3' more, new footings, and built what you see there, I think we were around 13 grand complete to the homeowner and that included extensive lighting and those railing weren't cheap either.

 

[mr47930]

You're in the ballpark. There's a hundred options to increase or decrease the price, but if it's a straight forward as it sounds and the stairs aren't anything crazy, you should be able to get it done for that and have enough left over for a six pack to enjoy on your new deck.
Trex has a great website too. The one pictured above I think was 24 by 14, started as just a face lift, found some rot, lots of poor construction, so we ended up extending it out 3' more, new footings, and built what you see there, I think we were around 13 grand complete to the homeowner and that included extensive lighting and those railing weren't cheap either.

Yea ours is pretty simple and we're not going to go with lights and all that fancy jazz. Its just a 12X16 rectangle so no funny angles or anything like that. There are only 6 or so stairs with no turns or platform.

 

[mr47930]

You're in the ballpark. There's a hundred options to increase or decrease the price, but if it's a straight forward as it sounds and the stairs aren't anything crazy, you should be able to get it done for that and have enough left over for a six pack to enjoy on your new deck.
Trex has a great website too. The one pictured above I think was 24 by 14, started as just a face lift, found some rot, lots of poor construction, so we ended up extending it out 3' more, new footings, and built what you see there, I think we were around 13 grand complete to the homeowner and that included extensive lighting and those railing weren't cheap either.

Do you think Trex is superior to the other brands? I assume they are better than in the past after the class action law suit? Are there any other brands you would recommend? I have heard good things about AZEK.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Azek was one of if not the industry leader in PVC products, although I haven't used their decking in several years, I'm sure it carries the same quality of the rest of their products. I can only speak for what I've recently used and between the Kleer (who now appears to be owned by someone else) and TREX, I'd go TREX. I do thoroughly warn all of my customers first, that this is still a new technology and their first attempt failed miserably, up to you if you want to trust them now...

Just gave this a quick once over, seems to sum up what I have to say....
(broken link removed to http://www.gardenstructure.com/composite_decking)

 

[Wildo]

The price difference compared to PT isn't huge when all is said and done.

Where I work we have composite decking and it is 16x20 joists 16oc and it has sags, splits, and has swollen enough we have to add new drain holes every year. On one end there are three pieces of 5/4 PT decking and they are the only part of the deck that still looks good and I haven't had to do anything to it in the 4.5 years I've been there. It was installed in 2008 and is a light gray color .

In its defense it is surrounded on three sides by white walls and is open to the west so it takes a beating in the summer every afternoon. I've measured the temp as high as 137f.

My uncle who is a carpenter recommends PT and gets plenty of business tearing out composite decks and putting in PT every year here in New England.

My other uncle who is a homeowner swore by his composite decking in Az. However it was installed with 1/4" gaps and joists12" oc.

Hopefully it has improved in longevity the last few years. I think you should thoroughly research it and see if the builders around you could show you some of their customers decks and you can ask what they would do if they did it over. Maybe you have friends or neighbors with decks made from different brands/materials you could consult.

I will be building mine out of PT when the time comes.

Good luck with your project.

 

[kennyp2339]

Not sure if I would install a new trex deck when it comes time to, mine is either first or second generation, It has held up nicely over the years but it get way to hot in the summer (light grey color) it has either deep dirt or a mold stain on it. I pressure wash everything (2) times a year and cant seem to get the thing clean. I do like the fact that the thing is 8 years old and still smooth, no splinter worries. I live in NW Jersey and the new or renewed fad is back to cedar decking, its cost is in between the trex and regular pressure treated decking.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

i have limited experience with composite decking. i researched it a few years ago when it was time to replace my wood deck. after reading all the bad reviews, i went with wood. couldnt be happier, even tho it does take some maintenance. A few years after i did the wood deck, My friend had a house build and it had a trex wrap around porch. I saw it 6 months after it was built. It was full of those famous mold spots that do not go away. It looked terrible. Seeing in reinforced my decision to stick to wood decks. the big orange box store sells a very nice deck coating called DeckOver. Its not cheap but it really does last. I did my moms deck with it and its been 2 years without a nick on it. keeps the water out, and its held up to repeated shoveling of snow off the deck. Had to be dozens of times.

