Posted: 6/24/2009 8:17:51 AM EDT
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Who here has Trex, Choice Dek, or another form of composite decking (wood chips and plastic)? I am curious if you have had any problems, mold growth, decompostion, ect. If you have had nothing but good experiencies out of it, please let me know that too. Looking to build a very nice deck out of composite and don't want to go with it if it is a problematic product. If so how old is your deck. Thanks for helping out your fellow ARFCOMMER. |
| I do a lot of high-end decks. I use TimberTech. They have the best concealed fastener system on the market. And, yes, you should use concealed fasteners, because you don't want to fill your expensive new decking with screws. And I don't care what the screw manufacturers say, they make a mess of your deck. Another very important thing is THERMAL EXPANSION & CONTRACTION. With wood, boards shrink/swell as the moisture content varies. This movement is across the WIDTH of the board. With composite, thermal variations cause SIGNIFICANT movement along the LENGTH of the board. I have seen decks laid in cool weather nearly self-destruct when the summer sun hits them...fasteners shearing, framing ripped apart. etc. You have to leave expansion gaps at the ends, with the size of said gap varying depending on the ambient air temperature on the installation day (which varies throughout any given hour of the day) and the temperature of the material itself. The key to a good composite job is in the design of the decking pattern, with framing member orientation being very important also. Let me know if I can provide any more info. |