Synthetic decking

[JTScribe]

My deck boards are ~13 years old and looking a little rough. Mrs. Scribe would like it spruced up with new railings, etc, and doesn't want to futz with staining every spring. Anyone have any experience with the various brands of non-wood decking? Trex, UltraDeck, etc?

 

[WebSnyper]

Interested in this as well. The house we bought about 18 months ago has a fairly large deck and will need some maintenance. We did concrete, etc at previous houses so haven't dealt with a deck previously. Interested in possibly getting a rebuild with synthetic, and understand it is pretty expensive, but not sure if it would be worth the $.

 

[Chewie]

looking at synthetic as well. My old deck is treated and stained (20 yrs) and starting to warp like a pigs tail, rails are rotting. Have to do something pretty soon.

 

[JettaKnight]

Ours came with the house, but I'd say it's a "buy once, cry once" kind of thing.

Does that stuff expand and contract more than wood? I have one board that snaps #10 screws like icicles.

 

[ghuns]

Built a 16x20 deck and a 10x30 porch at our house 2 years ago. We used Azek. Love it. Love the warranty. HATED paying for it.

For reference, 12' deck board were $51.38 each. 16' were $68.50. The 12" wide X 12' long fascia boards $66.68. To top that off, I had about $850 in Azek fasteners.

 

[gregkl]

Interested also. The last major project on my home is to replace a 10' X 20' deck. I go back and forth on wood vs synthetic decking. I'll wait until I'm ready to pull the trigger and check pricing. If the pricing is not too far out of line, I'll go synthetic.

The problem I have, if I'm going to go synthetic, I want to use the "good stuff". Which means more money, lol.

I am 80% sure though that I will use synthetics for the railings. It's just the decking that I'm vacillating on. And I'm not using spindles for railing parts. I'm thinking maybe hog wire for the sections. Spindles block too much of the view.

 

[JTScribe]

Built a 16x20 deck and a 10x30 porch at our house 2 years ago. We used Azek. Love it. Love the warranty. HATED paying for it.

Is that Home Depot's brand?

Thankfully, my deck is only 14x18. That's still 30-32 boards at $40-50 a pop before you add in the cost of railing, etc. #ouch

 

[ghuns]

Is that Home Depot's brand?

I don't think so. I got it from a local lumber place, Big C.

Azek is owned by Timbertech. It's their top-o-the-line product. Contains zero wood fiber and has a 50 year warranty. It called a "capped polymer decking". Other products that contain some amount of wood fiber are "capped composite decking".

Also worth mentioning, this s**t gets HOT!!!

DO NOT attempt to tippy toe across it barefoot on a warm, sunny day. Your brain will tell you that you can take the pain if you go real fast, but you can't.

 

[MRockwell]

One thing to take into account if you are thinking of just replacing the deck boards- Can the new composite be laid down on existing framing?

I point this out because many years ago I had a customer that wanted just his deck boards replaced from treated to composite. His deck boards were laid out on a 45-degree pattern, which with composite would have required joists at 12-inch centers. Something to look into when looking at costs.

 

[dprimm]

Also worth mentioning, this s**t gets HOT!!!

DO NOT attempt to tippy toe across it barefoot on a warm, sunny day. Your brain will tell you that you can take the pain if you go real fast, but you can't.

There is a composite that does not get hot. I have to get time to find it. That is what I will use to redo our deck surface.

 

[ghuns]

...which with composite would have required joists at 12-inch centers...

The only thing I wish I had a do-over with on mine would be using 12" joist spacing.

When you walk on mine, you can feel a difference between stepping on a joist of stepping in between. The Azek boards really give. They say 16" is fine, but for no more than it would have cost, I wish I'd done 12".

 

[ghuns]

There is a composite that does not get hot. I have to get time to find it. That is what I will use to redo our deck surface.

So they say.

Mine is supposed to get less hot than most. Which I guess means it's like surface of the sun hot and not temperature of a lightning bolt hot.

 

[gregkl]

The only thing I wish I had a do-over with on mine would be using 12" joist spacing.

When you walk on mine, you can feel a difference between stepping on a joist of stepping in between. The Azek boards really give. They say 16" is fine, but for no more than it would have cost, I wish I'd done 12".

I will go 12" OC if I use composite. Like you say, it's not that much extra, a few boards in my case.

 

[Tactically Fat]

My deck color looks just like what ghuns has posted. But I honestly do not remember what brand it is now.

And yes, it gets HOT. Especially ours which is on the south side of the house. It literally bakes.

I know that when we were looking to have our deck rebuilt, I learned that there were 100% synthetic boards, and there were composite boards that were a resin + saw dust mixture.

Depending on which you go with, know that with the composite boards, it's generally frowned upon to drill/screw through them. Why? Water infiltration - which can shorten the life span due to water being in contact with the sawdust. Supposedly. (though the sawdust us mixed with the resin?)

Which brings me to this: Hidden fasteners are damned expensive. They look so much better, however.

But if you go with a 100% synthetic, and don't mind drilling through them to fasten them down like a traditional wooden deck board, then you can save $ by just using regular deck screws.

 

[JTScribe]

My deck color looks just like what ghuns has posted. But I honestly do not remember what brand it is now.

And yes, it gets HOT. Especially ours which is on the south side of the house. It literally bakes.

I know that when we were looking to have our deck rebuilt, I learned that there were 100% synthetic boards, and there were composite boards that were a resin + saw dust mixture.

Depending on which you go with, know that with the composite boards, it's generally frowned upon to drill/screw through them. Why? Water infiltration - which can shorten the life span due to water being in contact with the sawdust. Supposedly. (though the sawdust us mixed with the resin?)

Which brings me to this: Hidden fasteners are damned expensive. They look so much better, however.

But if you go with a 100% synthetic, and don't mind drilling through them to fasten them down like a traditional wooden deck board, then you can save $ by just using regular deck screws.

How do you deal with cut ends if screwholes cause water infiltration issues?

I've considered laying something on top of my existing deck, but the boards are in really rough shape, bowing and cupping, etc. It's far from level.

 

[WilsonMD]

Pay close attention to manufacturers installation requirements regarding joist spacing, fastening methods, decking spacing, etc. The product AND the fasteners can be pricey.

 

[ghuns]

How do you deal with cut ends if screwholes cause water infiltration issues?

Endcuts aren't as big of a deal because the water will generally run off before soaking in.

Even composite decking that contains some wood fiber is still somewhat water resistant.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

My father redid his dock on the lake with the composite type boards and had trouble with them snapping even though they supposedly could span 16".

When it came time to redo the deck on his house, he used a vinyl decking system from a local supply shop. They stay much cooler and have a lifetime guarantee on them. I cant remember the exact brand as its been over 15 years, but they still look like the day we put them on. He just pressure washed it every spring.

The look similar to the Gorilla Decking

 

[Grogmister]

I did the same thing at our last house. stripped entire deck down to the framing then replaced it all with Timbertech. Wasn’t cheap but all you have to do is pressure wash it once a year. I have also done a deck layover at my parents with the thin **** Mendards sell. Its ok but I would never use it on my deck. Dad is cheap and didn’t want to spend all the money. Many options out there and I used the Camo Screw fasteners on my deck. Good clean look. Sorry don’t have any pics anymore.

 

[Doug]

We put in a deck about four years ago. The deck guy used Trex over a treated lumber base. No problems with warping, stains, or anything else. Looks like it will last forever.
But, if you put one of those metal fire pits on it, it will melt.