Trex Decking

[regatta333]

We are looking at replacing an existing wood deck with Trex decking, primarily in the interests of getting something that will be as maintenance-free as possible. Looking at the Trex website, it appears that they have several different types of decking (from a composite of wood and polyurethance to 100% PVC).

Has anyone installed this type of decking and are you happy you did so? From what I have read on the website, it does appear to require some maintenance. What has been your experience?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Autoeng]

I can tell you that composite wood will change color just like any wood decking.

 

[regatta333]

I can tell you that composite wood will change color just like any wood decking.

The changing color does not bother me so much since we would be installing grey. It sounds as though it needs to be cleaned pretty regularly (we have two overhaning trees to contend with) and I'm not sure how much of an ordeal that would be to keep it free from stains, mold, etc.

 

[Passepartout]

We have had ours down for 8 years. No maintenance. It's under conifers so does get some sap. You can clean it with anything. We have the 'madiera' (dark redwood) color, so I suppose it could fade some in the sun, but ours happens to be shaded all the time and I see absolutely no fading anywhere. We love it so much that I built a deck of Trex in front of the house over the existing concrete steps so that the entry is at the same level inside as outside. Kind of a camouflaged way of having no architectural barriers in- or outside the house.

Jim Ricks

 

[Jestjoan]

YMMV

Google "Trex complaints".

 

[Passepartout]

Google "Trex complaints".

Yikes! I guess there's possible downside to anything. I have never seen 'spotted Trex', but it must be possible. I can't see how living mold can get through the manufacturing process, though, with the amount of heat and pressure necessary to bond the plastic and wood particles together.

None of mine has performed one iota short of perfectly. I looked all over the huge decks surrounding Old Faithful in Yellowstone, out in the sun with millions of feet and no small number of bison and their excrement on it and marveled at how well it has stood up under those conditions.

As to maintenance, I sweep and hose it off. I do get some needles that fall off the pines over the deck. When I screwed it down, I left some space between boards- maybe 1/8" or so and occasionally I'll take a butter knife along the spaces and help the needles go through if they get stuck.

Jim Ricks

 

[regatta333]

Google "Trex complaints".

Wow. I am really having second thoughts about this after reading a number of these complaints. Is there any decking out there that is truly minimal maintenance?

 

[Makai Guy]

When we built 3 years ago, we went for Trex for our deck. We've had pressure treated wooden decks on our previous three houses and tend to use our decks a lot.

We ARE in S. Carolina with a fair amount of heat and humidity, as opposed to living in the upper midwest as before, but we have been surprised at the need to use a deck cleaner to get rid of mildew and general discoloration about once a year. This is basically no different than the yearly bleach job that we'd always needed to give our wooden decks before. Only now it's just a one step process since we don't follow it with a sealant as we did with the wood.

But aside from that, we like the Trex. It is nice and smooth and we don't have to worry about splits and splinters when we wander out there in bare feet in the summer.

 

[JudyH]

We are in MD and my sister's Trex deck immediately got oil like spots on it that never went away. They supposedly complained to the developer but nothing was ever done.

 

[MRSFUSSY]

Hi ....I was wondering about it being slippery after a rain. Does anyone know if this is true?

 

[gmarine]

I've had Timber Tech composite decking for three years three months with no problems. No fading even in direct sun and around the pool, no stains, and easy to clean. Its much cooler than wood during the summer and less slippery around the pool.

 

[Kal]

We are looking at replacing an existing wood deck with Trex decking...

If you will be just replacing the surface material you need to look carefully at two requirements - the joice spacing and the additional thickness of the composite.

 

[beejaybee]

Nix on Trex

We are not happy with our Trex deck due to coloration changes and warping because the boards were not installed properly. It is 5 years old.

We are going to replace it soon with another material- hopefully Timbertech. DH did some online research that indicated aluminum was the best material for decking- ugh!

 

[Andmilair]

CorrectDeck Channeled

I used CorrectDeck Channeled which allows you to secure the boards without screwing through the board. Has held up well on Long Island. Installed about 6 years ago it does need to be power washed at the beginning of the year and did fade more than I would have liked. I know that they have improved the product since. A deck just looks much better without all the screws.

 

[grupp]

We have Timbertech as well and love it. Looked at at Trex, as well as some other brands, and decided like the look and feel of Timbertech better. However, we did go get the railing sytem from another manufacturer that was cheaper, but can't remember their name off the top of my head. For fastners we used the Tiger Claw hidden deck fastners.

Only requires that it be cleaned with deck cleaning once a year or so. Just spray on the cleaning and rinse it off with a hose.

http://www.timbertech.com/

Gary

 

[sammy]

We put Trex on our last house and LOVED it. Not only was it care-free, it was also splinter-free, maintained its color over our 7 years of owning the house even in our hot sun almost all day long (we picked light grey so that may have been part of it), was smoother on your feet, and didn't get as hot as wood so walking barefoot was soooo nice!

We are drawing up plans for a deck for this house and even thou we know we won't get that extra expense back when we go to sell (and we intend to soon), we're still going with Trex because for whatever time we're in it - it'll be nice to walk on and will not need one single stain job! When it's done; it's DONE!

 

[dgdbloe]

We had Trex installed and had trouble in first few weeks. Had what looked like confetti in it within 1st week then we had 80%of of our boards have bubbles(looked like peanuts in shells) Trex rep came out and said we got a bad batch.
Trex did pay to replace material,haul away old and paid for it to be torn up and replaced.
I find that it stains easily. We use deck to eat on every night from April till late Sept. I hose it down weekly and am told to use a deck cleaner on it yearly but never power wash it.
It is wonderful not to have to worry about splinters but I find it VERY hot in the summer
I really like not have to stain or use wood preserver on it