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Has anyone here had any experience with composite decking materials like TREX? Now that my wife has managed to free herself from under the deck where she fell through, she insists I find something safer this time. I can't afford that much steel.
Has anyone here had any experience with composite decking materials like TREX? Now that my wife has managed to free herself from under the deck where she fell through, she insists I find something safer this time. I can't afford that much steel.
Could use some advice...
My neighbor has a TREX deck and it can get slippery after a while from wet mold, etc. My deck is constructed of Alaskan yellow cedar (unfinished, nice weathered patina) with no signs of decay after 13 years, but it too can get slippery. I think every deck needs to be pressure washed now and then.
Moral of the story: be informed on the slippery factor.
My neighbor has a TREX deck and it can get slippery after a while from wet mold, etc. My deck is constructed of Alaskan yellow cedar (unfinished, nice weathered patina) with no signs of decay after 13 years, but it too can get slippery. I think every deck needs to be pressure washed now and then.
Moral of the story: be informed on the slippery factor.
Excellent advice, thank you I've since heard that AZEK is also very good.
Ok, is it just me or is anyone else worried about Mary still buried under a pile of rubble in the back yard?
Im not sure which engineered product I have....but it's great!
Doesn't build up the slime as quickly as it's not hygroscopic like wood and pressure washes beautifully. There are a couple hard woods that perform well but are relatively expensive....you know, like a Saturday night at the Casino.
Ok, is it just me or is anyone else worried about Mary still buried under a pile of rubble in the back yard?
Im not sure which engineered product I have....but it's great!
Doesn't build up the slime as quickly as it's not hygroscopic like wood and pressure washes beautifully. There are a couple hard woods that perform well but are relatively expensive....you know, like a Saturday night at the Casino.
She's fine, Walter. I dug a trench this morning, well, late morning, and she crawled out. Don't you just love dirty women? She found the cat we've been missing since last year. Nasty stuff.
BTW, I've been to your estate a couple of times and I believe that "engineered" product you mention may be concrete. I don't recall you having a deck.
Oh and the "tribe" is paying off quite well this month. Took home $4K the other evening. Cost me $2634.16 to get there, but still not a bad return - unless I count the thousands I lost the month before.
Ok, is it just me or is anyone else worried about Mary still buried under a pile of rubble in the back yard?
Im not sure which engineered product I have....but it's great!
Doesn't build up the slime as quickly as it's not hygroscopic like wood and pressure washes beautifully. There are a couple hard woods that perform well but are relatively expensive....you know, like a Saturday night at the Casino.
I just couldn't help myself and had to look up hygroscopic.
Hygroscopy is the ability of a substance to attract and hold water molecules from the surrounding environment. This is achieved through either absorption or adsorption with the absorbing or adsorbing substance becoming physically changed somewhat. This could be by an increase in volume, boiling point, viscosity or other physical characteristic of the substance, as water molecules can become suspended between the substance's molecules in the process.
Not quite the attribute I was hoping for. I'm looking for something that resists or repels water, not attracts it.
I'm thinking I might ask Joe to come out and do a "wrap" in my deck.
I just couldn't help myself and had to look up hygroscopic.
Hygroscopy is the ability of a substance to attract and hold water molecules from the surrounding environment. This is achieved through either absorption or adsorption with the absorbing or adsorbing substance becoming physically changed somewhat. This could be by an increase in volume, boiling point, viscosity or other physical characteristic of the substance, as water molecules can become suspended between the substance's molecules in the process.
Not quite the attribute I was hoping for. I'm looking for something that resists or repels water, not attracts it.
I'm thinking I might ask Joe to come out and do a "wrap" in my deck.
Wood IS hygroscopic....Trax is NOT....that's why it's so good in the PNW.
Ipe is a natural wood product that's quite good due to its higher than normal density.....but it's expensive and the Trax is better if you can find a color and grain you like.
Now go take Mary some soup and for cryin out loud don't tell her you're posting drunk....again.
Phil ever consider installing "non-skid" like they use on uhhh .... boat decks?
Not all boat decks, Mark. I wish they had done it on the '82 Atlas van Lines boat. Somebody (it wasn't Keith, I do know that) decided the deck needed to look better so applied some wax to it. We didn't realize it until we decided to put the Merlin back in. Great fun trying to install a 1500 lb engine with one hand while using the other to hold on. Finally went and got the fork lift and parked alongside the boat so we could brace ourselves and keep from falling off the deck. I do not need anymore broken bones after my last fall.
Not a bad idea for the deck though. Thanks. Can you get me some from work? I'll need about 500 sq ft. Does it come in wood grain?
The nonskid for boats depending on the coarseness of the material is a bit expensive. What we use is about $280.00 for a 24" x 30' roll.
Also when walking on the more aggressive material you need to be wearing shoes.
Yes, I was at the show from about 11:15 until 11:45 mostly just to take a drive after I had finished cleaning up the blue car. There were a couple of Detomaso Panteras that were really impressive.
I wasn't really that blown away by the LaFerrari. I was really hoping to see a 612 scaglietti which is my favorite prancing horse but there wasn't one there while I was there.
