We're looking into replacing the rotting wood on our deck. Have there been any advancements in deck material since I last did this (probably 1995!) or is wood still the way to go? If high price is the only con of something great, I'm still potentially interested!
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Best material for outdoor deck?
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Last: 3 days ago by Sea Speed
We just replaced ours with Trex a few months ago. Upfront premium but weathers well and doesn't need staining. It's what we use on our multifamily developments too for long-term maintenance/durability.
BR 12 said:
We just replaced ours with Trex a few months ago. Upfront premium but weathers well and doesn't need staining. It's what we use on our multifamily developments too for long-term maintenance/durability.
Do those still face melting issues from windows reflecting direct sunlight?
No clue about that, I've never heard of that happening.
We have Trex. For about five years. Still looks brand new with no issues. It costs more but certainly pays for itself many times over long term.
Only downside I've seen with Trex and other similar products is under direct sunlight can get VERY hot - if walking on it barefooted.
That is true but I did not find it much hotter than the cedar planks I had before.
Agreed, we haven't noticed any unreasonably hot surface yet this summer and it gets pretty direct sunlight most of the day.
Quote:
If high price is the only con of something great, I'm still potentially interested!
Then composite decking is the way to go. There are several different manufactures, with "Trex" and "TimberTech" being the biggest players by far. They are very comparable to each other.
Within Trex and TimberTech there are several different composite deck board lines. If you are willing to pay a bit of a premium for composite decking then pay even a bit more and go with one of their product lines that has the "Cool Technology" feature. Not sure about the actual science behind it or how much of their sales pitch is snake oil, but the deck boards do seem to stay remarkably cooler in the sun and are extreme comfortable to walk on bare foot even when in direct sunlight.
My company recently installed a 430 SF Trex deck for a customer as part of a larger project. She was adamant about going with one of Trex's premium lines. I believe it was the Trex "Transcend". Our bill for just the decking materials w/ our contractors discount was over $10K, this didn't include any of the framing materials, just the decking. That was almost $24 per SF for the decking alone. We don't do a lot of those decks so I'm sure if we did a lot of them we could get a little better pricing, but probably not much. With all that said, it was amazing stuff, looked great, felt great and will last her a lifetime without any maintenance.
Another thing to know on composite decking, you generally need your joists to be every 12" instead of the standard 16". Some of the specs for some of the thicker stronger boards say you don't have to, but with the joists being a "relatively" minor piece of the total cost, just go ahead and do your joists at 12". If you aren't reframing your joist's and they are at 16", then make sure that whatever composite board you choose is rated for 16" joists.
Thank you so much!
Leggo My Elko said:Quote:
If high price is the only con of something great, I'm still potentially interested!
Then composite decking is the way to go. There are several different manufactures, with "Trex" and "TimberTech" being the biggest players by far. They are very comparable to each other.
Within Trex and TimberTech there are several different composite deck board lines. If you are willing to pay a bit of a premium for composite decking then pay even a bit more and go with one of their product lines that has the "Cool Technology" feature. Not sure about the actual science behind it or how much of their sales pitch is snake oil, but the deck boards do seem to stay remarkably cooler in the sun and are extreme comfortable to walk on bare foot even when in direct sunlight.
My company recently installed a 430 SF Trex deck for a customer as part of a larger project. She was adamant about going with one of Trex's premium lines. I believe it was the Trex "Transcend". Our bill for just the decking materials w/ our contractors discount was over $10K, this didn't include any of the framing materials, just the decking. That was almost $24 per SF for the decking alone. We don't do a lot of those decks so I'm sure if we did a lot of them we could get a little better pricing, but probably not much. With all that said, it was amazing stuff, looked great, felt great and will last her a lifetime without any maintenance.
Another thing to know on composite decking, you generally need your joists to be every 12" instead of the standard 16". Some of the specs for some of the thicker stronger boards say you don't have to, but with the joists being a "relatively" minor piece of the total cost, just go ahead and do your joists at 12". If you aren't reframing your joist's and they are at 16", then make sure that whatever composite board you choose is rated for 16" joists.
Great post. Very similar story for me.
I just finished the decking on my two decks. Went with the Timber Tech, Legacy level, Mocha color. About 450 sq ft total, was right at $10k for boards and fasteners, sub structure separate cost. Did the 12" OC spacing on joists, needed to add some blocking in a few places to support the exterior 'frame'. (There are different types of edges for perimeter boards vs. interior deck boards.) Also applied the paint-on rubber membrane to all the top joist edges.
