Any had it longer term, like 10 years? Hows it holding up? I'm thinking of going with Trex or one of the other brands to do a 500' deck. I've heard reports it an swell over time. It's and 2nd story deck around 10x50, so lots of winter exposure. They make a darker brown fake wood color that doesn't look too bad. Option B is probably 2x6 redwood.

We used the red/brown Trex on our only exposed deck to replace the original 5/4 PT wood. Been about 10 years now. Still in good shape.
Apparently we didn't wash[power] often enough as it has had black spots for about 2 years now that will not wash off.
I would space a tad wider than reco as we went with factory specs and every board now touches the next all the way down[been that way for about 9 years or so].

Perfectly happy with our dark red/brown Trex, too. It's been about six years and other than fading a bit, it's as good as new.

About the only place I have seen it hold up is in the NW if it's not catching too much sun.

In the South it goes bad fast, can't take the UV.
In a dock application I've seen fuel eat it so bad it didn't make it two years with the kids fillin' running cans and their jet skis and crap.
Seen park benches and picnic tables build out of it warp so bad they were junk inside a couple years.

A friend over on the river outta Kalispell did a small deck on the back of his house with it well over 10 years ago and it looks OK. It was a darker brown and there has been considerable fading and it appears to have more texture to it now than it did new, but over all it's holding up.

I'd have to run with 16 inch centers for my joist's just because of how bad I've seen it warp.
If you are where I think you are, you see more sun than the deck I've been referencing over on the river.

Only complaint is if its in direct sun in the summer it gets hot enough you don't want to stand still in bare feet lol

Ours is on 18" centers, no warping.
Deck gets about 6-7 hours daily sun.
I only wish that we would have set the boards a bit further apart as water stands on it.

I have it, and thought I was getting my boards far enough apart, but didn't in places. Mine is on the north side, and the boards are the grey ones, so they get some mold and grime on them that shows. I power wash in spring and fall.

Doesn't sound like many of you know how to install decks, nor follow mfg. installation specs.

Well, I had a Class A licensed builder help me replace mine due to having to support a partial roof to pull & replace, so not sure what you are saying?

Could also be that a lot of us had rather do it ourselves than be ripped off by some contractor.

I made a bench out of Trex but kept my PT Wood deck, Trex is now 11 years old, it's gets about 8 hr. of sun, and 6 months of snow, maybe a 100 degree swing during a typical year.
It has held up well, but the smooth finish has turned into a sandpaper feel and the gray has faded about 50 %.
Last year redid the deck (530 sq. ft.) This time I used Azek, with hidden fasteners over PT frame @ 16' oc.
Much nicer look than Trex, pretty wood grain, I chose a light gray and pictured framed the deck of no board ends showing.
Made it through the first winter with flying colors, cleaned up easy .
It's not cheap, even with builder/architect discount I ended up with $13k into it.
You can see the Trex bench in the second picture.

I've read trex had some swelling issues, and they have a fair amount of warranty claims even when installed properly. I was just asking for first hand knowledge, not chit posting about someones work.

A few years ago, we built a small deck using Choicedek from Lowes. This spring we decided to enlarge it but they no longer carry that color. We had to substitute and the best match we found was from Home Depot. It's not exact but it's close enough. If I was to do it again, I'd go with a brand that's carried by a number of different stores, not what appears to be a store brand.

Good point, I noticed the house brands were ~20% less. Here today gone tomorrow.

Any of you folks ever clean it with and chemicals to help remove the staining you've spoken of?

I'd be afraid of any the harsh cleaning products on the market without knowing someone had used them with good results.

For reference

We have about 5-600 sq' of Trex,about 12 yrs old,and it looks like it.
We did frame at 16" centers and do have a little sag here and there.Probably 6+ hr a day of sun(when we have it,lol).It does stain,and the wood grain has kinda worn off.
When we built ours,HD was the best price but we had a devil of a time with bent/twisted boards,(yes) ours were mostly 16'ers. So we ended up sending most back and went with a quality building supplier (recommended)
Now on the front porch,covered looks much better,but has faded .Overall I think the warden is still happy with it.

