[jermmd]

I have a large deck that needs replacing. I should post a picture in the front yard thread. I'm researching the best lumber to use. The structure and rails are good, just the decking needs replacing. I want low maintenance, no splinters for bare feet, good looks, and long lasting reliability. Composite seems like the answer but I've heard a lot of complaints about appearance over time (stains, scratches, mold). Within reason, cost is not an issue. Anyone on AC have any knowledge or experience with this? Can you point me to a site that offers advice?

Thanks in advance,

Joe M.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I've had many decks made from pressure treated, and have had enough. 
Composite for me next time. Sure there may be stain issues, but you can always replace that stained board. Leave extra pieces after construction somewhere outside so they 'season' at the same rate as the ones on the deck.
No splinters. Man, that's huge.
No knots falling out leaving holes behind.
I've never seen composite warp/expand/contract over time like wood. This movement caused the screws to pop their heads off, or become lose over time. Also, warping causes unevenness from one board to another. I don't *think* composite does that. If this area will be heavily traveled barefoot, especially children, I recommend composite without reservation.
Gotta go, just wanted to drop a quick $0.02

Bob

[rajacat]

I installed Ipe, a sustainably harvested tropical hardwood, on my deck. Splinters are not a problem and maintenance is minimal. Installation is a PITA because it is a very hard wood and fasteners require pilot holes. There a number tricks that will speed up installation. I used stainless trimhead screws. All endgrain cuts require a wax sealer. After it is installed you must apply at least one coat of sealer so that it can slowly acclimate itself to the prevalent climate. Eventually it ages to a grayish color which some may not like but I find it more appealing than the plastic like appearance of the composites. In my area (Washington State) it's cheaper than composites.

I have also installed composite decks and the installation is much easier and faster so labor costs will be less. I haven't lived with plastic decks so I can't comment knowledgeably about the maintenance issues.

I wouldn't consider ceder decks because of limited life span, splinters and high maintenance. About it's only redeeming feature is ease of installation.

-Roy

[spudco]

Composite decking is a heat magnet here in the south.  No way to go barefoot on the stuff during the sunny parts of the day.

I have porches made with treated 5/8 lumber - it is ok if you screw it down.  I have a large deck/gazebo/dock with the 5/8 lumber and all is doing well. 

Who knows what the right answer is...  Try posting a question on the Fine Homebuilding discussion forum.  Those guys should have some pretty strong opinions.

[Big Red Machine]

I've built 2 composite decks and wouldn't have it any other way.  Zero maintenance.  Yes, hot on the bare feet, but stable and nice looking year round.  Don't use an aluminum shovel on it in winter though.

I laugh at all the poor slobs out there restaining their decks and fences year after year and reassure myself that the extra money up front saved me time and agony later on.

[geezer]

Having a new porch added to my house, I researched lots of decking candidates before settling on an aluminum product. The brand name is LockDry (web site: lockdry.com). It has all the properties anyone would want, except cheapness. They also can supply matching railings. You can get more information in a recent (July) issue of Consumer Reports, where they tested and rated 22 decking products. I suggest you don't make a decision before checking this out.

(Note: If you're interested, you can call them and they'll send you samples of the materials as well as detailed information.)

[Bigfish]

I have a large deck that needs replacing. I should post a picture in the front yard thread. I'm researching the best lumber to use. The structure and rails are good, just the decking needs replacing. I want low maintenance, no splinters for bare feet, good looks, and long lasting reliability. Composite seems like the answer but I've heard a lot of complaints about appearance over time (stains, scratches, mold). Within reason, cost is not an issue. Anyone on AC have any knowledge or experience with this? Can you point me to a site that offers advice?

Thanks in advance,

Joe M.

Joe,

My deck was constructed out of 2 X 6 pressure treated lumber in 1984 and like yours it needs to be replaced.  If cost is not really an object go with the composite stuff but realize it will cost you at least 3 times and maybe 4 times the cost of using pressure treated lumber.  I believe Lowe's sells a pressure treated 2 X 6 X 8 for less than $5.00 and an 8' composite plank is close to $20.00.  Also, you will not be able to take off your current old decking and just replace with new composite decking.  The composite planks require the support beams to be much closer together than wood and those 2 X 10 or 2 x 12 beams add up pretty quickly.  Yes, I agree that a composite deck looks great but if I replace mine with pressure treated wood and it lasts another 24 years someone else can worry about it.

Good Luck!

Ken

[konut]

I would recommend Ipe (epay) Brazilian Walnut. If only for the fact that if you have enough left over, you can make speaker cabinets made out of it.   I had my SP Tech Minis made from it, and they're outstanding! Its impervious to termites and earns a Class 1 fire rating. Whats not to like?  aa

[Bill O'Connell]

We used Treks, composite material and it has mildew stains all over it. I cleaned it once with a bleach/water solution, then cleaned it again with a product the manufacturer recommended, and just last week as we were throwing a party last weekend my wife asked me to clean the deck again, this time I used straight bleach, yes it finally took the mildew stains off but now is a lighter shade. Maintenence free my ass.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Bill, next time you need to clean the deck, go to The Home Depot and get a gallon or two of Behr #62 Multi Surface cleaner. I'd shill for this product to anybody that would listen. This chemical applied (1:1 w/water) in a garden sprayer will make mold/mildew on vertical surfaces 'run' instantly upon contact where straight bleach required repeated applications, and scrubbing with a stiff brush.
I'm talking ZERO scrubbing brother. 
Step one - Spray on.
Step two - Rinse off with water from garden hose. (don't have to use the power washer anymore either).
Step three - Drink favorite beverage

This stuff should be in every home.  aa

On the other hand.....
The product Behr has for coating/staining wood deck is absolutely the worst product I've ever used in my life and will never use it again. I have almost 800 square feet of deck and their #500 Natural and #502 Redwood deck stains are horrible. THIS product I could also rant about for days, but in a bad way. 
I've thought about a legal action this crap is so bad.

