Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll.

   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll. #11  
Anyone have any experience with TimberTech or similiar "plastic" deck lumber surface?

A friend of mine was dismayed when the mitered corners that "framed" the step between his house and deck "exploded". They had been tight when installed, but a few weeks of afternoon sun must have expanded the boards. I think they were Trex. I suppose there might have been some warpage of the substructure; the takeaway seems to be avoid miters. I never walked on the deck barefoot but understand the plastic can get uncomfortably hot.
 
   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll.
  • Thread Starter
#12  
Yes, trex gets very hot. The reason we went to aluminum decking was after i looked at some trex decks that were a few years old and talked to owners that had decks. One owner showed me his rear deck that was all moldy and kind of spongy.
 
   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll. #13  
General consensus is these plastic deck boards are not all they are cracked up to be, and darn expensive to boot?
 
   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll. #14  
Anyone have any experience with TimberTech or similiar "plastic" deck lumber surface?

The ones that I've seen in person did not impress me. They seem to wear quickly and show issues more then I expected. I've had clients ask me to bid a deck using a couple different types of decking materials, but also to bid using treated wood. The cost difference is significant. It's not just the decking, but you have to space your joists closer together and the fasteners really add up quickly too. So far, I have never had anybody chose anything other then treated wood.

I also refuse to build a deck using 5/4 boards.
 
   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll. #15  
The ones that I've seen in person did not impress me. They seem to wear quickly and show issues more then I expected. I've had clients ask me to bid a deck using a couple different types of decking materials, but also to bid using treated wood. The cost difference is significant. It's not just the decking, but you have to space your joists closer together and the fasteners really add up quickly too. So far, I have never had anybody chose anything other then treated wood.

I also refuse to build a deck using 5/4 boards.

I am not a health nut, but walking barefoot (pool deck etc) on chemically treated wood, is reported to possibly have long term health implications.
I dunno!
 
   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll.
  • Thread Starter
#16  
My aluminum deck ...from Nexan.... cost about 50% more than the material bids using an upgraded synthetic. I did not like trex at all, but found so other brands to be alot thicker and have more eye appeal . But the wife came in with “i want zero maintenance”. This after 24 years of sanding and restaining cedar deck.

My deck also has hidden fasteners so no face nailing or screws. definately not cheap, but let me tell you...wait till you price out aluminum handrails. Be ready to bend over.
 
   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll. #17  
I am not a health nut, but walking barefoot (pool deck etc) on chemically treated wood, is reported to possibly have long term health implications.
I dunno!

What chemicals in treated wood are you concerned about? zinc is the main one and it's pretty good for you. Do you worry about walking on pavement too?
 
   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll. #19  
What chemicals in treated wood are you concerned about? zinc is the main one and it's pretty good for you. Do you worry about walking on pavement too?

Yep....if it is Summertime, and asphalt, the bottoms of my feet tend to get burned, when I am barefoot.
I have tender little footsies!
 
   / Time to replace my rear deck. 24 years of winters have taken their toll.
  • Thread Starter
#20  
What chemicals in treated wood are you concerned about? zinc is the main one and it's pretty good for you. Do you worry about walking on pavement too?
More than zinc. Here from wiki

In the pressure-treating process, lumber is sealed in a tank, and air is extracted, creating a vacuum. Then a solution containing chromium, copper, and arsenic is added. Because of the vacuum, the chemicals are carried deep into the wood. Chromium is a bactericide, copper a fungicide, and arsenic an insecticide, and all arrest decay of some kind. All three are toxic, but chromium and copper don’t raise many concerns. If we don’t inhale it, chromium is not particularly harmful to us, and copper isn’t very toxic to mammals, although it is to aquatic life and fungi. It’s arsenic that is worrisome.
 

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