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Composite decking

asopasop Member Posts: 9,031 ✭✭✭✭
in General Discussion
looking at  the Trex product.  Any comments would be appreciated.  Thanks 
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Comments

  • Butchdog2Butchdog2 Member Posts: 3,834 ✭✭✭✭
    OK stuff but you must follow exact installation instructions, just like all man made stuff.
    Ain't cheap either.
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  • Nanuq907Nanuq907 Member Posts: 2,551 ✭✭✭✭
    I have Trex, fantastic stuff.  Snow shovels off real easy.  Screw heads eventually come up a bit and the shovel breaks them off.  It will build up a fine grey-green lichen in the "grain" and a power washer can take it off.  Strong stuff too.  My deck is on 3" pipe pilings and heaves up 1.5" in the middle every winter and the Trex will lift the 2x12s off the support beams without complaint.  I still have to paint the railing but the deck stays purty.
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  • Rocky RaabRocky Raab Member Posts: 14,510 ✭✭✭✭
    Seven years on my Trex deck now, and not a single complaint. This is mountain country with extreme sun UV, and it has faded a bit but that's all. You have to support it with floor beams closer than for wood, and you do have to use the special fasteners.
    I may be a bit crazy - but I didn't drive myself.
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  • Smitty500magSmitty500mag Member Posts: 13,623 ✭✭✭✭
    I would read these reviews on Trex on Consumer Affairs before I made my decision.

    https://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/trex_composite_decking.html


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  • cbxjeffcbxjeff Member Posts: 17,644 ✭✭✭✭
    I've had mine for about 10 years and love it.  I had a contractor friend install it and everything went well. Yes, it does fade some but after all this time it's quite presentable.  I haven't had problems with the screws raising up.  Perhaps it has to do with the material (or spacing) the the screws are secured into.  
    It's too late for me, save yourself.
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  • NeoBlackdogNeoBlackdog Member Posts: 17,300 ✭✭✭✭
    We live in an area where we get temps from -10 (sometimes less) to +105.  I have yet to see a Trex deck hold up.  
    Tough to beat redwood or Alaskan yellow cedar.
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  • Rocky RaabRocky Raab Member Posts: 14,510 ✭✭✭✭
    Neo, we get those temps, plus blazing, nuclear UV rays. Trex holds up just fine here.
    I may be a bit crazy - but I didn't drive myself.
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  • SW0320SW0320 Member Posts: 2,552 ✭✭✭✭
    cbxjeff said:
    I've had mine for about 10 years and love it.  I had a contractor friend install it and everything went well. Yes, it does fade some but after all this time it's quite presentable.  I haven't had problems with the screws raising up.  Perhaps it has to do with the material (or spacing) the the screws are secured into.  
    I have my TREX deck for almost 20 and yes it has faded some but it has held up to heat and snow. As said here installation is the key.
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  • cbxjeffcbxjeff Member Posts: 17,644 ✭✭✭✭
    I agree SW0320.  That's why I didn't do it myself.  Man's got to know his limitations.
    It's too late for me, save yourself.
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  • nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,892 ✭✭✭✭
    I had mine installed 20 years ago.  I'm in the Mideast, where we get a wide range of temps.  It's held up well, but it's faded & there's no way to keep the green crap from growing back every year.  I had to power wash it with deck cleaner, EVEN THOUGH THE MANUFACTURER SAYS NOT TO DO THAT.  You may do better if you avoid textured surface material.  Use the (expensive) hidden fasteners, the final appearance is worth the extra $.
    Neal
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  • NeoBlackdogNeoBlackdog Member Posts: 17,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Rocky Raab said:
    Neo, we get those temps, plus blazing, nuclear UV rays. Trex holds up just fine here.
    Interesting.  A number of the ones I've looked at/replaced over the last 20 years had fairly long runs and there were gaps at the board ends sometimes to the point that it would slip off the joist.  Lots of flaky/faded surfaces.  
    I've never installed it myself (did do one with Evergrain material, which I loved) but have replaced a number of them.  
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  • Smitty500magSmitty500mag Member Posts: 13,623 ✭✭✭✭
    Flying Clay Disk said:
    Neighbor widow just had to have her Trex deck replaced (less than 10 years old).  Thing was so springy you could have used it as a trampoline and the joists were on 16" centers.  
    I've read some reviews that people wrote that said the old original Trex was approx. 1/8" to 3/16" thicker than the new stuff. I guess that would explain the sagging on 16" centers. 
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  • 4205raymond4205raymond Member Posts: 3,447 ✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2020
    My Cedar deck is over 40 years old and still going strong. I had heard that Trex cut down on thickness and that was causing warping.( Maybe a fastening, installation, or joist spacing problem?)

