Experienced Deck Builders?

[tjkubota93]

What brand of composite is good? Heard of so many fading, breaking down, etc. Kinda scared me away.

 

[s219]

What brand of composite is good? Heard of so many fading, breaking down, etc. Kinda scared me away.

I have yet to see a product that still looks good 5 years later if it's out in the open exposed to sun and weather. Some of them look like crap. Problem is, when something new comes along you won't have any real world experience with it for 5-10 years!

 

[Diggin It]

My problem with most of the composites is that they sit on top of deck boards (deck toppers) or emulate deck boards in size and profile. Those types are often available in stock at big box stores. Problem there is that water drains between them just like deck boards, which can cause problems underneath. They make a tongue in groove version that stops that from happening. Whatever is below stays dry due to surface channeling that directs water to the edge of the deck. You can seal/caulk along the groove if you need to.

I did a 6x12 porch with that 15 years ago (have no idea the brand or manufacturer) or more and it's held up pretty well. I have fiberglass panels over it as a roof, but the sides are open. It has faded quite a bit and I'll probably paint or stain it someday. It has a few surface nicks and flaws from foot traffic (stones in shoes, etc.) or where I dropped things on it. But there is no cracking, curling, shrinking or anything else typical of wood decks. It's still made by a few different companies, but can be hard to find and usually has to be special ordered. What I got was a little more than double the price of deck boards.

It's also quite a bit lighter since the bottoms are recessed meaning less material than boards.

 

[check]

Put 5/4 inch cedar deck boards down on my deck 15 years ago. They have held up well, a little a couple of them rotted out in certain spots, probably where there was a flaw in the wood.

When I do replace the boards, I will use the new lovely brown colored pressure-treated, and use 2 x 6 instead of 2 by 5/4. That new brown look is real nice, and will last maybe four or five years before it fades to gray, which is also OK.

It is too bad that Cedar feeds to Grady as well. There is nothing more gorgeous than brand new cedar when it rains. The grain just looks so lovely!

 

[crazyal]

I'm telling you for the price of composite you should be looking into hardwood decking. The stuff lasts forever. Unlike PT it rarely has splinters and the only time it's slippery is when it has frozen ice on it. In the hot summer it doesn't get any where near as hot as composites. The stuff is so dense and rot resistant that several versions are fire proof. Ipe is usually extremely easy to find if you start calling around but there's other species that are a little cheaper. It has a lot of silica in it so it will dull blades and you want to wear dust protection (which you should anyway when cutting wood) so it's not as easy to work with as PT or composites. It's also a lot stiffer than cedar so it doesn't dent.

 

[KennyG]

I have Azek, which is a solid composite. After about 7 years, most of it looks just like it did when installed. I've got a couple of stained spots under the oak trees I will have to hit hard with cleaner in the spring. Yes, it is slippery when it has snow on it, but I've gotten used to it.

 

[PILOON]

Also the composites get so hot in the sun that barefoot os a nono, especially darker shades

 

[bcp]

Some other thread mentioned aluminum decking.

Bruce

 

[dalola]

No worries, for this project I'm sticking with wood. It holds up well here in Ohio.

 

[ultrarunner]

Some other thread mentioned aluminum decking.

Bruce

I looked at Aluminum Decking but the freight was a killer... clear across the country.

In the end I went with a local builder... as with most things... time will tell.