Deck protection ideas needed (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Zack1978
- Start date
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Thaxx!7G
yooper
SILVER Star
no shet.
now he's a mouthbreather.
G7
What's with you guys signing your name on every post? Who knew lunyou was a trendsetter?
Wooden deck maintenance seems fairly expensive and more importantly time consuming. Any thoughts on using trex sp? or other synthetic deck materials?
From what I have seen:
Pros:
No splinters
Zero maint
Cons:
Initial cost$$$ (seems like it would pay for itself in the long run if you plan on owning the home for a long time)
Melting in hot climates? AZ, NM etc.
Not as natural/beautiful looking as a well maintained wood deck
Edit:
nicholas
From what I have seen:
Pros:
No splinters
Zero maint
Cons:
Initial cost$$$ (seems like it would pay for itself in the long run if you plan on owning the home for a long time)
Melting in hot climates? AZ, NM etc.
Not as natural/beautiful looking as a well maintained wood deck
Edit:
nicholas
Last edited:
the recycled stuff fades here and warps to some degree, there's a new product that they're using here for docks but I don't remember the name of it.
I'll admit that I'm a wood snob when it comes to decks. But plastic decking definitely has its place.
There are a lot of different brands out there and some actually are better than others. Obviously prices vary as well, but in general, the price to upgrade to plastic decking is paid for in about 5-6 years, assuming your cedar deck would need to be refinished every 2 to 3. Frankly most people don't refinish their decks every 2 to 3 years, and I think cedar is cheaper here than probably anywhere else in the US, so that number may be a little off. But the point is that an extra couple dollars a square foot isn't that much over the life span of a deck that should last 15 to 20 years.
Melting isn't a concern, but some of the synthetics still have issues with absorbing water and colors fading over time. There really is a lot to know, so don't just go by what the sales drone at Lowe's/Home Depot says. Go to the lumber store that the contractors buy from and see what they have or can get. I really like TimberTech's products, and I know there are several other brands that make good decking.
If you're going to be installing it, check out the various attachment methods as well. I didn't used to be a fan of the clip systems, but some of the newer ones are pretty slick and seem to be holding up well.
