Anyone regret getting Trex?

Getting a deck soon and I'm going with Trex (saddle color due to the sun) and I wanted to know if anyone regrets getting it. If so, please list the reasons. I have a few days to change my order.

And is it truely maintance free?

-Teak

 

We had a Trex deck installed at our last house and loved it. Our daughter could run around on it barefoot and we didn't have to worry about splinters. As far as maintenance, I never had a wood ddeck so I can't compare, but all we had to do was wash it down with a cleaner once a year and it looked like new.

 

We are thinking about staining/painting our deck, which is mostly wood but the top rails are trex. Does anyone know whether it will stain/paint very well?

 

I am actually going to pull up my wood deck boards and replace them with Trex (saddle color as well). My deck is only 3 years old and has been properly and painstakingly maintained, but it is already splinterring. We have two small children and worry about splinters when they play on the deck with barefeet. The hassle of pulling out splinters has outweighed the expense to replace the decking.

 

I am thinking about doing the same thing.
We purchased this house as a resale and the wood deck was in "okay" shape (1 1/2 years old). I just treated the floor in March. It is warping and I don't think it looks that nice. I am interested in putting in a new floor next year.
I do think Trex is a very good product. I have also seen something called "choice deck" which is the same sort of product. I think there are a few other brands out there, variations on the same theme.
Anyway, Teak, I think you made an excellent choice going with the Trex.
Particularly on the floor, anything is better than Pressure Treated wood.

 

Thanks everyone. It was more expensive but I figued the benefits outweight the cost. Those who want to buy trex, Tart lumber across Rt28 carries it and I think if you buy a certain amount, they will deliver it free. They also have other products like Trex.

Hmm I wonder what would happen if a trex deck caught on fire? Toxic fume? Just wondering.

-Teak

 

No matter what you end up buying, make sure to screw the planks in from *under* the deck. I did mine that way after seeing how a neighbor did his. Now the top is perfectly smooth with zero nail/screws popping up the splinters we all hate so much. I used decent quality wood from Tart (didn't want to spend a fortune).

John

---------------
Got Broadband?

 

I think it was something like $600+ for a 10x12 area. I went up there and they had a sheet with prices. There is a price difference between the colors. I think the grey was the pricer one.

-Teak

 

I recently read a article in the Post about pressure treated deck and playground equipment lumber. It warns than older lumber was treated with Arsenic to prevent rot. Because of this I would recommend demolishing an old deck and rebuilding with something like Trex. My friend had a deck built with Trex and it looks great. He used white vinyl railing so he never has to paint or seal. I'm going to put in a Sunroom and pavers patio instead of a deck.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47331-2003Jun11.html

 

I'd love to know if anyone has suggestions on legitimate deck building companies or mom & pop operations.

We'll already have a patio in so obviously some minor demolition of pavers will need to be done for the posts but we really want to get a bigger deck than the builder will provide.

Thanks

 

I have TimberTech on my deck, which is a tongue-in-groove trex-like material. It is awesome. Screwed from underneath, no nail heads, no seams or spacing, smooth on barefeet.

 

I used www.vadeck.com in my previous home, it is very good and their price is a lot cheaper than the locals. We bought our home in Southern Walk in August 2002. We are planning to use the same company. They are back logged now (who else didn't) because of the rains. If you metion my name (Koray), maybe I can get more discounts . You will find the details in their web site, they are not traditional.

 

Mr Linux: My deck/porch builder showed it to me (Premier Home Services, Al Barney, 703-779-2324). pricing was equivalent to Trex, but I loved the look. More info here:

http://www.timbertech.com/

Tart and Smitty's carry it (my builder used Smitty's as his supplier).

I have the "natural" color, which started out as tan, and has since faded to a tan-gray.

 

Mr. Linux...

I used Al Barney for our wood deck. He designed a great deck and his
crew did a good job building it. Our neighbor who is quite a wood craftsman complimented their attention to detail. Its been three years and we're still happy with it.

--- John B.

 

We are having a deck built using Trex in the color Winchester Gray. Something I didn't realize was that each Trex color has a different unweathered and weathered color. Unweathered refers to new Trex that hasn't been exposed to sunlight or rain, whereas Weathered has. When our new and unweathered "gray" Trex was delivered it was actually brown! My builder assured me that it would fade to gray after about a month or so.

I also found this link on the Trex website that shows the various weathered and unweathered colors and does a pretty good job in explaining the weathering process. http://www.trex.com/universal/product_info/workingwithtrex/weathering.asp

Just something to keep in mind, especially if you get gray Trex and it gets delivered as brown!