Bob

[jermmd]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to the lumber yard this morning to check out the various options. I'm going to try and get a look at consumer reports and the fine homebuilding forum. I know about Ipe and composite but the aluminum product is new to me. I'll post what I learn and welcome any more suggestions.

[Philistine]

Bill, next time you need to clean the deck, go to The Home Depot and get a gallon or two of Behr #62 Multi Surface cleaner. I'd shill for this product to anybody that would listen. This chemical applied (1:1 w/water) in a garden sprayer will make mold/mildew on vertical surfaces 'run' instantly upon contact where straight bleach required repeated applications, and scrubbing with a stiff brush.
I'm talking ZERO scrubbing brother. 
Step one - Spray on.
Step two - Rinse off with water from garden hose. (don't have to use the power washer anymore either).
Step three - Drink favorite beverage

This stuff should be in every home.  aa

On the other hand.....
The product Behr has for coating/staining wood deck is absolutely the worst product I've ever used in my life and will never use it again. I have almost 800 square feet of deck and their #500 Natural and #502 Redwood deck stains are horrible. THIS product I could also rant about for days, but in a bad way. 
I've thought about a legal action this crap is so bad.

Bob

I used the Behr product on a kids playset - lasted a year (just), never again.
After favorable reviews from Consumer Reports I used a Cabot stain for my deck, and it looks like I'll get 4 years out of it.  At the time I tried all the sprays, pads, applicators and finished up with an old fashioned brush - now if I can figure out a way to treat a deck and drink beer simultaneously 

[Wayner]

Many communities have a city ordinance against using pressure treated wood as the walk on surface of a deck as the pressure treating material is poisonous to children and pets. In my area, it's OK to use PT as a subframe, but the decking boards themselves can't be pressure treated. I have Cedar on my floor. You can never stain it as it will not stay adhered but it is cheaper then the composite wood and should last 15 to 20 years.

My .02 cents worth.

Wayner

[recycler]

We have just recently had experience with LockDry.  Expensive but we thought worth it for the advantages.  Unfortunately decking material arrived with much damage and product came in a different color than the sample provided to us.  Now company is not returning phone calls or e-mails.  Yikes!!

[byteme]

I just went through the same questions as OP did.  Had a 12x20 deck that needed replacement, prior owner didn't really take care of it, I stripped and refinished once and said that was it, last time.  Got as many (8 or so) more years out of it as we could and finally this summer bit the bullet and built a new deck.  20 x 24, designed by us.  Looked at lots of things, Menards, Lowes, Home Depot composite, which IMO all stink.  I used the stuff Menards has for replacement sections in our pier.  It's heavy as hell, even with cedar for under boards, it sun bleached to 1/10th it's original color in less than one summer and it's slick when wet.  Not exactly ideal for pier or deck!

After much research we went with Azek.  It used to be called procell.  It's PVC w/ flax in it.  No pre drilling, works just like wood, looks great.  The only caveat is that it's tough to use the tigerclaw fastening system with it for some reason so if you're thinking of going with some kind of "invisible" fastening system this may not be your best bet.  Lots of colors, stain resistent, REALLY easy to work with and if you use the powder coated to match top stainless screws you get a really nice look.  It was expensive ($60 per 20' board) but WOW does it look good.

We used AC3 pressure treated for the support system underneath and for the stringers, finished it off with HighPoint low volt deck lighting.  Used it to make two planter boxes and lined 1/2 of the 24" length on both sides with benches as well.

Hasn't been too hot yet to walk on and so far the only drawback is the dogs don't get very good traction when trying to tear out the door and patrol the yard for squirrels.

I'll let you know next year how color fast it is but based on comments from the building supply place we got it from (the 3 owners each used it for their decks) its very color fast.

[Bob in St. Louis]

the only drawback is the dogs don't get very good traction when trying to tear out the door and patrol the yard for squirrels.

Just wait until they go tearing into the house (and can't stop) and blast their way through your screen door. 

[byteme]

They never want to get in that bad, only out!

[jermmd]

Well, my local lumber yard is going out of business and selling Azek at their cost ($43 for 20 feet). That's hard to resist. I'm thinking of getting Slate gray or white coloring. I almost went with the Lockdry Aluminum product but Recyclers comments and lack of a local dealer scared me off. I'm probably going to make a decision tonight and buy tomorrow. Azek is looking good right now.

[mjosef]

Azek gets high marks from those in the trade, easy to install and has very good durability. I think its warranted to 20 years or "lifetime".
I have seen it installed at the trades shows and it looked very easy to drive screws through it(no pre drilling necessary), even the hidden fastener system looked relatively easy once you get the hang of it.
I don't have much direct experience with decks installations so take my words accordingly. 

[Bob in St. Louis]

If you install this yourself, get those colored screws with the funny looking heads. Don't use the normal looking colored  deck screws. The "special" one's will not cause the composite material to squish out creating unsitely appearance.
Sorry I don't know the name of the screw type or brand, but the folks that sell you the boards should guide you to the proper screw type. The heads look like inverted cups.

Bob

EDIT: I found a Google image.
"Regular" deck screw will look like the left side after they're driven in, the "good one's" will be the right side.