Decking material for a new deck

[mithesaint]

I'm in the planning stages of a deck, and was hoping to get some opinions from people who have been there, done that.

The deck will be mounted to the back of the house, and will have areas for eating/relaxing and will also partially encircle a 18x33 above ground pool. I'm unsure of exactly how big it's going to be, but I think it will be between 700-800 sq ft by the time it's all said and done. The deck is on the south side of my house, with no shade at all during the majority of the day. My siding is "clay" colored, so the decking/stain will have to be some sort of brown/cedar color.

It will have a PT wood frame, and I'm going to use some composite/vinyl type material for the railings, but I'm not sure about the decking yet. I'm using some sort of hidden fastener system regardless of the type of decking. My options:

1. 2x6 PT. Cheapest option, probably strongest too. Downside is the knots and the maintenance. If I go this route, I'm going to put a roundover bit on the router and round the edges off so it looks like decking.

2. Prime grade PT decking boards - My Lowes has some really nice decking boards, and I'm leaning this direction. 16 foot boards are about 16 bucks, and there are very few knots. The maintenance will suck, but I don't mind pressure washing and restaining a flat surface. Spindles for the railing, on the other hand, suck.

3. Some sort of composite - Price is a big issue. I can swing the Trex @$40/ 16 ft board, but not the Azek PVC @80/ board. The Trex is the Enhance line, which is capped, so that should decrease/eliminate the mold issue, but I'm not convinced the cap won't separate from the core. I'm also worried about heat retention. In full sun, it's going to bake, especially if it's darker brown. Then there's the fading.

Thoughts? What's on your deck? Would you do it again? I know of the old Trex mold issues, but I think that has been fixed with the new stuff. I hope.

 

[semipro]

I debated this for a long time on my deck. I even considered concrete and aluminum options. I'd probably would have gone with aluminum if it wasn't so expensive.
I ended up going with 2x6 PT from Lowes. I like the knots for character. They have a new treatment type called "Ecollife" I liked. Its much less corrosive than the copper based treatments. I usually round over the edges but didn't this time because I don't want to encourage pine needles and such to go between the boards since I have a waterproofing system under the deck that would get mucked up.
Whatever you do don't skimp on the fasteners if going with one of the copper based pressure treatments.
I hate the look and maintenance of 1x1 balusters so I put together a system using livestock panels. Photo below. This is actually a section of older deck that I put the new guards on.

Photo of 2x6s installed.
.

 

[velvetfoot]

We have a deck that we had a roof and screening put on most of it. The lack of bugs and shade are great.

 

[drz1050]

Why not cedar decking?

 

[mithesaint]

Cedar decking is not readily available around here. In fact, I've never even seen it. I'm sure I could special order it, but I want to try to keep this simple.

Definitely not going with the Trex, at least the saddle color anyway. I was concerned about heat retention, so I bought a piece, and laid it in the sun in my backyard. Yesterday was a gorgeous, 70 degree sunny day, and the Trex absorbed so much heat I could barely stand to walk on it. Don't even want to think about how hot that would be on a 90 degree day. Maybe a lighter color wouldn't be so bad, but I'd leaning pretty strongly towards wood right now.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

I think you'll find this thread covers most of it....

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/composite-decking.142976/

 

[mass_burner]

Won't heat retention be an issue with any material? I have decks made from trex, mahagony, and PT, and they all are hot on the feet when a strong sun is beating it.

 

[gzecc]

I vote for 5/4 x6 pt. Best cost effective option. Build/install it so there is nothing sitting on top of it so when it comes time to replace it, it doesn't become a problem.

 

[velvetfoot]

Talking about fasteners, I have noticed some boards coming up because the fasteners rusted out. They were coated and meant for the purpose. Installed about 12 years ago.

 

[begreen]

I used stainless deck fasteners when I put down our hardwood decking. So far they have held up well.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Is it possible to not have a deck? Decks are always a maintenance item. What about a nice cement or paver patio?

I have a large deck that I love right now (came with the house) , but I'll never build one if I can help it. From now on, I'm all about super low maintenance or zero maintenance construction.

 

[mithesaint]

Is it possible to not have a deck? Decks are always a maintenance item. What about a nice cement or paver patio?

I have a large deck that I love right now (came with the house) , but I'll never build one if I can help it. From now on, I'm all about super low maintenance or zero maintenance construction.

Yep. I have a concrete patio right now that I hate. It's cracked, frost heaved, and leaning towards the house. I considered a patio, but I'm putting in a partially sunken above ground pool, and the top of the pool is the exact right height for a deck. I can walk out the back door, across the deck, and jump in the pool. I'm tired of tripping going out the patio door, and then catching my ankle on the steps as I walk around the patio.

Some things are worth the upkeep. You know, like wood stoves, pellet stoves, and decks!

 

[Swedishchef]

I'd just keep it simple and use PT 2X6. I have friends that used TREX and they say it warps a bit in the blistering summer heat and even flexes a bit. They said they wished they'd installed it 12"CC rather than 16".

Goodfellows has a nice brown color PT board. I'd spray on Thompson water seal, keep the brown color and let er' rip. Also, on my deck, I used deck screws. Just don't oversink the heads and water won't get in and will prevent rotting via screw holes.

ANdrew