Anybody have any experience with trex decking? I am looking at the trex transcend line?

Google Trex recall, or something like Trex complants. There's been a bunch of them.
Some breaking down when exposted to the UV and people were falling through them, some were molding up and still others were delaminiating.

Expensive but worth it. We always recommend composites for our clients unless the projects calls for a basic deck at the lowest price. Trex Transcends is one of the better looking composites out there - while a close look will never make you believe that it's wood, it doesn't jump out at you and look 'plastic'.

Definitely use the hidden fastener system. Not only does it look great but cuts down on any breaks or holes in the surface. I haven't experienced any delamination with Trascends and we have several decks out there that are a few years old. Overall the pros and cons are:

Pros:

1. Good look and more realistic choice of colors
2. No splinters, no maintenance - typical composite advantages.
3. Minimal fading over time

Cons:

1. Cost. Don't forget to include the cost of those cool hidden fasteners as they are not cheap.
2. Transcends 'skin' - While this is what makes the product look so good the down-side is that you cannot cut or shape a piece without the core showing through. This will still work if you are installing an edge band and post bases to cover most cut areas. Note that this issue is less for some colors - like grey.
3. Spans - Like most composites, you must frame no further than 16" OC or there will be too much bounce.

Overall, while I like the more realistic look of the Transcends product I prefer a composite that does not have the exterior skin layer.

True the "original" Trex looks like crap after a couple of years. As it faded to a horrible plastic looking stick of something. {And ungodly slick with snow or ice on it}. But that was first generation. Also have been told by a Trex sales rep that many a deck was redone on the Trex dime to satisfy homeowners concerns.
Even second generation Trex, more colors, stamped wood grain was recalled a few years back, but was later sold in Canada, according to our supplier.
Time will tell in regards with the Transcends line, as I too am suspect of that composite layer. It does add headaches to the builder while working with the product. But you never know.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CommonwealthSparky,

Over the years all my customers that wanted a new deck all asked for two prices, one for conposit and one for pressure treated.
Without exception all of them thought I was trying to rip them off when they saw the differance in price.
My point is just be aware it will cost around 3 times as much for a composit deck.
If you have the money and want a wood deck that should last as long as a composit and should be almost 0 maintaince check into IPE, also known as iron wood.

I love Ipe, wish all decks were made for it. But then, that would require that all my clients have bunches of money.

There is one other problem with composites that makes it harder for contractors - The price fluctuates like crazy. It's a petroleum based product so pricing can vary from day to day. Our last composite deck used Trex 20' long planks at a cost of $61.00 each. Towards the end of the project we realized we needed 3 more planks - these cost $56.40. While you may think that a 23 cent per foot difference is not that much it adds up quickly and makes estimating a chore. We currently have a deck project on bid that will take 5,000 LF of decking to build. That 23 cents difference in price equates to over $1,100 in material cost.

By comparison, a #1 grade kiln-dried pressure treated 5/4 x 6 x 16' is pretty steady around $18 to $19 each.

I'm sure that Joe had run into this and it gives him headaches too. One of the many reasons why we operate on a cost-plus basis.

I had to try and do a quote on a huge condo complex. The manager only wanted to do one set of buildings at a time, one a year, but insisted I give him a set price on the whole job.
I told him unless he bought all the materials at one time it would be impossible to quote prices of anything 2 years down the road.
I also told him none of what he had was worth saving and never should have passed the building inspection.
Second story deck was held up by 4 X 4's stacked on top of each other as an example.
He got mad and hired someone else.
The other guy got to do all three buildings at the same time and redo all the old frame work the right way.
Only cost them $110,000 for a job I quoted at $90,000 but he was mad because I made fun of the way it had been framed.

quote:

Originally posted by joecaption:
Over the years all my customers that wanted a new deck all asked for two prices, one for conposit and one for pressure treated.
Without exception all of them thought I was trying to rip them off when they saw the differance in price.
My point is just be aware it will cost around 3 times as much for a composit deck.
If you have the money and want a wood deck that should last as long as a composit and should be almost 0 maintaince check into IPE, also known as iron wood.

I agree with your post concerning the price of composite decking compared to Southern Pine [old school decking] in these parts.
Lets face it nothing beats the look of a new all wood deck. But without proper care a year later the composite deck always come out on top. That selling point is paramount in the pine vrs composite wars. And one has to drive home when presenting options to a customer.

Thanks for the great advice. Since the deck is the last part of the home construction, I think I will wait and see how much over budget we are at that point. One detail I should have mentioned..... All most all of the deck/porch will be covered by roof. Only 64 feet of decking, plus the steps will be exposed to the weather and sun. With this in mind, would you spend the extra money on composite. Thanks again for all of your help.

quote:

Originally posted by tdl123321:
Thanks for the great advice. Since the deck is the last part of the home construction, I think I will wait and see how much over budget we are at that point. One detail I should have mentioned..... All most all of the deck/porch will be covered by roof. Only 64 feet of decking, plus the steps will be exposed to the weather and sun. With this in mind, would you spend the extra money on composite. Thanks again for all of your help.

Yes.

Think long and hard about what the future plans may be for this porch before building it.
We have no plans, no pictures and can not see what the other homes are in your area look like but often times when someone ask me to build a porch at some point in time they call back and have decide to enclose it for one reason or another.
If it's built with this in mind simple things like double rim joist, location of coloums, location of support beam, size of piers and a few other things come into play that would make the job easer.
Also I forgot for a single story deck it's best to make it a free standing deck so there's 0 chance of any damage to the home.
Never have the deck boards up tight to the siding.
The deck surface must be at least 4" below and thresholds, or you can count on water getting into the home.

I think my bottom line will always be that if you can afford the composite, go for it over pressure treated. While it is true that the pressure treated that remains under cover will last a lot longer and look good with less upkeep, the exposed decking will still weather quicker. I would avoid doing some of the deck in PT and some in Trex, just because it would look strange and call attention to the difference.

Jaybeee,

That was my original line of thinking as well. However, after reading some horror stories on composite I have almost changed my mind. At least with PT you know what you are getting..... The last thing I want to do is pay 2-3 times more for a composite product that may delaminate, fade, and mildew. I could replace the PT wood twice for the price of composite.

Your call. There are pros and cons to both.

I will continue to recommend composites unless the budget dictates otherwise. The only delamination I have ever experienced with composites are some of the earlier versions of Trex and Geo-Deck - and those early products were admittedly crap. While I don't know everything about whatever delimination problems are out there, it seem s to me that there would be little chance of it happening as long as the hidden clips are used. Lay out some composite with screws going through the surface and I can see where there would be lots of potential delamination areas.

Fading is minimal these days. The discoloration of composites is nothing compared to the weathering, discoloration and wear on PT planking.

Mold is always going to be a bi-product of the environment that the decking is in. There is no mold spores trapped within the composite decking. So if your composite deck will mold, so will the PT version. Both can be pressure washed but it's faster to wash composite and once clean, will look more like new than PT will.

And of course, the other factors will be there for the lifetime of the deck: No splinters and no staining or finishing with the composite coupled with the clean look of no fasteners and a better non-skid surface make the composite deck much better.

But yes, it will cost three times as much for materials.