Trex decking

[wabmester]

We're going to be doing some new deck projects pretty soon, and we're thinking of going with Trex.   I like the idea of no maintenance and long-lasting decks, and my wife likes the no-slip surface.   The only downsides appear to be cost and more flex (and more support required) than wood.   Well, that and the fact that the stuff is uglier than wood.

Anybody have any experience with this stuff?   Are all composites pretty much the same?   I haven't checked Lowes/HD yet to see if they have cheaper no-name composite decking.

 

[73ss454]

We put a Trex deck on my DS's house a few years ago. I't holds up well but I think it's ugly.

3 years ago we used Epoch on our own deck. It has a grain in it and looks a lot better. I do think it's a little thin and weak so put the boards under it closer together. We did the maximum width on the boards underneath and have a little flex when walked on.
It's more expensive than Trex.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I used something LIKE trex, it was in 12 and 16' lengths at home depot. Sold for less than redwood. Had a grooves surface. Came with its own special "non mushrooming" screws that went in like butter. Never needs staining, never rots, never slippery...didnt look that bad. Much better than 2-3 year old redwood unless you do a really, really nice job of staining it every couple of years. I just laid out a pressure treated structure and screwed the boards to it. We liked it a lot.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

We had our ricketty wooden deck replaced (and doubled the size while we were at it) with a plastic Trex-type material about two years ago. There are many competitors now, so the price is coming down. Ours is gray with a faux wood grain, rough, for good footing. The railing on the view side is glass sections for the same cost as the standard bar railling. We do not see an increased tendency to grow moss, but we did have it pressure-washed this spring.

We are very happy with it. It helps that the structure is now safe, too. Treated wood, cross-braced now. (You wouldn't believe what it was before.)

I was working away from home (still am) so we had to have it contracted out. We got the contractor by recommendation from a friend who had a nice job done. We waited until lower-cost competitors to Trex were available. The contractor did it for little more than it would have cost me to do it myself.

Shop around. Get recommendations. Look at other folks' installations.

 

[BUM]

A Trex, or similar material walkway at the beach has been in place for a few years. It really has become nasty looking. Its fuzzy and shows a traffic pattern. I'd guess the sun's UV is taking its toll. Structurally its probably just fine but it looks like crap.

There are many synthetics available. Shop around. If its gonna last forever, you better like it.

 

[brewer12345]

The deck on our house was built with Trex I would guess 5 to 7 tears ago. Holds up well and doesn't require any maintenance, aside from an annual powerwashing to get the algae growth off it (but that's an issue for the siding, concrete, etc. too). The only real criticisk I have is that its a bit "floppy" so if you are walking heavily on one side of the deck you feel it on the other side. But that's minor. As others have said, tehre seem to be a lot of choices now, so look around and see what you like.