SORT OF an outdoor question... Sick of replacing boards in my deck. Also need new railing, etc. Deck is elevated off back of a split level, probably 4 feet off the ground. I'm thinking I want to either get Duradek installed with new railing of some sort, or maybe go for those composite or plastic boards and new metal railing. I'll measure tonight but I'm thinking the deck is probably 250 sq ft, rectangle. I'm no contractor but I might be able to handle some simple DYI.
Experience with either? Rough costs? Pros/Cons? Recommendations? Any advice welcome. Gracias.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DevilsAdvocate
In this case Oki has cut to to the exact heart of the matter!
It's been quite a few years since I put Trex down, so things may have changed and it might be different in CA, but four things about it turned me off.
1 to get a really good natural color and grain texture was way too expensive.
2 areas exposed to direct sun light got so hot it light a match.
3 it's heavier in weight than wet treated lumber and never gets lighter.
4 it bows under it's own weight at 16" centers.
SORT OF an outdoor question... Sick of replacing boards in my deck. Also need new railing, etc. Deck is elevated off back of a split level, probably 4 feet off the ground. I'm thinking I want to either get Duradek installed with new railing of some sort, or maybe go for those composite or plastic boards and new metal railing. I'll measure tonight but I'm thinking the deck is probably 250 sq ft, rectangle. I'm no contractor but I might be able to handle some simple DYI.
Experience with either? Rough costs? Pros/Cons? Recommendations? Any advice welcome. Gracias.
I've done both. Composite decking is brutally expensive. About 3 times the cost of a quality clear premium cedar PLUS if you have to skirt the deck, add any moldings etc... there is not always the options of different thickness, widths and profiles.
I also think it doesn't really look all that great.
I would consider putting down a cedar surface and applying a nice coast of water seal - it will last years.
For railing there are all sorts of maintenance free options. I like the wrought iron (fake) picket kits - again, more expensive, but easy to install.
I just went through the same thing over the weekend. I replaced my decking with Verona boards and Regal Aluminium and glass railings. The deck is only 76 sq/ft the cost was $1600.
Doing my deck in the capped composite this upcoming weekend, roughly the same size, going to run me about $2500.
What you're complaining about Okotokian is what I'm trying to avoid with a conventional deck. I enjoy my days off fishing our short summer, the last thing I want to do is stain the deck every few years.
Been reading a lot of online reviews about Trex, which is supposed to be the best, but people have nothing good to say about it.
To combat all the composite complaints, I'm going to go with a light colour, and do 12" centers I think. The brand I'm going with is from home depot "Veranda", their deck boards have grooved undersides which will hopefully cut down on the weight. Putting the order in today, I'll let you know the exact cost. Has a 25 year warranty too
I agree with EZM, wood is good. :-)
I rebuilt my deck with cedar about 10 years ago still looks good.
I did stick with the old ways of using galvanized nails instead of deck screws to
make it easier to replace/rebuild after 15 to 20 years of use.
Last edited by Bonescreek; 05-23-2017 at 02:43 PM.
As part of reducing maintenance around the house we removed our west facing cedar deck and went with composite.
Pro's -- very easy to clean, we were able to put a pattern in the layout that would be difficult to do with wood, no splinters, easy to create a smooth edge for finish, retains heat so light snow / frost melts off, easy to clean
Con's -- facing west in the heat of summer ours (brown finish) gets to hot to walk barefoot on, needs more support (12 vs 16 and 8 in high foot traffic areas), COST, installation needs to be very level and square, slippery with frost
Not a lot of difference in terms of type of skill to install
I rebuilt my deck a couple years ago using composite. If given a choice, i would go back to wood.
With that said, I am not a construction guy, and due to costing, took the job on myself. Because I try to make my wife happy, did a herringbone, and skirted it, and had cedar with black bars for rails. The options are limited (as in case, the skirting, you have their skinny option, or go rogue like i did).
My biggest problem was with the cuts. Unless i was doing a straight cut through the board with a mitre saw, the board would melt and not make a clean cut. several times, after the blade had gone past, it would melt back together behind it. This was with a jig saw to cut out notches for example.
The other issue was with the board connectors. I found that with the pieces you buy from the company, it leaves too big a gap between the boards. I have tried several other options that aren't really designed for those boards, so no luck. I would rather the boards be very close together, so am not trying to figure out a way to secure them from underneath. Again, the design of the board (i'm sure there's variances where it's solid like a 2x4, but mine is ridged on the sides) may allow for different options.
I'll take some pics later today to show where my frustration levels are.
Again:
- construction skill level: 3
- decks built prior: 1 (all wood)
- tool quality: 7
- stubborn as a mule level: expert
Cheers
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~Men and fish are alike. They both get into trouble when they open their mouths.~
Wags, if I remember correctly we used a chop saw to cut the trex, the blade
was most likely carbide tipped same as used for treated lumber.
Don't remember having to have to do any notching..
only thing I can think of would be to try a larger/wider tooth gap on the jig saw
blades and slow down the speed or try a coping saw where you can slow down and control the speed better.
Last edited by Bonescreek; 05-23-2017 at 03:19 PM.
I built a few decks in my business, wood, stain, vinyl etc. but when it came time to redo my own. New treated plywood I installed and duradec installed by a contractor.
Lasts and we were very happy with the result. Completely exposed to west coast weather. Tons or rain and snow.
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I'm not lying!!! You are just experiencing it differently.
It isn't a question of who will allow me, but who will stop me.. Ayn Rand
I stated I used Verona boards, they are Veranda. I had no issues with cuts, used my jig, skill, and mitre. I also routed the ends to match the board sides on joints.
