Trex or Azek?

Doublej · « **on:** 12 Mar 2017, 11:20 pm »

What's better for a Northeast US, 2 story set of stairs with an 8x8 landing, Trex or Azek?

JLM · « **Reply #1 on:** 12 Mar 2017, 11:49 pm »

We have a 1,000 square foot of decking in Michigan, including a 16 foot by 16 foot section that hopefully will someday include a hot tub. Would love materials advice (at a "reasonable" price).

mcgsxr · « **Reply #2 on:** 13 Mar 2017, 03:03 am »

I went Trex a couple of years ago when we redid our deck.

None of it is cheap. But it has seasoned well so far through 3 winters. I shovel it to get to the hot tub and BBQ.

tmazz · « **Reply #3 on:** 13 Mar 2017, 03:25 am »

For his Eagle Scout project, my son built a 64 x 16 ft Trex deck at the driving range in a local park used for lessons by the Nassau County chapter of The First Tee program. That was 8 years ago and that deck gets used regularly by groups of 30+ students and it today looks as good as the day we finished it.

I have used Azek boards for trim on my house and that has held up really well so far, but it is not weight bearing. I do not know how is will hold up ad decking. One thing though, the Azek I used is a smooth finish like a sanded 1x6. whereas the Trex has a grained finish that would give you much better traction when it is wet. It is also thicker an engineered to be walked on and support weight. Azek may have a similar decking product, but I am not aware of it.

Trex is a great product and will last longer and look better than wood decking, with absolutely not maintenance, but it is quite a bit more expensive up front (although you will save down the road on the expense of sanding, staining and sealing a wood deck. One thing that you should be aware of is that if you do choose any kind of composite decking material it will need to be supported by joists on 12 inch centers instead of the 16 inch ones usually used with wood decking or you will end up with a springy deck that I am sure will prematurely start to crack.

avta · « **Reply #4 on:** 13 Mar 2017, 02:28 pm »

I had a bad experience with Trex a few years back. A deck we had installed began to crumble after a few years. Turns out there were many other people with the same problem. Trex would not make it right so we ended up with a Class Action law suite against Trex which we won. Turns out one factory produced faulty product. I suppose they've fixed the problem but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. If I were doing a deck now I would also consider ipe'. A Brazilian hardwood. Extremely strong and long lasting from what I've read.

goskers · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 Mar 2017, 02:59 pm »

When I built my house 4 years ago I ended up going with a first generation Trex product for its overall looks. This product is a bit more tongue and groove with girders protruding for strength. It is a handful of years down the road and every groove has fractured. This is not visible on the surface luckily. I have not been impressed with it clean ability either.

I assume that the system integrity is at least part of the reason for their design changes. I have considered replacing with a different product but it's all quite expensive.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Mar 2017, 03:20 pm »

No issues with the Trex I installed 3 years ago now in this thread - http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=125259.0

I did read about the class action lawsuit, but that appears to be prior to when I bought and installed it.

David C · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Mar 2017, 03:23 pm »

+1 on ipe hardwood. I have a 50ft walkway to a dock both ipe , 13 yrs old and still in great shape as is the dock. You can clean them and oil then every couple of yrs if you want it to look brand new but it weathers well without the treatment.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #8 on:** 13 Mar 2017, 03:53 pm »

Agree IPE is cool. I used some for a step to my shed and it wears really well.

But is a bear on cutting tools.

rpf · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Mar 2017, 07:10 pm »

Trek did initially have some problems years ago with mold & cracking, which have apparently been overcome. I've heard good things about it more recently.

Azek does now make decking. We've only used it for trim so far, where it is fantastic but expensive. We've also used the much less expensive generics, which have performed satisfactorily although they don't cut quite as smoothly (they seem less dense than Azek).

We have a deck that will have to be re-done sometime in the future but don't know yet what we'll use: there are a number of new options beyond the two above.

ctviggen · « **Reply #10 on:** 14 Mar 2017, 01:43 pm »

So, when talking about "expensive", exactly what does this mean, say on a square-foot basis? (I realize you'd have to calculate for loss, too.)

ctviggen · « **Reply #11 on:** 14 Mar 2017, 01:46 pm »

Quote from: mcgsxr on 13 Mar 2017, 03:53 pm

Agree IPE is cool. I used some for a step to my shed and it wears really well.

But is a bear on cutting tools.

Wasn't there also a thread here that indicated IPE was not sustainable? That is, what we get in the US is not "green". I think IPE is quite cool and would be worth the cost, if it was sustainably harvested.

Atlplasma · « **Reply #12 on:** 14 Mar 2017, 01:53 pm »

You have to careful when sourcing any exotic wood, but some sellers provide documentation to show that their Ipe is responsibly grown and harvested. Thermally modified wood might be a more sustainable option if it is available in your area.

thunderbrick · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Mar 2017, 02:18 pm »

I'm installing TimberTek and love it. Only been down for a year but it it is much stiffer than Trex and very easy to work with.

ctviggen · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Mar 2017, 02:36 pm »

Thanks for the additional option. Right now, we have painted wood, and it's horrible. Paint and intense sun don't mix.

Bob2 · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Mar 2017, 04:23 pm »

When I replaced the boards on our deck I bought ChoiceDek from Lowes.
Reviews were far better than Trex and We liked the look much better.
Has been 3 years and it still looks like new. Easy install, reasonable cost for decking and fasteners.

ctviggen · « **Reply #16 on:** 17 Mar 2017, 03:34 pm »

For those of you who have used this material for your deck, do you shovel snow off your deck? If so, can you scratch the decking material? If you do scratch the material what does it look like and can you repair it?

Also, how does it weather intense sun?

Thank you.

Bob2 · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 Mar 2017, 06:25 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen on 17 Mar 2017, 03:34 pm

For those of you who have used this material for your deck, do you shovel snow off your deck? If so, can you scratch the decking material? If you do scratch the material what does it look like and can you repair it?

Also, how does it weather intense sun?

Thank you.

I have shoveled snow and find that a broom works very well also. Shovel leaves no marks. As I stated mine has been down for 3 years and looks like the day I installed it. The deck is on the south side of the house so it receives full sun. My deck is the brown color they offer. Has some hints of black here and there. Goes quite nicely with the white vinyl railing. I power wash once a year. Sometimes hose it down mostly because of the birds. Can be warm in the summer sun just like any thing used for decking. Great in that it needs almost no maintenance and doesn't stain.
Most of this type of decking material works equally well. Some can be pricey. Do some research on deck layout and styles. Use of contrasting decking for trim purposes. Can make a deck look great. My deck is 14X16.

ctviggen · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Mar 2017, 07:21 pm »

Thanks, Bob. My wife and I have the rule that a deck is never big enough.

Our deck is as long as our house, but not that wide.

I'd probably install that wire-type deck railing with a wider, nicer deck.

JLM · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Mar 2017, 08:16 pm »

Horizontal cable "spindles" isn't a good idea (and may not fly with the inspector) as kids can climb up and over the railing.