That is really clean looking, the stone work on the wall compliments it well.....

So 12 years or so is about the life expectancy before fades? That's less than I thought it would last.


I might just go with oiled redwood them.

This would make it tough on pets....

I'm not sure if the newer stuff is made better now,just stating that ours has faded,and is exposed to the elements.

That's good to know. I don't know anyone who's had composit more than a year or two so I'm curious how it holds up. I know I get 1-2 years out of solid stain, about the same out of transparent over fir. Solids a pain to strip and repaint every year so I'm done with that. I think redwood should go a couple years between coats of oil and that's just a quick spray job.

Redwood would be a good choice. My folks have a small bridge (~25') built out of Redwood. At 60 years old, it's on it's last legs and finally needs to be replaced. You might also consider cedar as well.

Norm,

I painted professionally for about 25 years, 14 of that here in the Flathead. Decks are a pain in the a$$. Laying flat collecting water, snow, sun etc.etc throughout the year eventually wreaks havoc on what ever you lay down. I've used stains both semi and solid, expensive oils from Australia advertised as the "best" ever (and cost like it was) and they all had issues at one point or another. I have not used/worked with the synthetics like trek but have seen some that were twisted and noodly from the constant exposure.

I've come to the conclusion the most cost effective way in the long run is to go with a medium to light colored wood that has some rot resistance, laid down with counter sunk screws that can be easily removed at a later date for easy board replacement and for oil go with something that is petroleum based and thin without pigment or natural oils like linseed oil(boiled or otherwise).

Eventually the pigment, even in semi solid stains builds up after re-coat and begins to flake and the linseed oil creates a food source for mold to grow and that starts working on the wood. In the past I've told customers that even something as cheap as Thompsons Water Seal, if applied every spring after cleaning the decking off will be as good as anything, won't leave a pigment to scrape and brush off and goes on fast like water when rolled and brushed. It might only last a year or two but has no build up and doesn't feed mold and is cheaper per gal. than most. If you don't like it it's easy to switch to something else the following spring since there is no color to it. It takes no time to apply a product like TWS and a 500 sqft. deck could be done in an hour or two with roller and brush.

Dailys Seafin Teak Oil might be an option too since it has the same consistency of the Thompsons' and was developed for the wood and bright work on ocean going boats. I use it on my wood stocked rifles and unpainted exterior wood doors. More expensive I'm sure but might be worth a try as well.

Either way, some options to try.

How about log oil?
I see a lot of older log homes around the Flathead that have been taken care of and look just fine.
What is the most common oil they are using on those?

I have a Teak Oil test going on a deck here in Florida right now, it looks great but is way to early on to speak of how it's going to do in the long run.
I sure am expecting it to hold up as well as it does on my boat trim and some teak deck chairs I have treated with it over the years...but we'll see.

Just couriuos with things like redwood would any bugs be an issue,even while sprayed ,wonder about the underside?

Thanks, I think you might be right on the money for this area. I'll probably pull boards and re-stain the frame, then lay down redwood or cedar deck with a transparent oil. Summers are too short to be staining decks every year.

Both Redwood and Cedar are highly bug-resistant.

Here’s another option

https://www.advantagelumber.com/cumaru_decking.htm

class A builders don't use 18" centers.......

Thank you,
I probably have more experience that 50% of the members put together, in deck and construction.

It's been common knowledge for decades that when using 5/4" lumber(1" nominal)that 12" joist spacing is the industry standard, when using 2" lumber(1 1/2" nominal) that 16" is sufficient. Anyone thinking that the composite material is more structurally sound than lumber, should quit reading the sales brochures.

Soooo, let's look at the common products available today


Removing substantial material from the bottom must help in strength right ? lol,,,,sure, ignore the 12" joist pattern and save yourself $50 on framing lumber. I'm sure it will pay rewards in deck longevity and help eliminate warping issues lol.

