Decking wood and otherwise

[Tree-dweller]

I found a thread about decking preferences last updated 3 years ago. Now that I am getting ready to re-plank my wood deck, I am looking at the man-made stuff, but I have read some horror stories about fading, mold and outright failure. For those of you who built a deck using Trex etc a while ago, are you still happy with it? Was it worth it? Would you do it again?

 

[Ronstar]

i replanked our deck with Trex 4 years ago and it still looks brand new. I do have to power wash it once a year to get mildew dots off of it. We live near a lake and the increased humidity seems to create the mildew. But it was worth the $3k upgrade and I would do it again.

 

[braumeister]

In my experience, don't expect the Trex (or equivalents) to look better than wood over time, or need less maintenance, but it will certainly last longer, which is not a trivial consideration.

 

[bssc]

We had a wood deck on a concrete pad but it started splintering plus it would get really hot during the summer (in Houston). We replaced it with brick and were really happy.

 

[ERhoosier]

I would vote for man-made decking. We live in Midwest & had some deck work done in wood around same time neighbors did. Their deck/stairs still looks great while ours is starting to look like it needs redo. If you can handle the extra materials cost it's prob worth the investment.

 

[heeyy_joe]

I would do Trex again.

 

[REWahoo]

Your profile says you are in New England so probably not an issue for you, but if anyone living in the south is considering Trex, be aware that it gets very hot in the summer sun. Much hotter underfoot than wood decking.

 

[LakeTravis]

I bought Trex decking 14 years ago and installed it very close to lakefront water. It's the lighter gray in color so it wasn't hot to the feet.

After 4 years, I removed it and stacked it up.

Then, 6 years later, I unstacked it and built another deck with it, again close to lakeside water. After powerwashing it off, it looked just like it did the day I bought it.

Today - 4 years after I built that second deck - it still looks fine.

Sure, I paid a premium for this decking in 1999. And you'll pay a highter premium today. But I would certainly do it over again.

 

[NC 57]

In 2003 I built a house. I asked for Trex on the deck. The builder substituted Rhinodeck which he assured us was just as good. After two years it was mildew spotted. The mold is deep in the composite material. Apparently the material includes wood particles, along with plastics, which hold moisture and feed the mold. it is impossible to clean or wash the stains away.

Neither the builder nor Rhino stood behind the product. In fact you can read many Rhinodeck horror stories on the Internet.

After 10 years it looks terrible. I'm planning to replace this summer and considering Trex.

 

[sheehs1]

I have three wood decks and all three still look great. Of course, I have stripped and re-stained them every single year for 21 years. When I do, they look brand new. I have to do this as the decks are under trees and I just don't like how they look after months of winter.
At some point, I will replace them due to the yearly maintenance. Just finished cleaning, brightening and re-staining two of them and will start on the third one today.

I will replace them with brick which should never need any real maintenance. Here in the south, I've seen Trex that doesn't look good, especially around a pool where people have used oil based sun products, or has mold or mildew. So Trex needs maintenance too!

 

[VaCollector]

Built my deck 3 years ago with Trex and the only thing I have to do each spring is use the power washer and it looks brand new again...

Would I do it again?? Hold on....

Yes, my DW says that I WOULD do it again!

 

[Tree-dweller]

Good point! DW is the ultimate arbiter. Composite is what she wants, so that's most likely what I will be installing. I'll pay the premium now to avoid a lot more maintenance in the future.

 

[BOBOT]

If $$ is no object check out ipe or similar exotics.

 

[tjwolf]

Paid a premium for decking also, only redwood. Represented as lasting forever! Now 22 years later have replaced most of the planks with treated pine and redwood color stain. Have two boards out now waiting for warm weather in order to stain them. Would never have real wood decking again.

 

[Free To Canoe]

How does Trex hold up in the snow? Wooden stairs that I have now need to be repainted every year.

