I did a deck installation 8 months ago using Lowe’s Choice Dek ( Grey) All went well until yesterday I went to Lowe’s to pick up some more decking to ad a addition to the extisting deck. Well the grey that was produced now a different shade of grey (more like light brown). I realize that Choice dek does have to weather but there is not enough time to make this Light brown go to a seasoned grey.
I went to my commerical sales guy ( he agreeed there was a issue)and we called the manufacturer and their responce was recycled materials used in the process 8 months ago could have caused the difference. Ultimatley your out of luck..I went to three other lowes trying to find old inventory that might match better..no luck..
I know this product can be clean and stained, has any one done this to match existing decking? and what was the result..Waht tyoe of stain..
Thanks,
Mike
Replies
Maybe a new color to contrast with the old? Any kind of staining to match will be tough if it can be done.
I don't know that I'd call it a nightmare. Dye lot differences are quite common in a wide variety of products. Shingles and siding come to mind. I know this is a more drastic difference, but I agree that a contrasting color might be a better option than trying to match.
I've seen this with other composite deck material - actually pretty much any decking material isn't gonna match if some has been exposed to the weather for 8 months and some is bran new. I'd say go with plan A. If they don't fade to match in about a year, stain the whole shebang. The older stuff might take 2 coats where-as the newer only 1.
Buy the new material.
Strip some of the old from the old deck and replace those boards with the new.
Use both the new and old on the new construction.
This will result in a cehckerboard effect. It will get rid of the line of demarkation between the new addition and the old deck.
Lesson learned, always keep some material for the future (repairs, upgrades,...).
"Lesson learned, always keep some material for the future (repairs, upgrades,...)."So who is to pay for the extra material? And where should this extra material be stored?Russell
The lesson is not necessarily your lesson, it is mine.
Is it your deck? If so, the only answer would be you; your deck, your spare materials. I have spare items and materials from several projects.
Even so, it may not be a perfect match due to weathering of the material outdoors. I don't know how large this addition is. It is unlikely you can store spares for a significant addition but sometimes a little goes a long way.
I think you miss my main point - intersperse the new material with the old so you don't get a distinct boundary between the two.
Edited 11/8/2009 1:49 am ET by Mike_Mills
Edited 11/8/2009 1:51 am ET by Mike_Mills
Mike,Sorry if my reply came across a little rough. I did not intend it to.Having some extra material on hand for repairs or what not is not a bad idea. Some things that come to mind are paint touch up, tile repair, wood floor repair etc. So why not decking.I think the lesson is for all of us to make sure we let homeowners know that the box stores buy and sell in lots and come next week the same materials may not be available or an exact match.So, yes a lesson learned.Russell
No problem at all. Take care.
I'm curious, did you know 8 months ago that you would be adding on to this deck and is that the understanding that you had with the customers?
If so, then I think you're on the right track to match it as best as possible or hide it by interspersing or accentuate with a border... etc.
But if not, then I think you have to go to your customer and say "they don't make this particular product anymore, what would you like to do?". They need to take some responsibility in this case.
Maybe you can turn it into a "value-added" opportunity by using 2 dissimilar colors to create an interesting pattern.