Looking to put a new deck on my backyard and was looking at composite vs wood (Mahogany). After doing some online research I kept coming across many negative comments regarding the composite products. Have any of you been through this process recently (last 10 years). How have the composite products held up? In hindsight, would you have made a different choice. I'm leaning towards wood at the moment. Deck size will be approximately 400 square feet or more, location, Long Island. Thanks.
OT: Deck advice
- Thread starter Goo
- Start date
I replaced my deck with Trex about 7 years ago. I ripped up the old wood which was never cared for but kept the wood foundation and footers (no permits etc necessary)
I would not go back to wood. Other than power washing the deck every other year, no other maintenance. its great. Kids walk around on it barefoot etc. Yes, it gets hot in the dead of summer, but not enough of a problem to regret the Trex. Its more expensive than wood, but again, worth it.
I would not go back to wood. Other than power washing the deck every other year, no other maintenance. its great. Kids walk around on it barefoot etc. Yes, it gets hot in the dead of summer, but not enough of a problem to regret the Trex. Its more expensive than wood, but again, worth it.
My mother has composite wood on her front porch. Its sooooooo much nicer than my regular wooden deck. I am planning to eventually do the same thing you describe...replace the "decking" part but keep the foundations.
And FWIW, regular wood gets hot in the sun too.
You can use both. Use pressure treated lams and joists for the structure and composite for the decking and trim with synthetic/pvc railings. I used timbertech about 10 years ago, and pretty happy with how it aged. I basically scrub it once a year and it looks ok. Be careful with pressure sprayer, you can mar surface.
If you're going wood and considering mahogany ($$$$) you should use Ipe instead. It's naturally rot resistant and will last forever. A lot of the new composites are way better than they used to be even 5 years ago. If you're going to go composite, I would get the Trex Transcend. Also, if you're going composite get 2x rather than 5/4.
Full disclosure, I don't have a deck, but I do structural waterfront designs for boardwalks, piers, etc. Basically the same thing, I'm just used to working with a harsher environment.
Full disclosure, I don't have a deck, but I do structural waterfront designs for boardwalks, piers, etc. Basically the same thing, I'm just used to working with a harsher environment.
Rebuilt a deck down in LBI about 5 years ago. Went with Timbertech, better quality material over Trex which is pretty much Home Depot garbage (I have worked with both materials). If you choose composite, pay attention to the % of wood vs plastic in your material. The higher the % wood, the cooler it will be in summer months, but the more it will stain. The higher % plastic, it will be potentially hotter, but stain less. And when I mean stain, any oil-based material, especially suntan lotion and barbecue grease, will cause marks and/or footprints and ruin your investment. Also, not sure what is being offered nowadays but I went with material that has a notch along the sides of the planks -- its screws into anchors from the sides so no nail holes showed from the top.
You get what you pay for -- the composite deck is/was awesome, and I had hoped to never have to replace it, unlike wood. Withstood Irene and Sandy's beatdowns, being soaked for a day or two in bay water, came back good as new. Too bad I cannot say the same for the house.
You get what you pay for -- the composite deck is/was awesome, and I had hoped to never have to replace it, unlike wood. Withstood Irene and Sandy's beatdowns, being soaked for a day or two in bay water, came back good as new. Too bad I cannot say the same for the house.
Building a deck isn't hard if you are a do it yourself type of person. It will save you 90% of the cost. If you are good at cutting wood. Have a spare weekend. You can easily do it yourself. Use deck screws instead of nails. Frame it out to a precut length of decking. Can be done cheap, easy and fast
Edit. Do not buy decking from Home Depot or Lowe's. Go to a lumber yards you will get better quality wood cheaper. But where ever you go pull each board yourself. Lay them on a flat surface before you take it. Pre treated wood had a tendency to warp. They don't discount it so dont buy it.
This post was edited on 3/16 5:30 PM by WhiteBus
Edit. Do not buy decking from Home Depot or Lowe's. Go to a lumber yards you will get better quality wood cheaper. But where ever you go pull each board yourself. Lay them on a flat surface before you take it. Pre treated wood had a tendency to warp. They don't discount it so dont buy it.