 

[Ronstar]

How does Trex hold up in the snow? Wooden stairs that I have now need to be repainted every year.

Great. I have shoveled snow off mine with no scratches,etc so far, but I've only shoveled it a few times in 4 years.

 

[KingB]

Good point! DW is the ultimate arbiter. Composite is what she wants, so that's most likely what I will be installing. I'll pay the premium now to avoid a lot more maintenance in the future.

How much does trek costs compared to wood? 2x, 3x?

 

[Donzo]

I put in a large deck 10 years ago - pressure treated wood as foundation and grey trex on top all around including on top of the railing. It looks the same now after yearly power washing. The stair fronts were done in redwood and look old/worn. I plan on replacing them with trex in the near future. Trex is the way to go

 

[Sesq]

I hate, hate, hate my composite deck. It isn't trex (its whatever the builder put in), but it is a mold magnet and I just spent the weekend scrubbing the mold off. It has faded a lot in five year, the scrub project will be repeated at 1-2 more times this year.

Since my mortgage rate is so low, I am strongly considering ripping it out with next year's bonus instead of paying down the loan.

 

[rbmrtn]

I guess it's basically a personal choice... being cheap I did a wood deck using PT 2x6 for planking ~12 yrs ago. Still looks ok to me, not rotted. pressure washed it last month.

Here's a landscape sites take on composite...
Composite Decking vs Wood

 

[ronocnikral]

I've never owned Trex, but I've unfortunately had experience with it.

My parents have owned 2 homes with composite decking. My mom swears by TimberTech over Trex. She didn't get the spots with TimberTech.

My BIL had a Trex deck. I traveled a couple thousand miles to visit family on thanksgiving, and he gave me the kind invite to come help him rip his trex deck off and put on new trex. The stuff was coming unglued and basically crumbling. Trex was kind enough to replace the material, but labor was up to him. Hence why I got invited.

My FIL/MIL have a trex deck which is falling apart (same thing BIL had). Trex will again supply new material, but the labor they won't. I am glad to see MIL is dragging her feet on this on.

 

[keegs]

I built our cedar deck about fifteen years ago. The cedar decking lasted about 10 years. I didn't want to spend the extra money for the composite so I put down PT 5/4. I use bleach and a scrub brush to clean it once a year or so. It's gotten a nice silvery color. It's fine with me. I think the 12x24 deck cost me approx. $500 to redo with PT.

 

[Tree-dweller]

Update: We went with a product called Moistureshield. "Rustic Cedar" is the color, and we love it. Only a year in, so it's difficult to rate it properly, but it was easy to install, is comfortable under bare feet, and cleans easily. Not cheap, a little under $50 per 16 ft 1x6, but I supplied the labor.

 

[Chuckanut]

I built a deck 30 years ago with treated wood and some untreated wood. The untreated wood has all been replaced. Some of the treated wood is now showing signs of rot, but 80% of it is still good.

I have read that the fungus that rots wood will eat the wood particles in many of the man made composite materials, maybe not as fast as untreated wood, but they do eat it. So... when I replace the deck I might put in pavers, very little maintenance required, they don't rot, and they are self draining. So, I'm told.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

A lot is personal preference I guess. Have a friend who installed the composite stuff, after a few years it just looks "plasticy" to me with some boards warping and bending. I just rebuilt an old deck this spring and chose redwood (stained and sealed) with pressure treated supporting structure underneath. Need to make sure only pressure-treated touches soil. I just love the look of real wood, redwood especially. When it is new it looks great, when it is old and turns grey it still looks great. I don't know, I just really dislike the plastic stuff. And later if the wood starts to look bad, I can resurface it. Can't do that with plastic. Sure I will have to seal it every couple of years, but hey, I am retired now, what else am I going to do? I just LOVE the look of the redwood, and how the color changes with the changing angle of the sun and shadow and light, the interesting texture, no two boards alike. So pleasing to the eye and the touch.