I am building a new house on the Chesapeake Bay. On the water side of the house I will have 70 feet of covered porch. The porch is framed with 2×10’s on 12 inch centers. I intend to deck the porch with a composite decking but I am bewildered by the range of products and my inability to find unbiased advice. Every product I have looked at someone swears by it and someone swears at it. I have heard puckered fastner holes, sagging(even on 12 inch centers), discoloration caused by exposure to the elements and assorted other faults. I plan to use concealed fastners and tend to favor the plank type material versus the molded products.
Any help or warnings will be appreciated.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
The best tool for straight, splinter-free cuts is made even better without a cord.
Featured Video
Video: Build a Fireplace, Brick by BrickHighlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Trex. I love it better then any wood deck I had. Just like brick, once installed not much else has to be done to it.
Tried to post a message but I think it got lost out there with the photos of your trex decks (which is why I got sent over to this site from this old house site by Bungalow Bob who promised me visions of sugarplum decks). Any chance of seeing some of your work? I have not been able to find any pictures showing stairs up close.
Anyway, I am writing from the rainy side of Oregon where an expensive treated lumber exterior stair way got itself all rotten in 10 years. It was not built well and part of it, it turns out, was lounging on unadulterated soil/mud. (Boy do I wish I could get that contractor for the work he did.)
So my contractor suggested I look into trex for building the new stairs. He said he does not have any experience with it but has been hearing good things about it. My house is 100 years old this summer. It had 12 inch bull nosed(is that the term for rounded edge) treads. I see that I can get Trex in 10 inch boards for only half an arm and leg, that it needs risers every 16 inches of the 9 foot length. Is this the way I should go?
Appearance is important. Cost is important. And I am nearing retirement so longevity of materials is important. And then there is the mold question... Thanks for your thoughts. Ruth
It was not built well and part of it, it turns out, was lounging on unadulterated soil/mud
Ruth, while these composites are better with rot, I don't think they will help you if you get a structure touching the ground.
The problem is that the composites are really only good for the decking. You still need a conventional (albeit sturdier) structure.
When you build the structure out of PT or cedar, you still need to ensure it does not rot. What good will all that expensive decking be on a rotten frame?
Since you have been through this pain once already, I will assume you will be quite discriminating with your contractor!
Make sure your deck sits on concrete piers or pads. These should be isolated from the wood. Some people put the framing on metal plates. I do this and go one step further. Wrap the ends or edges of the wood, in contact with the plates, with rubber flashing membrane. Make sure not to cover the wood so that it traps moisture, just to break the contact with the ground.
Thanks for all the ideas and help. I have passed them on to my contractor. The last time these stairs were built, it was part of the closing agreement when I bought the house. I also had not lived in this part of the country so I both had little control over who did the work and little knowledge to supervise it. This time we got some good concrete piers laid.
We were not able to find the wider boards here, although they are listed on the company web page so we are going to use the six inch wide ones.
I assume that the "ice and rain" or was it "ice and water" is the same sort of stuff as the membrane that Rein is writing about.
I did decide to go with the trex for the stairs. It will definitely be a different look. We figured that it would cost about $130 more. However, I have been having to paint almost yearly and when I add in time and materials, it feels like this is the right way to go.
If it looks good and I can figure out how, I will send some pictures. Ruth
I have Trex in my back yard. The good: doesn't crack, twist, chip, rot, peel, or splinter. I can be laid directly on the ground because it is impervious to insects (including termites.) The material "skins" over screw heads over time to the point where they are hardly noticeable. Stains can be sanded out because it cuts and sands like wood (it's made of sawdust and plastic grocery bags.) The bad: expensive, but if you take into account how many problems it solves over other materials it's worth it. It does change color, e.g., ours went from tan to a light gray, and some boards are changing color more slowly (we haven't been able to figure out why.)
If you do install it follow the guidelines set up by the manufacturer in terms of spacing, distance between runners, etc. You can do it yourself, but if you do hire someone make sure he/she is familiar with installing it and follows the guidelines.
If we had to do it over again we would still use it. Good luck!!!
been building decks for 30years...all kinds.. all materials.. i love Trex
if you want to see some Trex decks .. go to the photo gallery and look up Pro-decks pictures...
BTW.. the sea cliff deck shown of the trex literature is NOT computer generated.. it is a scale model placed on the shore...the Trex decking is about a 1/4" wide.. from my Trex sourcesMike Smith
Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hey Mike,
Since you have experience with Trex can you tell me why some boards aren't "graying" to the same level as the majority? They were all purchased from the same supplier at basically the same time.$ Bill
bill, how long ago.. and are some in the shade ?
usually take a full summer season to get the color change... and .. like cedar shingles , the exposure will determine the ultimate color..
do you have Winchester Grey or the new Madeira ? I've only used the grey.. and it winds up a nice silver grey like "Cape Cod Grey"Mike Smith
Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike,
It was insalled last Aug. The ones in question are all in full sun. There are only 10 or so and they all are next to each other. The rest of the area is in full sun also. Now that I'm thinking about it we had 2 deliveries several days apart from the same supplier. The only thing I can come up with is that there were 2 different lots.$ Bill
Mike,
Thanks for the info on the sea side deck. I've been wondering about that for a while. Imagine how long that would take to laminate...
Jon Blakemore
Edited 4/12/2002 12:03:49 PM ET by Jon Blakemore
Hey guys,just a thought on the Trex material,,I was surfing around deck builders sites and I found one with an area called Bad Ideas,,you know bad foundations,poor framing things like that,,he had a picture of a green,,I mean like a pool will get when you go on a trip for a few weeks,,green with mildew,,nothing is maintaiance free,,,and then of course there is the Trex co. business pratices of the last year or so,,I have been out on a service call for a trex deck that had like black mold patches that looked like it was coming from inside the material,,we used a citric stripper and an oxlic acid wash on it,,in two months it was back, we ended up puting TWP stain/sealer on it it has a good mildiside in it, and that was about a year ago and it seems to work..just for some input the Timber Teck T&G material is nice for no fasseners showing the only problem we have had with it is installing it too close to the ground, it needs a lot of ventlation,,good to talk to you guys!! John Hyatt deckmastersllc.com