Now let's look at Trex 2018 vs Trex 2019 in the same version/model....the 2019 version is on top, must be even stronger huh ? lol


How about the correct mounting clips ?, the appropriate way to mount composite fascia boards ?, how bout butt and side plank spacing ?, planning on running a border strip, that's different mounting and product. Anybody that drives a deck screw through the face of a bonded composite deck product, is looking at failure. Steps ?, that's another conversation.

Fragile as all heck.

A kid can knock a chunk out of it in no time.

Concrete. Holds up well around here. Had my fill of wood decks and all the upkeep.

That won't work around my above ground pool. Unfortunately - because I do believe it's the best choice.

A snow shovel will scratch the heck out of it first time its used

Vertical walls are a lot easier to deal with, especially under eaves. They just don't get the constant moisture and uv that most exposed decks do. As far as what's used most, I ca't tell you because I've been out of the loop for 15 years. I used sikkens on a couple log buildings and it looked good and seemed to last but not cheap and as I recall a little finicky wrt application.

I hear you on the the summer maintenance, a pain, but those thin clear oils can go on fast.

When I worked in Colorado the issue their was UV at high altitude and dry air. Here it is a whole nuther ball of wax. In some ways we can have some of the most harsh weather in the western half of the country because extremes between the hot summers, cold winters and amount of water we get from the PNW.

Glad I don't sling a brush any more, about drives a guy insane.

Link


Bear Board

Link

Light Weight, Dense, Dimensionally Stable, Weather and Insect Proof


Phil

Try reading my initial post......
We were REPLACING decking boards from a 10 year old deck, not building new and not replacing joist too.
The 'class A builder' didn't build the deck, he helped with the REPLACEMENT due to our having to support a 10' X 12' roof while removing and replacing the boards.

And to man up[myself], I mislicked on the 18", was thinking 16"[but it's been 10 years and a couple thousand beers so they may well be on 12's]. I was just letting the man know how our Trex boards held up over the time period he asked.
But hey, I'm just a nobody and clearly you are the only pro here.

That's funny.....you come across as if you are some punk azzed 22 year old kid.

I've ran into people with attitudes just like you'res, it becomes a learning disability because you are under the impression you know so much more than others you've stopped listening and learning.

Most all the time, people that have this impression of themselves actually know very little because they have tuned others out for so long.

Best thing about your type is you are easily detected, around one of my job sites you wouldn't stand a chance of lasting a full day.

Screen name choice is a hint but you think you have more experience than 50% of the members here put together? That says it all...GFY

But, but, but........He is a PROFESSIONAL, clearly.

Mines 12-14 years old, pt 4”x4” posts, pt 2”x6” framing on 16” centers, love the stuff, no staining, rot, slivers etc. scrub it down once a year looks like new...

I can't bad enough things about the Trex decking we had installed. It is coming apart with the top 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch of the deck simply vanished. It is coming apart at an alarming rate. The contractor that installed it is no longer in business.

This stuff is light gray in color...

Actaully you sound like the punk, and wouldn't last 1 hour on the job sites I'm on...but you go girl, you have all the answers lol


PS: Obviously you're too dumb to know what "Bwana" actually means, more proof of your intellect.

Time to rework those railing, brotha....Put it on mama’s list of things you need to do. 😬😎

Cedar is a good answer to a lot of things wet...Not cheap for clear grade sticks, but less than Trex. 😎

🖕🏿

I’ll just re stain em!! 🤣

Treated 2x6 is another option if you don't like composites or the expense of redwood or cedar. If you use treated lumber though, you need to use ACQ approved fasteners or they will dissolve in a few years.

For deck longevity you need to consider the framing as well. If you don't protect the tops of the joists you will have rot anyplace you have butt joints. I use either metal flashing or the more recent rubber-like tape made for the purpose. I used treated joists on my own deck with cedar 2x6s and its been exposed to Flathead Valley weather for twenty years. Far as I can tell it's still solid but it is weathered since I gave up trying to keep a finish on it. Wood looks pretty when its new but if you want it to stay that way you become a slave to it. I keep it shoveled off in the winter but don't know how much good that does. I do it as much for access to the birdfeeders as anything. And I don't have to put up with waiting for 2 feet of snow to melt off in the spring if I want to go out on the deck on a nice March day.

