At our vacation one bedroom townhouse in a condo community we have voted to replace our current wood bulk head with vinyl that has a 50 year guarantee. Doing this we will have to replace the water side walkway. One of the owners suggested using Trex instead of a wood walkway which we have.
Question: Has anyone used this product? If so, can you come up with a price per foot, yard, etc.? If you have used Trex, I would like to hear your review.
Thanks.
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Replies
Come up with a price? That's like walking into a restaurant and asking the hostress before you look at the menu "how much will it cost to feed me?" How hungry are you? What do you want?
You need to get a professional contractor on site, to look over, determine requirements, make a plan, and then, and only then, submit a proposal.
That said, Trex, and variants, is a great product. But like all other new materials, we'll have to see what it looks like in ten years. I'm sure it would be better than PT after that time. Be sure stainless fasteners are used in that environment.
ProBozo - I knew my question was like throwing a blade of grass in the wind. Just wanted to get an average cost per foot, yard, etc. I e-mailed Trex.com and they sent a very elaborate brochure, which made me drool. I gave the brochure to our condo Pres and ditto.
He's going to call one of the dealerships in the area - 84 Lumber which was recommended in the standard form letter, to check it out. It seems that we're looking at champaigne when we can only afford beer.
Thanks for your reply.
I deal quite a bit with 84 Lumber in W/NY and if it is a general product pricing that you are looking for than I would count on twice the price of cedar which is twice the price of treated.
Dustin, you're scaring me and I'm sure the the condo members as well. I'll put your response in a file I'm creating for the board meeting. Thanks for your help and responding to my vague call for help.
Do you realize that Trex and its' cousins are not structural, so you will need something under it for support? The best you could hope for from the Trex is that it will be the visible walk surface, attached to (probably) pressure treated pine.
Do it right, or do it twice.
I live in coastal south west Florida where during the rainy season virtually every deck is over or near water. I do a lot of work for federal and state agencies that administer parks and preserves all over south Florida. All of these places have boardwalks , i.e., long docks, over swamps and lowlands. They have, over the years, tested most of the non wood, wood or synthetic deck products by inserting 20 foot test sections into their boardwalks and letting people walk on them and the sun and rain fall on them. After years of real life testing all they use now is Ipe.
Rick, I haven't heard of Ipe. Could you explain what Ipe is? Thanks.
Your best bet is to go to Advanced Search and look for all the posts about Ipe. You'll have a college degree when your'e done reading.
Rick, thanks. And to think I won't have to pay for this degree.
Rick'
Whatever you decide to use, take a look at the EBTY HIDDEN DECK FASTENING SYSTEM. The EBTY HIDDEN DECK fastener system was invented for use with hardwood decking, like IPE, however, can be used with all decking materials. Composites, like TREX, have been successfull in the application of EBTY technology. A composite, CORRECTDECK, has a SIGNATURE SERIES that uses the EBTY in a profiled decking that eases installation. A simple call to SWAN SECURE can solve a lot of a questions.
http://www.SWANSECURE.com
http://www.EBTY.com
http://www.CORRECTDECK.com
Also when you do search for IPE there some importers who pre-kerf IPE decking such as THOMPSON MAHOGANY and DIAMOND DECKING and I believe PAULOPE also pre-kerf, to speed installation for a fastener free surface.
Edited 8/31/2003 11:08:50 PM ET by GESMS
" I believe PAULOPE also pre-kerf"
BTW, Paulope is just a trademarked name for ipe. Also Ironwoods is one importers tradename for ipe.
I like trex in high moisture environments. Constant rewet doesn't seem to change the color and when it is wet, it still seems to give you a highly slip resistant surface. Trex is non structural, so the supporting members of wood are most likely to fail before the trex. I would use stainless fasteners near the water to avoid the staining that results from rusting fasteners. In my area of central california, Trex runs about $1.60 per linear foot for 5 inch wide material. Also watch the expansion/contaction of the material. On the end of every Trex board is a label warning that appropriate spacing must be used on the board ends to take into account that a 20 foot piece can easily expand 1/2 inch in length when subjected to a 40 degree rise in temp. With proper structural support, I see no reason not to use Trex since the surface should outlast wood several times.