While we don't get the high heat here in PA, decking when in full sun is hot of course, but not unbearable. Has a nice texture so dew or rain, still good traction. Heavy stuff, can scratch a bit so careful when handling.
You installing?
We went with a composite decking for ease of maintenance and it's been great. I won't go out barefoot in the middle of the summer, but otherwise it's perfect.
Quote:
You installing?
Not myself, but my company does 3-4 composite decks a year. We end up just pouring concrete instead of decks most of the time.
Another vote for Trex. Built our deck in 2021 and it still looks the same as day one.
If building new, of course a forever house would install the thinner composite "forever" decking with all the extra joist/beam suports = even more $$$$
You said replacing rotting old deck .... boards? ... as we do as-needed to our mid-80's 2x4&6 deck boards.
"Best material" is not as good as in the 80s, only "better for the planet", so shorter life.
Thus @ only a bit over $1/sf, the "best" replacement deck boards that do not require more structure (joists/beams) that we could find among the Aggieland slim choices would be Home Depot = a) Straight, b) #1or2 Treated, c) Ground-Contact!
FYI we use deck screws suited to this "treatment" and have had good luck and interesting designs when replacing 2-2x4 w/1-2x8, 3-2x4 w/1-2x12, or 2-2x6, etc. even IF the spacings are greater but allow more crud down and less sweeping up. (Did I get the board width math above correct?)
https://www.homedepot.com/s/2x8%20treated?NCNI-5
You said replacing rotting old deck .... boards? ... as we do as-needed to our mid-80's 2x4&6 deck boards.
"Best material" is not as good as in the 80s, only "better for the planet", so shorter life.
Thus @ only a bit over $1/sf, the "best" replacement deck boards that do not require more structure (joists/beams) that we could find among the Aggieland slim choices would be Home Depot = a) Straight, b) #1or2 Treated, c) Ground-Contact!
FYI we use deck screws suited to this "treatment" and have had good luck and interesting designs when replacing 2-2x4 w/1-2x8, 3-2x4 w/1-2x12, or 2-2x6, etc. even IF the spacings are greater but allow more crud down and less sweeping up. (Did I get the board width math above correct?)
https://www.homedepot.com/s/2x8%20treated?NCNI-5
Deciphering tools below = Why I Draw pictures for a living
http://pages.suddenlink.net/tgivaughn/
http://pages.suddenlink.net/tgivaughn/
I've got like 1000 sq ft I need to replace and I just can't stomach paying for composite when I can get a 16 ft deck board for $8
If you go with composite, I recommend using a miter saw with a shop vac hose connected to it to collect the composite shavings.
Why not stamped concrete?
Sea Speed said:
I've got like 1000 sq ft I need to replace and I just can't stomach paying for composite when I can get a 16 ft deck board for $8
My dad built a trex dock at their lake in 1996. If I remember, there were only two color options, and both the same line.
Those boards are still there today, with only an occasional power wash (like every other year). How long would a wood deck last in Houston sun with consistent water exposure?
It is truly a buy once, cry once product. I've built two decks now, first house, and current house, and I didn't even think twice to get Trex. They even have a 50 year warranty on their top lines (25 on the lower)
However, we got the samples of all the lines, and the cooling technology line (transcend), in my opinion, did not cool it enough to warrant the additional cost.. If I remember it was another 125%. It's not like the board was cool to the touch.. it was still plenty hot, enough to where you ain't just standing on it barefoot. We have the denver sun hitting it from about 10am to 6pm.
We ended up on Trex enhance naturals, which still had the scratch resistant feature (we have dogs). Only $3/lf or $6/sf.
Built it myself at about 20% of the two quotes I got. Deck builders want waaaaaay too much profit it seems.
Ryan the Temp said:
If you go with composite, I recommend using a miter saw with a shop vac hose connected to it to collect the composite shavings.
What do you do with the 90% of the dust that the shop vac doesn't catch?
I've always been so disappointed with how bad miter saws are at dust collection (looking at you, Bosch). Luckily, these days there are a lot of products you can either buy or 3D print to help make them a lot more effective.
BenTheGoodAg said:Ryan the Temp said:
If you go with composite, I recommend using a miter saw with a shop vac hose connected to it to collect the composite shavings.