How well do the synthetic deck boards hold up to large dog claws?
Our PT wood boards get pretty scratched up... which is expected. But putting down thousands of synthetic boards with the idea of never having to tough them again is a different story.
We went front and back deck with colored concrete. I priced out Trex and a couple other options and concrete came out slightly lower which suprised the heck out of me.
The concrete came with fibre and with four years use no cracks at all. You can texture it with various patterns so there are additional options. We also put some bear tracks leading in and out of the house. You can buy pretty much any kind of animal track in a rubber concrete stamp.
My neighbor has Trex and even with a plastic shovel the surface got scratched. Also as above it seems to be extremely hot in direct sun. His is five years old.
Edit also just for clarification both decks are elevated not concrete on the ground.
HERES MINE,ground level , 17 x 18 , sits ten big table in middle , wall on left folds down , also north top of wall , opens up like one of those campground kithenettes so gets lots of air , only walls fold up at nite on the north west corner , and in the fall the whole thing boards up like a shed.
Can sit in there and drink beer in a raging hail storm and barbecue , also connected to satilite tv,wife and l built it 20 yrs ago , roof on so no water inside ,no wood rot , painted 2 coats good house paint , perfect.
Ceiling is painted with hawks , seagulls , ducks flying and all blue painted sky
Wags, if I remember correctly we used a chop saw to cut the trex, the blade
was most likely carbide tipped same as used for treated lumber.
Don't remember having to have to do any notching..
only thing I can think of would be to try a larger/wider tooth gap on the jig saw
blades and slow down the speed or try a coping saw where you can slow down and control the speed better.
x2
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Think about it ....every single corpse on Mt Everest...
Was a highly motivated person...
...stay lazy my friends
How well do the synthetic deck boards hold up to large dog claws?
Our PT wood boards get pretty scratched up... which is expected. But putting down thousands of synthetic boards with the idea of never having to tough them again is a different story.
I have a husky that spazzes each time something moves in the alley, no scrstches
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~Men and fish are alike. They both get into trouble when they open their mouths.~
Wags, if I remember correctly we used a chop saw to cut the trex, the blade
was most likely carbide tipped same as used for treated lumber.
Don't remember having to have to do any notching..
only thing I can think of would be to try a larger/wider tooth gap on the jig saw
blades and slow down the speed or try a coping saw where you can slow down and control the speed better.
The mitre saw worked great. Notches came in where I had to cut around railing posts.
Thanks for the tip on the jig saw, I did try different speeds, and a couple different saw blades, but I think I went smaller gas for some reason. Something I would have read on the package.
Cheers
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~Men and fish are alike. They both get into trouble when they open their mouths.~
Yup, plastic like soft wood will quickly plug up fine tooth blades for metal cutting,
then the blade only hammers at the cut and does not, can not, remove any material, and the faster the saw moves the blade the more resistance it creates,
more heat and that heat shrinks the previous cut behind the blade and pintches
the blade.
Fix is to go to a larger tooth gap and slow down the strokes. Works both for wood or plastic or any soft low heat melt material like Trex (recycled garbage bags).
Don't know for a fact if it's true but I did hear that trex was in fact made from
recycled garbage bags.
If that is true, the only thing I can't understand is why it's so expensive to produce.
If they charge us or tax us for either pickup or disposal of used garbage bags, how can they then turn around and take our garbage and put it out for sale at
to the moon prices in material like Trex ? And get away with that ?
You all make your own minds up, I'll stay with wood myself.
I agree with EZM, wood is good. :-)
I rebuilt my deck with cedar about 10 years ago still looks good.
I did stick with the old ways of using galvanized nails instead of deck screws to
make it easier to replace/rebuild after 15 to 20 years of use.
Thank's Bone's ... great lookin at pic's from the other side ... what's that red soil like ???
hmmmm so it sounds like dark plastic or composite wood will be hot to the foot in summer, and need centers closer than 16 inches for support. That's not good. I don't want to rebuild the foundation of my deck. So it sounds like duradeck or going to cedar are my choices. And with cedar I would still have to re-protect/waterseal every few years.
I think I'll at least get an estimate from the local duradek guy Thanks!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DevilsAdvocate
In this case Oki has cut to to the exact heart of the matter!
I've seen a ton of composite decks and I have learned (much already mentioned):
CONS:
1) Dark colors hold heat to the point of being unable to walk on bare foot
2) Rubber door mats will discolor
3) More expansion and contraction than wood, hense the 'clip' style installations
4) Very expensive
5) can be tough to match a dye lot if a board gets damaged and needs to be replaced
PROS:
1) look good when done right
2) durable, ie: dog claws etc
3) lots of colors
4) maintenance free
I have a friend who does decks, he prefers wood and will only do composite with the client demands it.
I am in the same boat. My wood deck is starting to show its age and will need to be re surfaced. Wifely likes the composite look, but I am looking at one of our suppliers who has an aluminum deck board option. It's pricy, but it should be the last deck surface I will need.
Have a huge wrap around deck, all duradeck. Base is 2x6 PT with 1 inch plywood good one side. Then all joints plani-patched and sanded smooth, then the Duradeck on top. As the Duradeck is simply a very heavy duty vinyl the base needs to be perfectly smooth. Very happy with the deck, almost zero maintenance other than periodic cleaning etc, easy with a leaf blower, broom or garden hose, depending on what needs cleaning. I made my landings and entry points to house out of composite decking and the composite materials already look like crap while the Duradeck is pretty much like the day it was installed.
Deck help
Thanks!
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