Its time to replace the wood decking on our fairly large deck. I want something that will last at least 15-20 years, it needs to be as maintenance free as possible. I was thinking of some kind of composite material. Any ideas will be appreciated, doesn't have to be the best, something that I can put down myself and wont break the bank. Thanks.

Half my deck is 25 year old cedar and the other half is 5 year old cedar that replaced the original 20 year old cedar (that half was farther away from the house and more weathered). I apply semi-transparent stain with a paint roller about every 6 to 8 years and it’s been holding up in our northern Indiana climate. Not plastic wood, but likely less expensive.

The new deck on our roof is Trex. No issues so far and it looks and feels good.

I used a marine grade treated wood for my dock and it's been in place almost 30 years now and is still in great shape, with no rotting or other issues. Not sure how it compares with plastic/trex type stuff cost wise...

Not knowing where you are located this is what I would consider. Find a local sawmill. I guy with good access to wood and has his own sawmill is about the best. Buy full dimension rough cut 2x preferably 2x8, 10 or 12". Use that. I would not sand it or treat it. Just leave it. You may not be able to barefoot it for a summer. But after that it will be good and definitely last you the 15 + years you are after. Everything else will suck. Good luck.

My deck is 15 years with no problems...

https://www.nexaninc.com/produ...y-waterproof-decking

Not cheap but worth it. Also keeps water away from the foundation.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Rebuilding using Trex from the deck boards up - plus quite a few joist replacements and new blocking - was my all-summer project.

We are happy with the results.

Note it has been very difficult to get quality lumber this summer, at least in New England. Getting the Trex boards I needed was not easy either. Getting the Trex railings seemed pretty easy (Lowes).

I had a deck built about one year ago with the top grade of Trex, I'm very happy with it so far.

Trex is one of the first companies to make composite decking and are the “Band Aid” brand of the genre. We have installed literally thousands of square feet of it.

There are a couple of other brands that are as good and better depending on your color palette and budget.

My older son and I replaced his 900 SF deck with Fiberon decking this summer which was cheaper but just as good (and has the same warranty) as Trex.

https://www.fiberondecking.com/products/decking


We redid our lake house decking last year with Wolf decking which has one of the best warranties in the business. Their tropical colors are amazing..

https://www.wolfhomeproducts.c...orch/serenitydecking

Do not use composite decking by Moisture Shield. I hate it with a passion. Boards were out of spec, muddy dog paws will stain.

If your doing a railing a would recommend one with a flat top rail like the pic steve495 posted. It makes for a nice drink rail

If you're doing a railing, also consider checking local code to see if horizontal cabling rather than vertical boards satisfy safety rules. Especially if your deck/house is "elevated" over natural line of sight. This is way less disruptive to through-vision and what we have planned for our lake house after having seen this in several builds.

If budget is a big concern, can you maybe put it off for a bit? Building materials are ridiculous right now.

I've looked into composite materials. If you live some place that gets very hot, warping may be an issue. Even in my area, it is a big concern to me as I also need to replace the top decking on my wood deck - maybe in a year or two.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
If you're doing a railing, also consider checking local code to see if horizontal cabling rather than vertical boards satisfy safety rules. Especially if your deck/house is "elevated" over natural line of sight. This is way less disruptive to through-vision and what we have planned for our lake house after having seen this in several builds.

Just an FYI for anyone reading this thread the code for railing does not say anything about the orientation just that a 4” ball cannot pass through it. While I like horizontal stainless steel cable railing you might want to think twice about if if you have little kids...they love to climb them!

quote:

Originally posted by steve495:
Rebuilding using Trex from the deck boards up - plus quite a few joist replacements and new blocking - was my all-summer project.

We are happy with the results.

That looks really nice!

My old deck was trex, it lasted about 20 years I had to rip it up to get to the roof underneath.

It has faded and had some mold spots that would not come out.

I went with Batu, that is a type of Mahogany.
It cost about the same, it is supposed to last longer.

They had it at the local lumber yard.

https://hardwooddeckingsupply....oduct-category/batu/