What do you do with the 90% of the dust that the shop vac doesn't catch?
Composite decking doesn't produce dust.. it's not made of wood.
This stuff is thick shavings.. easy to sweep up honestly, I didn't use a vac. I did set up facing a wall, so it all just shot out in that one little area.
As far as saw vacs, I just had a carpenter at my house for a month doing wood work for our basement finish. He used a smaller vac, and he emptied it 2-3 times during his time.. that's like 10-15+ gallons of sawdust that didn't get thrown in the air.
62strat beat me to the response. If you're cutting it in a place where you can just sweep it up, it doesn't matter that much, but if you're outside in your yard, you don't want to be looking at composite shavings in your yard for the rest of your life.
Good info, thanks
Ugh I know, and it is such a tough call. I constantly look at FB marketplace to see if anyone has enough bulk that I can do mine with it.
Lol I was so off on my estimate, I have a 2000 sq ft deck and that doesn't include redoing the floors in my outdoor bathrooms.
Oooooof. Probably need around 5k linear feet so over $15000 in deck materials alone. That's such a tough pill to swallow.
Sea Speed said:
Oooooof. Probably need around 5k linear feet so over $15000 in deck materials alone. That's such a tough pill to swallow.
I mean, if your deck is 2500sf, it's all relative. That's bigger than a lot of people's homes.
We might have a big deck but I'm not wealthy, 15k on a deck is a lot of money, and this is just for base line FB marketplace special. This is especially true when I can get wood for 1/6th of that price. I understand the tradeoffs, but the previous owners of the home don't appear to have ever put any sort of coating on the deck so I would immediately change that to get more life out of it. We will see. I found some off brand composite deck for $1.85/LF so that drops the price by a third or more, but need to see if it's actually any good.
Composite decking is hotter
Also if there are any covered areas like a porch above some are very prone to mildew accumulation.
Also if there are any covered areas like a porch above some are very prone to mildew accumulation.
I get mildew on my wood deck in one spot of my deck where we get morning sun but not afternoon sun. I'm sure it would be the same with the composite, although if it isn't holding moisture, maybe not.
Found some composite decking for $1.78/LF due to bulk order size. Only issue is that they recommend 12" joist spacing vs 16" so that adds some more cost to my budget. There's always bonus work. I also have no idea how my joists look.
Using your 5000 linear feet as a measure
Average costs from all major retailers (ex. Lowes, HD, Menards, 84Lumber)
1x6x16 treated, avg total price - $4,062
1x6x16 composite, avg total price - $13,155 (doesn't include potentially moving joists to 12" centers)
Estimated life of treated 10 years (very conservative, avg life is 15-20 years). Estimated cost of capital (what could you be doing with your money if you weren't spending it on new deck boards) - 8%. Replaced wood every 10 years plus 10% maintenance cost (so $400) every 5 years in between. Replaced Trex never, no maintenance. Stopped at 40 years.
Total current-day value of wood costs - $10,468.
Total current-day value of Trex costs - $12,180.
So, even if you keep the deck for 40 years, replace the whole wooden deck every 10 years, add 10% maintenance cost every 5 years, and never have to touch the Trex again, it's still more expensive than just using treated lumber now.
Sure, it won't warp or discolor, but is that really worth the extra money to you?
Average costs from all major retailers (ex. Lowes, HD, Menards, 84Lumber)
1x6x16 treated, avg total price - $4,062
1x6x16 composite, avg total price - $13,155 (doesn't include potentially moving joists to 12" centers)
Estimated life of treated 10 years (very conservative, avg life is 15-20 years). Estimated cost of capital (what could you be doing with your money if you weren't spending it on new deck boards) - 8%. Replaced wood every 10 years plus 10% maintenance cost (so $400) every 5 years in between. Replaced Trex never, no maintenance. Stopped at 40 years.
Total current-day value of wood costs - $10,468.
Total current-day value of Trex costs - $12,180.
So, even if you keep the deck for 40 years, replace the whole wooden deck every 10 years, add 10% maintenance cost every 5 years, and never have to touch the Trex again, it's still more expensive than just using treated lumber now.
Sure, it won't warp or discolor, but is that really worth the extra money to you?
My cost for lumber is actually cheaper than that, so it's even skewed further towards the lumber. I can get 16 foot deck boards for less than $9 each. It just makes too much sense to go with the wood, especially if I want it done in a timely fashion.
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