Does anyone have advice/experience with composite decking?

Question

We are looking at the Trex brand. Very expensive but worth it if there is little to no maintenance. Anyone have any advice/experience?

Answer 1

Yes, lots of advice. Composite decking is definately worth it. There is little maintenance. You still need to clean it once a year, don't let a salesman tell you otherwise, that is maintenance. Plus, if you go with wood, you will replace it in 7 years, unless you really maintain it and it sounds like you don't want to do that. I am not a big fan of Trex though. There are many other products out there. I suggest Fiberon or Evergrain. These are both made with higher quality materials than Trex and cost about the same. Once you make that jump from wood to composite, you want high quality material. Trex has had some major problems recently with mold and I think there have been some lawsuits. You can find out more about that in their investor news. But as far as I know Fiberon and Evergrain have never had any major problems. Good luck and enjoy you composite deck.

Answer 2

I used some 2 years ago to make a small deck and when it gets dusty I squirt it off with a hose. I looks as good as the day I finished it. It was expensive but not having to do maintenance on it every year was worth it. When my other wooden deck boards get bad enough I'm going to remove them and replace them with the composite boards.

Answer 3

composite material is not meant to be painted or stained. it is already treated with bonding agents that prevent some chemicals from bonding with it. it's sort of like a teflon coated material. whether you stain and seal is irrelevant since there's not chemical bonding taking place which is why it fades and disappears after awhile. power washing is the best way to clean a composite deck. Sadly, if you REALLY want to doll it up then you'll have to switch back to wood. or just leave the composite as is.