Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Composite Decking

A big deck I bet the clips can get old quick. Mine was really small so it wasn’t a big deal. Set the clips, butt up next board, fix the clips that got cattywoompus, screw ‘er down. I was using 20’ boards so it was a bit of a pain. Short boards would for sure be easier.

And yeah, those screws suck almost as bad as lumber does today. They’ll pull the threads uber quick. They should upgrade the screws to something with more surface area.

Fwiw, I went 12” ctc. I wouldn’t want to go wider, and with the cost of clips, narrower either!


Trex had lots of problems in the past. Local pro builder said the new stuff is bullet proof. I used Trex Enhanced Natural and used the Transcend for the picture frame boards. Very slight difference in board thickness.

We’ll see.

I’ve seen it used in resorts and places like Disney World, must be the humans or monkeys they have installing it. It looks like t-total sheeit. Warped, wavy, split and blown out on ends, fasteners hot-rodded in 3/4 of the way into a plank.


Certainly the install more than the product but still.

I have Trex decking and it is disintegrating... The surface is coming apart! I haven't called the Trex customer service but will in the spring. I am not very impressed with Trex at the moment!

I prefer wood decks.

They burn better when one runs out of firewood at TEOTAWKI.

The plastic ones will burn, but they leave a big mess in the bottom of the wood stove.

i would read the mfg instructions on joist spacing. some is 12". i tore apart an older one that was on 16" and it had bows in it. not sure what kind it was. it had been on a pool deck for a long time. i used some of it for temporary shelving on 24" centers and it bowed bad. didn't really care because it wasn't screwed down but i was surprised that it would bow like that under its own weight. i personally would use wood but to each his own.

Most composite decking materials, like Trex composite decking, require minimum joist spacing for composite decking at 16" on center spacing for straight decking and 12" on center joist spacing for 45-degree angle diagonal decking.

So I am at 14”

I never knew anything about it. Up until now I thought you used it as a veneer over your old deck

Wood is a hell of a lot cheaper.

Decent composite is $3+ up to $6 or $7 a foot. I can get really nice cedar or AYC/cypress out here for a fraction of the cost. You can probably find some nice exotic hardwood for less money. I’ve simply had my fill of refinishing wood out here.

We put more than a few 2x4PT decks on group homes around Georgia when I lived there. Cheap, stiff, and damn near indestructible when all screwed together.

Also ugly as a sack of turds. Lol.

Don’t use steel snow shovel on it. I know a guy who had his deck replaced with trex got a little snow on it and used his old snow shovel that was dinged up from loose fasteners and scratched da Fugg out of it the same week

I found a bunch of composite tongue and groove decking material that I guess is meant for covered porches. Wondering if anyone could weigh in with experience using it for an uncovered deck.

If your building a deck out of wood you should have a space of 1/4-1/8 of an inch between the decking boards. It prevents water from building up and causing rot.

It will be 11 years ago this summer that I added this two-tone composite deck on the back of our house. Lucked out as I found the Trex decking for $1/linear foot at an overstock place about 30 miles from home, so 20' boards were just $20 each. Couldn't have done it at lumberyard/big box store prices. Went with the gray perimeter as the red boards were not available in the railing materials. Need to give it a good power wash this summer, but I am very pleased with the way it is holding up and looks after 10+ years. I put this deck down using screws and have joists on 16" centers. Bench was built using Dekmate bench brackets.

Been 6 years for us and have not had any thing go wrong with Trex.

It is on the South side of the house in the sun,

Last time it snowed it was a little slippery but wood would have been the same.

Just how many years does it have to last before folks call it good?

14 “ OC framing is trending

We put in composite decking that used black clips back in 2013. Even though we have pretty drastic temperature extremes and in the winter it can change 20-30 degrees in a couple of hours, it has held up great. It is covered with a roof, but there are no sides. It is pricey, but no painting or staining, supposed to last 20 plus years. Speaking of expense, the wife wanted aluminum railing, that stuff is hideously expensive, although I did have a couple of high glass panels on the north end where we have the BBQ.

After replacing 500 sq ft cedar deck twice in 26 years, I put a Trex-like composite down. Had to replace the framing too, ten ft above ground. The hidden clips are set into the groove and shot with a nailer borrowed from the supplier of the decking. Next piece locks into the clips and so on. The decking is not square on the ends as delivered, and it is real heavy. I laid it out such that there are no butt ends by using a contrasting color trim framework. Made a cable rail system with horizontal cables so now you can sit and enjoy the view without all the damn wooden pickets. Sold that place and moved to Florida, and will never want another wood or elevated deck.

some of you guys seem to have had bad luck with PT decking. the only stuff i have had to replace was this schit HD sells called Yellow Wood. it is garbage. literally rots in less than 10 years. the standard PT 5/4 i put down on my camp deck about 15 years ago is still solid. one coat of thompsons a year or two after installation. it has taken a weathered patina but its not ugly to my tastes. the composite stuff my son used on some benches for his eagle scout project has also taken a weathered look. i guess the difference is that you can power wash that stuff back to almost new, unlike PT. plus no splinters, but if you install it right there should be little to no splinters anyway.

i also have some 5/4 i reclaimed from a porch that was built in the 80's or 90's. that stuff is still solid as hell. it had some kind of stain on it. guy paid me to tear off his deck and i made out like a bandit. 16x32 5/4 built on 2x8's with 4x4 and 2x6 railings. i built all kinds of stuff out of that wood and still have some. the 2x were like new. i think in those days they used some really lethal preservatives, unlike today.

Do any of ya'll have experience with ThruFlow composite decking? It is the hot topic of debate here since the last storm. It's designed to let the water rise and fall thru it. It used to be considered very expensive, but with today's lumber prices, it is more competitive.

We build, replace and repair a lot of docks and piers. More customers are inquiring about changing over to it on their piers. I personally don't believe it matters much when rogue waves are being pushed by 100 mph winds in a 6' - 8' storm surge, but some disagree.

The majority of complaints we hear on composites like KFWA is installing is heat retention and warping due to excessive span.

I like wood and we grow plenty of it around here. However, some treatment is better than others. Any plant or company can get a bad batch. But Yellawood, like rem141r mentioned, seems to have more consistent problems. Everwood seems to have better quality control. Both companies have grown from scatch here in AL.

ya you're right, thats the name, yellawood. you see that name on the tag you better head for zee hills. it is little better than standard fir.