I just completed an Eon deck and personally would never do one again.
Unless of course the labor price was doubled. It was really labor intense.
The screws with the clips many times stripped out.
And if your typical treated framing members are not consistant, forget about it.
The slightest variance in the joists will cause difficulty when trying to slide in the next piece of decking.
And trying to cut it nicely around a pool. Forget about it.
What do You think is an installer friendly deck board, other than Trex, that doesn’t need to be predrilled.
Replies
Sorry - I have nothing to add, but just wondered if you have some reservations about Trex too?
LOVE working with cedar. However if low maintenance is requested, I always try to push TREX. It is very easy to work with. Nice and soft. Pre-drilling is needed with most other composite materials, but not with TREX. If You choose TREX, be sure to pay the extra bucks and buy Trapese brand screws( check spelling). Ask for them by name at any lumber yard. They pre-drill and self tap for You.
To complete the deck, if a railing is required, check out Vekadeck railing system.
Excellent to work with.
Not the cheapest, but well worth the price. Square ballasters or turned are offered.
Good Luck,
JC
I just finished up a deck on my house and used WeatherBest. IMO, it was the only product that actually kinda' looked like wood. It cuts like butter, and works similar to wood. The only downside, as mentioned before, is the need to predrill. Well, you don't "need" to predrill, but then all the screwheads are going to "mushroom" into the decking.
did you try the Trapease screws? As JC says, they are the only ones I've tried that work right - but I've only used them on Trex.
There are a lot of "new guys" on the composite lumber market these days. I'm reluctant to recommend something that I am sure is not gonna stand the test of time, and need a product that has the "accessory pieces" too: matching railing components, 2x4, 2x6, 1x4, 1x6, etc, etc. Does WeatherBest have a good assortment? Another issue is that a local lumber yard stocks most of the Trex decking board colors - in stock helps a lot, that way I can return excess, and at up to $50 a board, I need that! Special order negates that. Lowes is starting a new decking line that doesn't look too bad. We will see how that shakes out - price, accessories, etc Matt
"did you try the Trapease screws?"
No, I used some composite screws made by GripRite?...wish I woulda' known about Trapease brand, cause the GripRite weren't the greatest. Sometimes the screw would sink nice and flush with the top of the decking, and other times, the screwhead woluld drive down almost flush, but would "spin out" at the end. This left the screwhead about 1/16 above the surface of the decking...not a big deal, but just enough to drive me crazy!!!
I've never used Eon. I've seen it, my gut said, uhh, not. So maybe instincts were good. I've played with Trex some, but nowhere near as much as Timbertech. I do have a preference for TTech, mostly because I think it just looks better. The two work very similarly, and just judging from the smell of cutting or routing it, they can't be too far removed in composition. The T&G boards would save you from predrilling about 99% of the time. The only time you have to face fasten a board is when you have to rip cut it to fit - like up against a house. Then even the trapese (sp?) screws don't do so well. Much better results predrilling - not that the screws don't go in, the heads just end up still mushrooming things. Predrilling yields nice clean holes.
As to that little wave you sometimes get in joists, I've run into spots like that. You know, too late to yank it and replace the joist, so now deal with it. I anchored around it (letting the board float over the dip) then set the saw at a slight angle and cut shims from scrap stock. Then shim under the screw so it doesn't warp the decking right there.
Last useful advice on the T&G. Watch and check layout, or snap a couple of reference lines. The stuff can be tempermental if you're putting it in on a day with temperature fluctuations. I about had a stroke using it once. We had a deck with a split down the middle, and either side was on the diagonal. One day it's 50 degrees out when we started decking one side. By afternoon when we started the other side, you couldn't get the boards tight enough to line up. Just a hair on each one - but by the time you have 30 down, you know what that would look like. So punted and went and worked on something else. Did the other side the next morning which fortunately was nice and cool again, everything went fine.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
I've considered shimming between the joist and the decking to offset the difference, however never got around to it. Not quite finished with a portion of that deck, so I will probably go ahead and shim where necessary.
Sounds like You take pride in your work.
Right on brother.
That's something we shall always identify with.
By the way, That batch of Eon that I installed.
The whole lot of it has to be removed.
I am being told that when manufactured, they forgot to add the uv protection. About 40% of the deck had discolored. Turned yellow.
Now these SOBs from Eon are only willing to replace the material. 450 sq. ft. The labor however will only be reimbursed @ $2 per sq. ft.
The railing needs to be removed and reinstalled. Material removed and tossed. Dumpster to be rented. Fasteners to be repurchased.
I will never urge anyone to use Eon again.
jc....labor reimbursement @ $2.00 sf. I need help with the price per sq ft , it seems I'm bidding decks lower than I should be. Most of my work is in central Illinois, and I understand the variables that are involved in material ,construction and size. Your experience would be helpful........thanks
Well, this $2 figure was what the low-ballin dirtbags @ Eon were willing to pay out for reinstalling the material.
However, for a typical cedar deck that I sell in the Chicagoland area, with a typical raised railing, is about $22 per sq. ft.
I use a pricelist for most of my jobs, and then always double check the final price with plain count of how many man days will be required.
All jobs are different obviously, so it is hard to say that one estimating resource is king. Repetition and a running log of manhours will help in the future.
Hope this helps.
Weatherbest decking with TrapEase screws....my favorite to install and my favorite to look at. (we're talking composites only, right?)
Does weatherbest have a railing system also.
If so, what do You think of it, as far as assembly, or installation goes.
Yes they have a railing system. They sell 2x2 ballusters, 4x4 post sleeves, and 2x4 stock for fabricating your railings. This leaves many options for customizing railings, unlike a system such as Geodeck. Good workability and tooling.
Great to know.
Thanks.
Percentage-wise how does it compare to cedar??
That's a regional thing....give your lumberyard a call, they'll give you a better idea than I can.
I just did a deck with Timbertek. Although I did not predrill (used stainless screws), some prefer too. Here's a picture of it. It also cuts well. On the curved stair treads, I just cut it with a jig saw, sanded the edge with a palm sander, then ran over the edge with a 1/2" round over bit in my router. Cut fairly clean, and the sanding got the edge nice and smooth.
Edited 9/3/2004 11:32 pm ET by abw12
sorry thats so big, i'll try and fix it
here we go
Looks nice. What is the fascia made of?
Matt
Looks good.. Well done on that radius...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Sweet work Brother.
Did ya score the back of the 1X fascia?
To answer all the questions......
AZEK. Tried the stuff out, and i think it's great! of course it comes in 18' lengths and costs about $33 for a 1x6-18'
For those who haven't heard about it, it's 100% PVC. All I had to do was screw it down to the framing, it just conformed to the curve. I used #8 swanze SS screws. Using my deck/drywall screw gun, I set it to put the screw flush — AND you don't have to predrill this stuff — couldn't have worked out more perfectly.
And the AZEK comes in all shapes and sizes, a neat product to look into, although it is expensive.
Oh, I forgot, the curve has a 5' radius, and the deck is 12x12.
I've never done a curved anything before, but I used a FHB article off the CD on curved decks to learn how to frame and cantilever the joists.
Edited 9/4/2004 10:05 pm ET by abw12
What do You think is an installer friendly deck board, other than Trex, that doesn't need to be predrilled.
Have you tried 5/4x6 KD SPF RED?
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?