https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...670050964#3670050964

I have a deck that is a pain to stain. Even using quality products and doing the full prep. Thinking I'm going to switch the deck boards over to composite as they go bad. Anyone have any tips or help on what is a solid choice? Looking for the best price to performance ratio.

So are you thinking of replacing a couple of boards at a time?

Also, what are the joist spacing?

My brother and some friends from Duluth had composite decking and they both had to have it replaced with wood. The cold weather cracked it and the planks warped. I think redwood would be a good alternative.

I'd have to pull the paperwork to find the brand name I put it but 8 years later and still like new. I pressure wash it in the spring and it's awesome. I do still have to stain the posts for the railing though. I did Cablerail for the railings so they don't obstruct the view and are also maintenance free.

I used Trex brand, framed 12" on center and they look as good as the day that I put them down. IIRC, they are about 17-18 years old.
What's nice about Trex is that it does not get slippery when wet, we had a secondary deck around a pool and it worked well with all of the splashing.
The only negative is that it can get too hot to walk barefoot on when it's been in the direct sun (think sand at the beach)and this is the Winchester Gray color.

We used Dri-Dek an interlocking, extruded aluminum that is polyester coated Works great at keeping the foundation dry. It is partially under a tree and it does stain, but stands up well to pressure washing.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Here in South Florida where a lot of our docks (on top of saltwater) are made out of wood 2x6's. We can still get the green arsenic induced PT wood, it still doesn't last. In a year the wood is already degrading and I'm done with wood.

You want the 5/4" thick synthetic deck boards and your stringers have to be 12" on center (unlike wood 2x6's with 20" between stringers), but synthetic is the way to go now. No mess, no maintenance, etc. You also want to use S/S screws to hold it down.

Yeah, thinking of a couple boards at a time, but now rethinking as the wood stringers are 24' on center. I'd hate to tear it all down and start fresh, but that looks like the way.

The deck is down at the coast in the weather and even pressure treated wood tears it up pretty quick.

quote:

Originally posted by jimb888:
Yeah, thinking of a couple boards at a time, but now rethinking as the wood stringers are 24' on center. I'd hate to tear it all down and start fresh, but that looks like the way.

The deck is down at the coast in the weather and even pressure treated wood tears it up pretty quick.

Depending on which coast I might give you a different answer.
I have a house on the N.C. coast and 99% of homes here still use PT wood due to the fact that most synthetic decking gets hot in direct sunshine.
At my home in the foothills of the Virginia Blue Ridge mountains synthetic decking is almost all anyone uses.

A couple of points on synthetic decking;

1. What ever brand you look at keep in mind that there are probably several grades so saying Trex is great is not necessarily so.

2. Most synthetic decking is sold as 5/4” which is actually 1” net thick. Joist spacing for a perpendicular install is 16” OC. If you install it diagonally then the joists need to be 12” OC.

3. As was said above if you’re going to go to the expense of installing synthetic decking be sure to use stainless steel screws. Many manufacturers offer a special screw that counter sinks itself and then you just tap in pre-made plugs so that there is nothing that shows. Very nice.

4. Make sure that you follow manufacturers installation instructions. We have had to come behind several other contractors to fix their sloppy work.

On my own home we just redid our deck and used Wolf decking. It is a premium brand but looks fantastic. If I could figure out how to post pictures here I’d take a picture and show you...

Here’s a quick video of what I used (Tropical color)

https://youtu.be/2xlVc1DbsLQ


Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

A coastal environment is going to be rough. You will need closer joist spacing as pointed out. It your deck boards aren’t lasting as you’d like, how is the substructure holding up? It would be distressing to install the perfect synthetic deck material that will last for twenty years (if such a thing exists) over a substructure that won’t make it past five. I don’t have any suggestions other than to make sure your substructure is expect to hold up as long as the decking.

We had Trex put on our rooftop deck on our new place. So far, so good since January.

When I first built my deck about 25 years ago, I used the yellow pressure treated wood and stained it. The wood splintered bad over 5 years and I replaced the deck with Trex about 19 years ago. The Trex started out as brown, and now is gray, the color of faded concrete. Aside from pressure washing every few years, no maintenance is needed. I think the Trex is evolved and no longer fades. One thing, in the summer if you are not wearing shoes, in the hot sun it can burn your feet.

My wood deck gets hot enough to burn your feet in the summer.

My deck is 30 years old, and I've decided to replace it with composite this year.
Many brands are out there, now. Many of them can be installed with invisible fasteners.

I didn't study it before selecting but I'm in year 14 on trex directly on the coast in Maine and exposed to sunlight. Its been mint. faded but otherwise 100%.

I have had my TimberTech deck for almost 11 years now. I would not do composite railings again, there is slight sags in the long runs of rails. Go with metal railings. Otherwise it has been great.

quote:

Originally posted by jimb888:
Yeah, thinking of a couple boards at a time, but now rethinking as the wood stringers are 24' on center. I'd hate to tear it all down and start fresh, but that looks like the way.

The deck is down at the coast in the weather and even pressure treated wood tears it up pretty quick.

Do a section at a time, save the old boards that are still serviceable for the other sections. EASY to add an additional stringer between the ones that are 24" apart and gets you 12" on center...…...

quote:

Originally posted by jimb888:
Yeah, thinking of a couple boards at a time, but now rethinking as the wood stringers are 24' on center.

Yeah you don't want to do that, it won't be long before you have a roller coaster for a deck.

What we did at my fathers house was just add more stringers. A lot of work and wood, but it's sure not going anywhere.

When I first did my second floor roof deck, we used TREX. That was 30 years ago. It faded and got mold but it held up well.

I needed to rip up the deck last year to replace the roof under the deck.

I was going to replace it with TREX but they had totally changed the engineering. It was no longer a solid composite but a hard shell over the core design. I did research and found lots of local people that were having problems.

I went with Red Batu solid wood from the local lumber yard. It has an expected life of fifty years. If it lasts thirty I will most likely outlast me.

My deck looks like the one in the picture

https://cedarcountrylumber.net...-installation-guide/

quote:

Red Batu solid wood

Pretty stuff Sig2392. But I'm looking to not have to worry about maintenance and my deck is at the coast. Thinking adding the stringers inbetween and the few trashed boards with composite might be a good start.

I had a new deck built last Fall. I chose Trex's new deck material and there top end line.
So far I'm very happy.
Be aware there are several levels in there product line.