Also, metal flashing looks nicer if the under side of the deck is visible. If you have it bent so its a quarter inch wider than the joists water won't run down the sides of the joists and leave stain marks. The chemical in modern treated wood will react with plain galvinized metal as well so beware of that. Don't know how the colored flashing material holds up when exposed to treated wood and moisture but I know galvinized sheet metal will rust through from the contact side in less than 5 years. Good Luck

It sounds like it doesn't like real cold or real hot climates. I know they have made some improvements on the product the last few years, but maybe it's not great for up north.

Well now, this thread doesn't give me the warm and fuzzy feeling at all.

We're getting ready to re-deck, with new railing, our 20 year old deck. The contractor we used for the kitchen and master bath gave us a price using something other than Trex. Came in at $22K. Another deck company gave us a price on some other stuff that they push and came in at $32K. Went back to the first guy and asked if there was something we could do to get the price down. So he gave us a price on Trex, but I think he gave us an option of 15 year, 20 year, and 25 year stuff if I remember correctly. But that might have been the other guy, looked at too much of it to remember. Anyway, he came back with a price of $16K. I couldn't believe it could come down that much by changing the material. I guess you get what you pay for, but I think she already signed the contract and sent them a check to get it going. Hope it holds up. My deck has 16" oc joists.

One of the first things I asked these guys was about shoveling snow. They all said to use a plastic snow shovel.

Definitely plastic shovel.

In all honesty, the one deck we have with Trex I can't complain about beyond wishing I'd have spaced a tad more.
The staining is most likely our fault for going 2-3 years without a good cleaning.
No chips, flaking, warping or anything of the sort.

Did them Tndeer people builded u a dek?

I built our composite deck ten years ago and it still looks just like this. Very pleased with how it is holding up. Have a few little spots of discoloration here and there on a few of the darker boards, but still cleans up nicely with one power wash/summer. I did my homework before building and was lucky to find an overstock dealer just 45 min. away that had both colors available at $1/foot, so it saved us a bunch compared to local stores. Used the gray perimeter as this material had a Class A fire rating, so no problems with using our gas grill at the far end.

What brand is that Judman, Trex?

No I don’t remember, it’s solid 5/4, not ribbed like trex

Too bad you don't remember. I need to replace my decking next spring and that looks real nice. It's cedar now a rotting away. Always kept it stained too.

LMAO. 😂🤣😎

🖕🏼🖕🏾🖕🏿

So I checked ALL of my decks[about 1,000 sg ft]
All originally built using 5/4 decking. One[exposed now has Trex], the Trex is 10 years old and original 5/4 wood is 20 years old.
ALL on 16" centers. Not one warped board to be found. Not even with the exposed boards we replaced[I reused those in other projects]. I had used a metal shovel early on and done some damage plus I was tired of near annual finish maintenance of those.
I suppose our builders won't be going to the Bwana school of deck building anytime soon.......

One part of my deck is 20+ years old and about 400 sq. ft., and it needs to be replaced... Lookin' at around $850, just for the wood...

I redid my deck with trex in hot and sunny central Florida right after hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. So 15 years ago. It's still in outstanding shape today. And still no splinters. My experience is nothing but positive.

lol, idiot confirmed

Hmmm, liberal much?
Your 'facts' refuted and this is all you've got?
YOU came on here proclaiming yourself as "master" of deck building [see my screen name definition] yet have nothing beyond calling me a idiot.

Liberal ??? wtf does that have to do with construction framing ?.....idiot definitely confirmed

Facts refuted lol, by a moron.

Facts refuted so 'the master' resorts to.........

Nary a word RE; 20 year old decks built out of your specs doing fine?
BTW, my builders weren't told to 'save money' by doing things such as using 16" centers for the decking joists.
So what gives? Why aren't my decking boards warping and or falling in?