Synthetic type deck boards?
Our deck is over 20 years old and I'm considering replacing the old with some type of synthetic or composite board. I don't know a thing about these other than they are rather expensive. Heard some are much better than others. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks
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Trex-about four times the cost of treated wood.
https://www.trex.com/products/decking/0 -
Love our Trex deck. Would never consider wood again. 3 -
Composite is the way to go. Use hidden fasteners they hide the screws and set the board gap. Shop around for brands Trex is the first and most well known but others have come a LONG way in competing with them. Some are even "better" than Trex. 0 -
Been in our home over 14 yrs and composite deck looks new. 0 -
Yes, it lasts far longer than wood, & you never will get splinters. But, eventually, the flooring will darken & you will find it impossible to get it back to looking new. Go the Trex website & see what they recommend to clean it; you can't use most deck cleaners, & you risk damage if you power wash at too high a pressure.
I recommend that you use hidden fasteners; they seem outrageously expensive, but are worth it when the job is done.Neal
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I would read the reviews on Trex Decking first. I hear that the newer stuff is quite a bit thinner than the older Trex.
This is reviews on consumer affairs and it's the worst reviews of a product I've ever read. There's class action lawsuits against the company.
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/trex_composite_decking.html0 -
One year at a beach house rental in the Florida panhandle the deck was some sort of composite and the portion of the deck not under roof was so badly warped and twisted you had to also laugh when you looked at it.
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My large Trex deck is 11 years old and is in just as good condition today as when it was installed. Just one caution: With at least some of the composite decking, you need to have the decking supported on closer intervals than wood. Our DOW replaced some Redwood decking with composite a few years ago. Within 2 years it was very wavy up land down over the original supports. 0 -
In my experience as a contractor Trex is about as bad as it gets. There was a company called Timber Tech (I think!) that made a pretty good composite. I put it on a couple of decks and they still look good 15 years later. It was pretty spendy but it was good stuff. 3 -
If you are in high UV areas and intense heat beating the deck, I would not recommend composite. I have seen the stuff exfoliate after several years and begins to look like brushed concrete with severe color loss.
IMHO, treated wood is better and will last over 50 years if you take care of it.
Decks IMHO should be natural looking since they are outside. Real wood is natural and composite looks cheap.
Composite and laminate flooring is good inside the house.
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Just had this discussion with my contractor last week. He strongly advised against trex;
To try and reduce problems, trex should be installed over joist that are 12" OC not the normal 16"
Trex is awful for warping,twisting and cuping
Trex is very hot in the summer and is very slippery when wet.0 -
Been looking at lake homes and a lot and I mean alot of the decking on the docks ..composite... Most people won't use it because it is expensive. 0 -
When we built our house in 01-02, we had them install Timber Tec on the front porch and the back porch. The back porch is on the north side of the house and dosen't get any sun on it. We have woods on the west side of the property that shed their pollen over the west side of the house including the back porch. That cleans up with a power wash every spring, and the deck looks new after that.
The front porch is on the south side and gets direct sun most of the day even under the porch roof. At first glance it looks nice, but if you look a little harder it has crazing all over the areas exposed to sun. It's not a structural issue, just asthetics, but it's something we can live with.Joe
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Yep, and especially slip hazard.montanajoe said:Just had this discussion with my contractor last week. He strongly advised against trex;
To try and reduce problems, trex should be installed over joist that are 12" OC not the normal 16"
Trex is awful for warping,twisting and cuping
Trex is very hot in the summer and is very slippery when wet.
I can remember an NCO Club from my GI days had it installed. Around 5000 sqft outside and people busting their ass when it was wet. They ended up spraying some of the granular crap they put in pickup beds to fix the problem on it rather than replace. Looked even worse when finished.0 -
Have extensive Trex decking down for over 20 years and still looks like new. Needs only to be installed correctly. 3 -
For the same price, you can get PVC or even aluminum. If your deck is elevated, it provides a dry space below. And no, the aluminum doesn't get hot as it's ribbed underneath & air can get to it. 0 -
Got some at HD for another purpose, but they have now been in NM sun for 10 years (ask which state has the highest UV irradiation and incidence of skin cancer) and they still look like new. I do not know the name but they appear to be a plastic upper coating wrapped around a composite core. Tough stuff, If I were building a deck, that is what I would use. 0 -
Utah is also a high-altitude, high sun, high UV state. Ours has faded a bit but still looks otherwise the same as the day it was installed eight years ago. We had it engineered for TREX, with 2x8s spaced 12". The contractor installed wooden railings using pressure treated wood because he said no TREX railing would last. Today, the deck is fine - the railings are shot. We're going to have them replaced, probably with Trex.
Oh, and ours is neither hot nor slick.
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I'm preparing to construct a small elevated deck. It only needs to outlast me!So I'm considering the cheapest untreated wood I can find.
Maybe some 2X4's and heavy cardboard....I joke but this is a consideration: How long do you want it to last and why?
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bustedknee said:I'm preparing to construct a small elevated deck. It only needs to outlast me!So I'm considering the cheapest untreated wood I can find.
Maybe some 2X4's and heavy cardboard....I joke but this is a consideration: How long do you want it to last and why?
Make sure you use grade 2 cheap lumber with knots in it. And for sakes use regular nails not galvanized. Put it on 24" centers to save some joist lumber. Don't use any metal hangers just nail it the best you can. Make sure to miss a few boards and run the nails out the side. That way the next person knew you done the best you could. Caulk any screwups.0 -
I have built about 20 decks and always used pressure treated. I built one on my house 4 years ago, little deck 14x10 and I was looking at the plastic stuff. It was so expensive I just went with wood. 3 -
Timber Tex over Trek and if you live in an area that gets frost, frost on any of the synth. decks is like a skating rink. Have to be careful when you step out there in the morning and the frost is still on the deck, 'cause if your not careful, you'll be on the deck too! Best of luck, tell us what you decide and show us some pictures! 0
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