    For years I used Sikkens natural preserative coating because I wanted the natural grain to show through and about five or six years ago they changed the formula. (probably a OSHA thing) Price is outrageous and new stuff not as good as old stuff. Every three or four years I would give it a sanding and recoat. Not a good idea if you are 77 and have COPD. I have replaced a couple of small pieces which are a PITA because they don't match the thickness of old pieces that have been sanded. I don't have a planer. Deck boards were put down with galvanized nails and some stick up which I reset before restoring. Best to use screws. I am not positive which cedar but I would say white as opposed to Western Red Cedar from British Columbia for siding on my house in 1941.

    I think this time around I won't sand to preserve grain effect and solid coat without sanding. I am getting too old for this BS. Not many decks will outlive their owners. Reminds me of my neighbor at 2nd home in Virginia. He was replacing cedar fence post and barb wire for his Black Angus cattle. He is way up in age and helped his dad install those fence post way over 50 years ago.---------------------------------Ray

    Chimney block for support
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  • Rocky RaabRocky Raab Member Posts: 14,510 ✭✭✭✭
    It's odd how different some products work for different people. I'm not doubting any of the testimony here, just saying that it's weird. My Trex deck is in great shape. The "treated" wood railing they installed is rotted and toast. At the time, they said composite railings were no good and highly recommended wood for that. Now...I'm leaning towards replacing the wooden railings with some composite or metal.
    I may be a bit crazy - but I didn't drive myself.
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2020
    Not sure of the brand name of what I have, but it came from HD and has a vinyl topping over the composite board.  It has been outdoors in daily sunlight about 300 days a year (sometimes we have a cloud or smoke) in New Mexico at 5200 feet elevation, for over a decade and looks essentially like the day it did when I toted it home.  No twisting, no warping, and very little color fading.  May be one of the best engineered  things I ever bought.
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  • Nanuq907Nanuq907 Member Posts: 2,551 ✭✭✭✭
    After reading these comments I'm wondering if we have the same material?  My deck sits on 3" schedule 80 pipe sunk 40 feet into the permafrost.  On top of that I have treated 4x12 beams in formed steel c-channel welded to the pipe.  On top of the 4x12s I have treated 2x12s on 16" centers.  The Trex is screwed to that.  I have zero bouncing or flex, my deck is absolutely rigid.  My temps range from -50F to 70F up here in the mountains, and I suppose our UV is pretty minimal.  It doesn't fade, it doesn't bounce or move around, it does build up the grey-green discoloration over about 2 years, and I suspect it will outlast me.  I have the square head screws holding it down on the 2x12s and when it's really cold the Trex apparently shrinks leaving the screw heads slightly proud of the surface.  Then my snow shovel catches on them and I break a few off each winter.  If I wasn't such a lazy SOB I could go out there in the "summer" and give each screw a nudge with my Makita.  Screw that (literally).  Life is too short.  My deck is fine and my Trex will live longer than I will.
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  • Nanuq907Nanuq907 Member Posts: 2,551 ✭✭✭✭
    He Dog said:
    daily sunlight about 300 days a year (sometimes we have a cloud or smoke)
    I officially hate you.  300 fricken DAYS of sun?  We have entire months with zero sun because it's below the horizon.   We have a thing called "cabin fever" because of lack of sun.  On Feb 11th, my Dad's birthday, we celebrate because the sun comes back in our windows for a flash.  A moment.  It's all we ask for.  Please sir, imagine Oliver Twist.  Just a little sun?

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