OT: We need a new deck

[CNY rider]

Does anyone here have experience with composite decking?

Currently have good old fashioned wood. We have small children, the wood is getting slivery, and I'm tired of staining it every few years.
We have a good local builder ready to go to work building us a new deck this spring. I have no worries about his design or building skills.
We had planned on using Correct Deck composite but other issues took priority last fall. Now Correct Deck has been sold and is "Dura-Life Siesta."

What experience have people had with composites? We're in the woods in upstate NY; the deck gets good sun in the summer but mildew is a perpetual problem all around the house.

Thanks for any knowledge that's shared.

[SEABREEZE]

Here in Fl, many docks are being built with composite decking. Lots of sun and humidity here. Have a close friend who replaced his dock behind his house a couple years ago, and he says it was his best move to use composite decking.

Pros
longevity,
no maintenance
no drying out of wood
no harsh chemicals as in pt wood, if walking barefoof and splintering.

Cons
not cheap

[1centaur]

I don't have the details right at hand, but I recently looked at whether my firm should invest in one of the biggest composite decking makers in the US. In the process of that I read lots of websites by home contractors and such, so I know there's a LOT of good data on the topic.

My overall impression was that composite decking was winning market share at a high rate because it is superior to wood, like vinyl shutters and siding, in terms of maintenance, but it is not perfect. I was reading about the company that makes AZEK, which dominates the PVC decking business, and my notes say that other forms of composite decking (particularly mixed wood and plastic) have not proved as maintenance free as advertised.

I think I Googled "I hate Azek" to find negative opinions and in the course of that found a lot of info on the competition. I got the impression that some contractors were a lot more careful than others. I am sure you will find the info you need through following those types of leads.

Ultimately I liked the deal and was going to invest (in fact our building materials analyst had just installed an AZEK deck) but they changed the deal structure in a way I did not like so I passed. I would not have said yes if I did not think it was a good product with a secular wind at its back; consumers like it enough that the wood deck business is mostly going away.

[junkfood]

I have built decks with Trex (http://www.trex.com/) board. I think composite is the way to go. All of the clients have been extremely happy with the product. If you have someone you are confident in building it, you should be really happy also.

Jake

[93legendti]

When we did our deck a ~5 years ago I priced a composite deck and cedar deck and cedar was cheaper by ~$3,000...we have a big deck.

We went with cedar and have been very happy. There are issues with some composites because of weight, price, stains, mold and mildew...

[572cv]

I've done a lot of looking around at decking products. There are some sustainably harvested tropical woods, such as ipe, which may be available in your area. These are durable and require minimal maintenance. I have been pleased with the look and perfomance of a decking from Timbersil- it is glass impregnated wood. Think pressure treated but with silica. But it is not widely distributed, so you have to look for it. see: http://www.timbersilwood.com/

All of the available composite products are ok, but have their own flaws, just like wood, and are generally a good deal more expensive than baseline P.T. If it is a small deck, this doesn't matter so much. Some lose their nice appearance more quickly in the sunshine. There is no magic bullet in decking. Pick something you like the look of, and which will last for you.

[54ny77]

check out fiberon products (the "horizon" series). we just had a small deck done last summer, so far so good. i can't comment on anything other than looks and ease of install thus far.

i've installed trex before and that's pretty good too, but no matter the factory color they seem to fade to wet-newspaper-grey eventually. note: it perma-stains like a mudderfugger if grease or other bbq-related spills get on it. never comes out. don't bother scrubbing it with chemicals, it'll only screw up the pigment.

fiberon's horizon grooved decking has handy clips for install that go into the joists and set the gap consistently, which saves a ton of time when installing. trex has over or under-the-board screws.

azek product stinks (literally, it smells foul) when it's cut with power tools. easy to work with though, can be sanded & shaped. last year we had our house re-sided and the contractor only uses azek exclusively on all trim. i'm using it on some things i'm building now. home depot sells it, thankfully, so the pricing is better than specialty lumber stores.

hope that helps. no matter what you use, it beats the snot out of having to sand and refinish real wood decking. been there done that far too many times, no thanks. if you pay people to do that sort of thing, more power to you and go with real wood 'cause there's nothing prettier.

like others have said there's pro's and cons to composites. my #1 criteria for choosing composite for our application was maintenance. don't want to lift a paintbrush or look at a piece of sandpaper, ever.

p.s. here's a pic of the fiberon horizon "rosewood" multichromatic color decking that we used.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z113/jpmz06/Greenwich/IMG_3237.jpg

[VTCaraco]

We built a humongous deck about 10 years ago (3 distinct levels with planters on the non-house side), doing all the decking in Cypress and the verticals in cedar. We installed as directed predrilling and using stainless screws and treating everything with the recommended product before install.
It's been a maintenance pig!
I wish we had done something different.
From talking with friends ~ PT, mahogany, teak, cedar ~ I don't think that any of the "real" products can hold up to the true 4-seasons we enjoy (I'm in the southwestern part of VT, so similar weather to what you have).
So I would suggest at least looking into a synthetic product; or understanding that it will involve a fair bit of maintenance to keep it looking good.

[maxdog]

Wood over plastic every time. They are both crap after 20 yrs so why not have the real thing in the interim. An option you might want to consider, a covered deck, will increase the longevity many fold.
Now to the more important issue; have you been getting out much with the warmer weather? I was able to transition seamlessly, from skiing to biking, this year.

[Louis]

They are both crap after 20 yrs so why not have the real thing in the interim.

Maybe because the "fake" is a lot less work during those 20 years.

I agree that "real" looks better, but when it comes to stuff that is mostly cosmetic, I'll trade a few $ for more time to ride the bike nearly any day.

I've been letting my current deck (wood) slowly deteriorate and plan on replacing it with a plastic one.

[Steve in SLO]

One thing to be aware of: Some composite decks are real hazards should there be a fire, and I've been told that firefighters will not cross over them in case of a structure fire due their loss of strength with heat.

[CNY rider]

Wood over plastic every time. They are both crap after 20 yrs so why not have the real thing in the interim. An option you might want to consider, a covered deck, will increase the longevity many fold.
Now to the more important issue; have you been getting out much with the warmer weather? I was able to transition seamlessly, from skiing to biking, this year.

Thanks, this has been a pretty seamless transition season. Last time I snowshoed was earlier this week, and I just got my 4th road ride of this week in. Weather goes downhill after tomorrow I am afraid.
I'm through with the maintenance on the wood. I already have a shed and kids playset in wood to maintain. Last couple of times I did the deck I vowed there would be no repeat performance and now I really mean it. :no:

[TomP]

Hi,

I live in Colorado and the wood takes a lot of abuse. Started with a Redwood deck. Expensive, yearly labor intensive and expensive upkeep, and it still rotted after 10 years. Rebuilt with Trex and couldn't be happier. Same price as Redwood, no upkeep and at 7 years still looks like new.