I apprecite your input. I've printed your response and will provide it to our Condo Pres. to be presented at our board meeting in October. Many thanks.
I built a deck from trex about 10 years ago at my mother's house. She lives two blocks from the pacific ocean, and needless to say, it is a harsh environment. The deck still looks and feels great- well worth the money. Trex runs about the same as good select heart redwood, maybe even a little less. Last I checked, it is about $2.50 a lineal foot for the 2x6 size, and a little less for the 5/4 thickness. Most commercial applications require the 2x6 thickness with closer joist spacing (16"), while one could get away with a little wider joists in residential. Trex is also virtually maintenance free.
Use stainless steel screws.
Ipe is nice too
Amaruoka, thanks for your help. I'm printing all the responses I receive for our upcoming condo board meeting in October. We're looking at about 290' of walkway. If the members go for this, we'll have a very happy contractor.
I own a vacation home on a lake. We had a large wood deck area that needed replacement. My kids constantly got splinters in their feet from running around on the deck, and I like low maintenance when it comes to my vacation home. We installed the Trex. Looks great, no splinters, but in 50 years it won't look like it does now. It gets full sun exposure and just after 3 years I can drag my fingers along the material and have fingernails full of plastic (or vinyl). So I'm convinced it won't last 50 years without breaking down a bit. I still would use it over wood for my application just for the maintenance and splinter aspect
Regards,
Fighter
Fighter, you are the first person who's given me the negative side of Trex. Like you, we get sun all day long. Our current wood walkway is 20 years old and doesn't have many splinters that I know of, maybe because most of us know to wear shoes.
I certainly don't want to be the only one to recommend this walkway then to find out the vinyl peels in 3 years. We have a total of 17 townhouse owners and I don't want 16 of them yelling at me in a few years.
Many thanks and I mean many thanks.
Rip,
You are welcome!
I did give you the negative on the Trex, but let me give you one positive. When the Trex material is screwed down, the screw head will sink into the Trex in a way that it gets covered over by the Trex material. You end up with a clean look where you don't see all the screw heads like you would with wood. That is unless you use blind fasteners on the wood. I still think it will last as long as most woods, maybe longer, and without the maintenance. I just know it won't last 50 years in full sun.
Regards,
Fighter
Proptech and Fighter, more good info. You both mentioned screws for Trex so we won't have to worry about the regular nails used with wood decks. After 20 years the nails are popping out of the wood.
Here's another question to both of you. Since Trex weighs more than wood, would you suggest we replace the supporting wood for the current walkway? (Fighter, I think you mentioned this before.) If, so, that would sure increase the cost of having Trex - right
That would all depend on how "beefy" the structure underneath is.
If the wood on top is wasted after all these years, I would imagine the wood underneath is not in great condition either (unless it is pressure-treated wood).
What size posts and joists underneath, and how many inches on center? I'm no expert, but if it's overbuilt underneath (as some decks are) you might Be fine.
Fighter
Fighter, good and bad thoughts. We're in Ocean City, MD and there is a problem with wood eating worms. According to the City Engineer it doesn't matter how new or old the pressure treated wood is, it is susceptible to these critters. Actually, they don't look like worms, more like tiny beetles that roam around the top and bottom of the walkway. Where the leaching of the bulkhead is more prominent, the worms are visible during the day. The more I write, the more I'm thinking we're in for a lot of replacement and $$$$$$.
Rip,
I just built my first deck useing Trex. I found it to be a great product to work with tools like wood with out the tear out. Be careful with your on centers and add extra blocking when in doubt. Also the material ways twice per lbs as wood and must be stored flat. I used Trex gray and it arrived on the job in various shades it takes product 4 to 6 weeks to weather in.