The deck at my house is well over 700 sq. ft. on 3 levels and was original cedar decking from 1978. About 4 years ago I needed to replace it. I searched every option and decided on Azek but found it wasn't available here. The old version of Trex had a very bad reputation in the moist NW due to exposed wood fibers in the recycled plastic and mold growing. The new iteration has a polyurethane "skin" in a wood grain pattern. It's really great and durable. It's expensive though.
My deck including new joists at 12 inch centers and all strapped for the high wind exposure (way over 70 mph at the top of the headlands during a storm) was just over $20K. I did all of the labor so the$20K is materials. I did go top end with everything including the hidden stainless fastener system and covered post sleeves. On the upper 10X14 ft. deck off the master bedroom (next level above this picture) I used 1-1/4 marine plywood sealed with red coat waterproof finish then cement board and 16 inch tile. It is an outdoor dry area in our rainy season.
For the rail I routered in a 1" groove and built a T so the 2X6" doesn't sag in the hot weather we get here in Aug-Oct. The rail is 3/8 stainless rod, also very pricey. Sorry about the interference from the rails on the lower garden fencing.
I wish they had done it on the '82 Atlas van Lines boat. Somebody (it wasn't Keith, I do know that) decided the deck needed to look better so applied some wax to it.
Were you at the XXX today?
Phil, you can bet it was not me that waxed the Atlas. Did it make it look better?
I got to the XXX about 1PM on Sunday to find that a lot of the cars had already gone. I did not see any of the familiar faces I have grown to love (figuratively, not literally).
The deck at my house is well over 700 sq. ft. on 3 levels and was original cedar decking from 1978. About 4 years ago I needed to replace it. I searched every option and decided on Azek but found it wasn't available here. The old version of Trex had a very bad reputation in the moist NW due to exposed wood fibers in the recycled plastic and mold growing. The new iteration has a polyurethane "skin" in a wood grain pattern. It's really great and durable. It's expensive though.
My deck including new joists at 12 inch centers and all strapped for the high wind exposure (way over 70 mph at the top of the headlands during a storm) was just over $20K. I did all of the labor so the$20K is materials. I did go top end with everything including the hidden stainless fastener system and covered post sleeves. On the upper 10X14 ft. deck off the master bedroom (next level above this picture) I used 1-1/4 marine plywood sealed with red coat waterproof finish then cement board and 16 inch tile. It is an outdoor dry area in our rainy season.
For the rail I routered in a 1" groove and built a T so the 2X6" doesn't sag in the hot weather we get here in Aug-Oct. The rail is 3/8 stainless rod, also very pricey. Sorry about the interference from the rails on the lower garden fencing.
Phil, you can bet it was not me that waxed the Atlas. Did it make it look better?
I got to the XXX about 1PM on Sunday to find that a lot of the cars had already gone. I did not see any of the familiar faces I have grown to love (figuratively, not literally).
I knew it wasn't you, Keith. I think it was Rich. All well intended, but hydroplane decks were never meant to serve as "Slip and Slides".
re the Triple X show - my daughter, Shelby, always referred to it as "The 3 Kisses" - often empties out shortly after noon. Nice variety of shows though. Jose does a great job at making us feel welcome.
The old deck is ready to come apart. We were going to hire some demo outfit, but Mary seems to be doing quite well demolishing the deck simply by walking on it.
We're going to go with TREX transcedence or something like that. price is about halfway between "basic" TREX and Azek. Or roughly +10%. I was willing to pay even more for the AZEK, but when the contractor learned my age, he said even 16mil plywood would last a lifetime for me. So, to spite him I went with TREX and stopped drinking and smoking and sold my motorcycle.
I researched the reported mold and other problems with TREX with two friends who work and/or own lumber yards and it appears it was a much earlier iteration and solved in the newer materials. As others have warned me, this isn't going to make the deck maintenance free, but it should be minimal by comparison.
Work begins next week. I'm hoping to salvage the underpinnings of the original deck but we'll see. Sure learned a lot on this project. Not the least was to hire a contractor. I considered doing it myself, but Mary figured out all I knew along these lines was hydroplanes so was worried I might build a beached Gold Cup winner in the back yard. Besides, she hates the smell of fiberglass resin.
Work begins next week. I'm hoping to salvage the underpinnings of the original deck but we'll see. Sure learned a lot on this project. Not the least was to hire a contractor. I considered doing it myself, but Mary figured out all I knew along these lines was hydroplanes so was worried I might build a beached Gold Cup winner in the back yard. Besides, she hates the smell of fiberglass resin.
Thanks everyone for all your help and advice. :
FYI Trex has 2 versions of hidden fasteners. The deck boards have a groove on each side and the fastener is the hold down so the skin isn't compromised.
The Plastic T version is strong and child's play to install. The stainless fasteners need are a type of spring loaded hold down in the groove. They are very time consuming and a pain to install. A lot of my deck boards were the full 20 ft. long and I needed to use pusher clamps every four feet and a mallet from my floor nailer to get them to set correctly . The stainless clips and screws are nasty on fingers.
Unless you have very strong sun exposure (U-V drying the plastic clips) I'd advise to use the plastic T hold downs. The stainless ones are about 3X the price.
A contractor friend said he charges a huge premium for the stainless due to excessive installation labor
Off Topic - decking materials
I've since heard that AZEK is also very good.