This post was edited on 3/16 5:30 PM by WhiteBus
I rebuilt my deck using Azek (PVC product). Looks good, not susceptible to staining like composite products. Much easier to maintain than wood.
I used the Azek on my front porch and love it, the lack of maintenance is nice, no more staining or treating every other year. I will eventually be doing the same to the deck in my backyard which takes a beating.
Just put a new deck on last year. We used treated lumber for the frame and TimberTech composite for the decking. I would recommend shopping around for the material. You will get a lower price if the material is in stock. Deck rails are deck rails. Shop around and you will save big $$$$.
"Mahogony" decking looks incredible, but you have to be prepared to maintain it. It needs to be fully sealed (6 sides) prior to install, and also requires SS hardware. If you are willing to maintain it, go for it. Otw you will waste a ton of $$.
I had an epee deck built in 2003 . Labor intensive. All end cuts get sealed with liquid wax. Epee is pre drilled and set with stainless screws and then plugged so you dont see them. Power washed anually and treated with a stain that ends up flat out gorgeous. I understand that the Chinese have been buying up the epee and this has driven the price up pretty high. It is basicly just like mahogony. 2011 I had a 450 sq ft composite deck built at shore house. Expensive, 15k With salt environment it does get power washed annually and treated with solution called Deckmax $100 + for a half gallon which is enough to do the job and it restores from a chalky appearance to like new condition. Either way, it is not cheap and you need to take care of it.
I too need to resurface my deck and started doing my research and there are a myriad new products on the market. Composite products (ground processed wood fiber mixed with plastics) like Trex have become more affordable, but have taken a performance backseat to PVC or PVC-encapsulated products like Azek (purely plastic or plastic cap around composite product core). Of course the new stuff is quite a bit more expensive than composite, but if you're going to be in the house for a long time, it might be worth it.
"Mahogony" decking looks incredible, but you have to be
prepared to maintain it. It needs to be fully sealed (6 sides) prior to
install, and also requires SS hardware. If you are willing to maintain
it, go for it. Otw you will waste a ton of $$."
Mahogany is used on boats. Like a lot of resinous, pore dense woods that resist moisture it also resists a lot of finishes. Spar urethanes, sealers etc. need to be refreshed at least every 2 years or the UV barrier breaks down. The finishes aren't as good as they used to be either due to legislated reformulation. Unless someone really wants to treat a deck like furniture or a boat I wouldn't go crazy with fine woods.
prepared to maintain it. It needs to be fully sealed (6 sides) prior to
install, and also requires SS hardware. If you are willing to maintain
it, go for it. Otw you will waste a ton of $$."
Mahogany is used on boats. Like a lot of resinous, pore dense woods that resist moisture it also resists a lot of finishes. Spar urethanes, sealers etc. need to be refreshed at least every 2 years or the UV barrier breaks down. The finishes aren't as good as they used to be either due to legislated reformulation. Unless someone really wants to treat a deck like furniture or a boat I wouldn't go crazy with fine woods.
Goo, +1000 on Ipe (my contractor pronounced as e-pay).
It's expensive, but Brazilian hardwood that is termite resistant and will never splinter. It's a bear to install, but a beautiful product. In short, it's boat decking that will start out red but grey w/sun exposure. You can power wash and apply Penofin to revive the original color, but the deck never stains and gets raves from people who have never seen the product before. I'd endorse such an investment.
It's expensive, but Brazilian hardwood that is termite resistant and will never splinter. It's a bear to install, but a beautiful product. In short, it's boat decking that will start out red but grey w/sun exposure. You can power wash and apply Penofin to revive the original color, but the deck never stains and gets raves from people who have never seen the product before. I'd endorse such an investment.
Anyone ever try the Rust Oleum Deck Restore on their wood deck? Considering doing that this year.
I was really curious about the product too, but after hearing all the reviews, I'm not so certain. Apparently a gallon of the stuff doesn't cover a lot of footage and you've got to really pay attention to the prep work. If the wood is not clean and solid, the Rustoleum product will separate in time.
