AZEK decking verses TREX decking

otlski · Jul 26, 2020

grsthegreat said:
If you get lots of heat.... look at aluminum decking. I used nexdeck aluminum. Non slip, stays cool in summer. Powder costed. View attachment 664401. I was going to use trex till i talked to a few locals here that had it. They all complained about super hot in summer and slippery in winter. Also some buckling issues.

How does the price compare to trex? What spacing are your joists?

coobie · Jul 26, 2020

KennyG said:
Here are some photos of my Azek deck. Note the use of contrasting colors at the edges of the steps. I think this has turned out to be a valuable safety feature in the design. The posts are 4 x 4s that are covered with the Azek post covers and topped with a section of decking that was painted black.

View attachment 664427 View attachment 664428 View attachment 664429 View attachment 664430

Kenny that looks very nice.I see your from Michigan,where did you purchase your azek from?Thanks.

oosik · Jul 27, 2020

I purchased a new aluminum dock in 1998. It has TREX decking. The decking is light tan and has, obviously, been out in the weather - 24/7/365 for twenty two years. In all that time there are no stains and no weather damage. It is routinely subjected to goose & beaver poop. I just wash it off with lake water.

The only precaution - wear some type of "shoe" in the summer. The deck gets really hot in the summer sun.

grsthegreat · Jul 27, 2020

otlski said:
How does the price compare to trex? What spacing are your joists?

i purchased it years ago, dont recall prices. Studs 16” oc. I believe it could be extended to 24” as i recall. Wasnt cheap though, but about the same cost as the thicker decking boards. Most of the trex like products out here at the time were about 7/8”thick. But there was another brand that was closer to 1.25” but i dont recall the name. The contractors i talked to loved it, but it was about 2x the price of trex. Biggest issue they complained about wad fading of the darker colored trex boards and heat/warping in direct sun from the trex , but the thicker stuff caused less problems over time.

I purchased all my decking 5 years ago, dont recall costs. Not that we have had much sun this year, but even in direct sun i can walk bare foot on my deck. And weird thing is...the snow melts faster on the new deck as compaired to my old wood deck. Not sure why.it might be the same concept as to why frozen food thaws faster when placed in an aluminum pan as when placed on a dish.

two_bit_score · Jul 27, 2020

grsthegreat said:
Timbertech website shows azek decking.... weird that same name product is used for trim and decking.

I don’t think it’s the same as the AZEK molding and trim pieces.

Order Samples of Our Composite Decking & Railing | TimberTech

KennyG · Jul 27, 2020

coobie said:
Kenny that looks very nice.I see your from Michigan,where did you purchase your azek from?Thanks.

I don't recall where it was purchased because I got it through a contractor who was doing the work. However, I think Home Depot and Lowes can supply Azek.

coobie · Jul 27, 2020

KennyG said:
I don't recall where it was purchased because I got it through a contractor who was doing the work. However, I think Home Depot and Lowes can supply Azek.

Thank you..two more question how many years have you had the Azek installed?Any fading??

AWSubie · Jul 27, 2020

I wanted composite decking on my pool deck so that I wouldn’t have to worry about splinters. Before I started construction I looked at several other peoples decks and noticed that they all had sag in the span of the deck boards (all of the decks I looked at were Trex). they used 16 inch on center spacing. When I built my pool deck I used 12 inch on center spacing. I’m in my third season now and I’m very happy with the results. the only issues I’ve had are due to my own mistakes or the shrinkage of the pressure treated lumber I used for the framing.

I used Lowe’s ChoiceDek which is no longer available. I’m sure any composite decking you choose will be fine just pay attention to your frame spacing.