Of course, with that product you lose the nice woodgrained look, and i wouldnt use on a brand new deck but to save an ageing one it works great

 

[sloeffle]

We used the capped composite by Timbertech last year on our deck. Timbertech says that you can do 16" OC as long as the deck boards are at a 90 degree angle to your framing. If you run the deck boards 45 degrees to the framing material they recommend 12" OC. We used the hidden fastener system from Timbertech and it was around $1 a sq ft for the fasteners. I had almost 1k in Concealoc and matching fascia screws.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the major brands. I chose Timbertech because I was able to get a better deal on it than any of the other brands.

 

[ironpony]

IMO, I have not seen a composite deck, that after several years, was worth the expense.

 

[mr47930]

The more I think about it PT wood might be our best option. This is not our forever home, we only plan on staying for 10 years or so. I think even if we go with wood for the deck boards I will pay the expense for the vinyl railing system and composite fascia and risers.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

The price difference compared to PT isn't huge when all is said and done.

16' Length of premium PT decking $16
16' Length of Trex Transcends: $51
Add in all the stainless fasteners for the Trex, and the railing system, it usually ends up at about 4 times the cost. I think that's pretty significant!
I'm sure you can find a significantly less expensive product but I wouldn't suggest using it, this is pretty much an apples to apples comparison. Trex offers a new line that is "thinner" (can't see that being any good, note the conversations above about how 16 o.c. can be a stretch) for about $35 a stick.

PT deck, with a solid stain and a composite rail isn't that unusual. It's the balusters on a wood deck that really make the re-staining such a chore, you only walk on the deck but you're always touching the railing, that's where you're going to notice the upgrade the most.

 

[Wildo]

WOW that is quite the difference in price.

The stuff we have was $21 a piece for a 12ft. I think the brand is "naturewood"?

 

[DickRussell]

We used Fiberon composite decking on ours, now about four years old and still looking good. It has the grooves for use of hidden fasteners. If you use that type of fastening system, however, be sure the deck framing underneath is adequately braced against racking. The use of hidden fasteners don't provide suffient racking resistance. When selecting a product, check also the maximum allowed joist spacing. Some require no more than 16" oc, or 12" if the decking is laid diagonally to the framing.

 

[stee6043]

I built my deck back in 2007 with Trex. My opinion is that it's an outstanding product and 100% worth the investment. I powerwash it every other year to get the mold off the edges and it looks almost like brand new. After the initial fade (took maybe 6 months?) my deck has not continued to fade. After a power washing it looks like it did on month 7 again. I also used the Trex railing system which looks like new today as well. I really don't even power wash the railing other than the east side of my deck due to lack of sun (mold).

My only complaint with the Trex is the trim boards. I finished the front/sides of my deck with the Trex 1/2 x 10" or 8" trim boards that matched the deck boards. These things move with the weather like it's nobodies business. They are far too tall/thin to handle the expansion/contraction without visibly noticeable movement.

As an 7+ year user of Trex I highly recommend it. As close to zero maintenance as I think I could possibly get this side of a concrete pad. Still looks great too...

 

[woodgeek]

I went PT and also used WR Grace joist protector. Basically a 4" strip of their peel and stick stuff to protect the structure underneath. This is in a wet/shady location

 

[billb3]

My brother had Trex ( the old stuff apparently ) dark brown was hot as hades in July on a sunny day and he ended up putting that horrible bright green outdoor "carpet". The ends started swelling and crumbling so he put regular PT and just sprays it with Thompsons every Spring.
I've tried semi-opaque stain and also paint and will do neither ever again.

Maybe white rhino lining spray paint.

 

[KB007]

I re-did 1/2 of our deck last summer and wehn I priced out the trex or other composites it was just way too expensive. This section was 14 X 30 (joist running in the 14 direction) and I went with PT for the structure and red cedar for anything you can see (deck boards, railing, skirt etc. Did it with 12" centres and blocked in 2 places - man that thing is solid.

The other part of the deck needs to be done this year, it's about 18 X 28 - Def gonna use red cedar again, just not sure if I'm gonna do it myself or get someone to do it since it's higher off the ground. Cedar def lasts and looks great imho.