Composite decking choices?

[tis]

Originally Posted by lawn psycho

We had the Azek at our last house. I see someone mentioned the heat issue. If it gets direct sunlight it does get hot on the feet.

I found that mold would build up on the deck as the water gets trapped between the boards and the joists. Drove me nuts keeping it clean.

If I were to do decking again I would go with standard PT wood and just use composite for the handrails (no splinters, etc). Since the structural pieces will be pressure treated (posts and joists) I found no big improvement of composite over regular PT. Both still required maintenance.

Go 12 or 14 inchs on center to avoid the sagging boards as well.

The Azek does not get as hot on the feet as some of the others. It also does not get the mold because it does not have wood in it as some of the others do. I also went nuts trying to keep the mold off it. I would never use PT again. The worst thing about that to me is after a few years it gets very splintery and who wants to get splinters in their feet??

That is why I am saying be very careful and do your research.

[Rattlesnake Guy]

Be careful with the joist spacing using composite decking. It may be the sheer amount of my gravitational pull or the difficulty bringing a piece home without it dragging on the ground behind the truck, but the stuff is very "bendy".

I don't know if this is an issue on a retrofit for you.

I have used it with 12 inch spacing at home and it worked fine.

[SIKSUKR]

I'm glad you guys mentioned the issue with composite sagging on 16 inch oc framing. I'm about to tear off my cedar decking and replace with Azek and my joists are at 16. Are these actually 5/4 boards like regular decking or are they thinner or is the product itself not have the rigid support of wood?

I just realized I said rigid and wood.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

I'm glad you guys mentioned the issue with composite sagging on 16 inch oc framing. I'm about to tear off my cedar decking and replace with Azek and my joists are at 16. Are these actually 5/4 boards like regular decking or are they thinner or is the product itself not have the rigid support of wood?

I just realized I said rigid and wood.

Here ya go Siksukr... great installation videos from Azek's web site... http://www.azek.com/installation/deck/

Dan

[Belmont Resident]

We own a 1790's house and I recently rebuilt the 16x16 screened in porch. The gap between the joists was greater than I wanted so I took 2x4 PT and laid them down flat and nailed them on top of the existing joists. This decreased the gap without replacing all the joists and made for a much more stable surface to install the decking on.
I used cedar staining it with Penofin on all sides before installing. The deck has been down for a year and looks as new as the day I installed it, but it has a roof over it. I love the look of cedar but you couldn't pay me to use wood on a deck unless it had a roof over it.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by Belmont Resident

The gap between the joists was greater than I wanted so I took 2x4 PT and laid them down flat and nailed them on top of the existing joists. This decreased the gap without replacing all the joists and made for a much more stable surface to install the decking on.

That won't work in my application. My deck surrounds my pool and I built it flush with the top of the pool and want to keep it that way.

[Rattlesnake Guy]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

I'm glad you guys mentioned the issue with composite sagging on 16 inch oc framing. I'm about to tear off my cedar decking and replace with Azek and my joists are at 16. Are these actually 5/4 boards like regular decking or are they thinner or is the product itself not have the rigid support of wood?

I just realized I said rigid and wood.

Same Thickness. Less Rigid.

[Grady223]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

Same Thickness. Less Rigid.

Be careful, all these decking materials do not have the structural integrity of good old wood. That's why they are a poor choice for docks. 2x6 / 2x8 wood decking for docks add substantial strength to a dock.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Grady223

Be careful, all these decking materials do not have the structural integrity of good old wood. That's why they are a poor choice for docks. 2x6 / 2x8 wood decking for docks add substantial strength to a dock.

If you pick a composite that uses "Strandex Technology" you will be fine. Strandex was developed for the Navy about twenty years ago for their docks. The Navy wanted a material that would standup to the abuse over the long term. The Navy still uses Strandex.

Here is a list of composite companies that utilize Strandex... http://www.strandex.com/pages/corpor...x-Products.php

More info.... http://www.ufpi.com/about/newsroom/1...inerelease.htm

Dan

[Rattlesnake Guy]

ishoot308,
Learn something new everyday on this site.
Thanks

From one of their license holders.
What makes Latitudes composite decking and railing special is the Strandex technology it employs. Like individual strands of a rope make the rope stronger, Strandex technology makes Latitudes decking and railing stronger. Strandex technology offers superior protection against UV degradation and water absorption, because every “strand” of wood fiber is encased in high-density polyethylene. Latitudes uses Strandex inside, so you can be assured that you’re getting the highest, most consistent quality and strongest composite product available in the industry.

[Grady223]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

If you pick a composite that uses "Strandex Technology" you will be fine. Strandex was developed for the Navy about twenty years ago for their docks. The Navy wanted a material that would standup to the abuse over the long term. The Navy still uses Strandex.

Here is a list of composite companies that utilize Strandex... http://www.strandex.com/pages/corpor...x-Products.php

More info.... http://www.ufpi.com/about/newsroom/1...inerelease.htm

Dan

Still not convinced. I am sure that Navy "docks" are concrete and decked with Strandex. By their nature plastic composites are flexible and would not offer the same racking rigidity as "two by" wood decking. If you whacked a dock hard decked with Strandex it will give more than it would with wood decking. That effect over time destroys the integrity of the entire dock.

I agree that Strandex seems like a great product for decking, especially when compared to the older version composites (Trex). The difference between Strandex and the others is the size of the wood particles in the composite solution. The Strandex has a finer particle which allows it to be more easily surrounded by the plastic and resist moisture conduction better. That probably allows it to last longer.

I have to say, I have never seen a composite deck that hadn't faded or chalked after 5 or so years. But I have never seen Strandex after that long. How does it age? Does it look as bright as it did when new? If not what do you do to bring it back to original? My PT dock gets stained every 2 years and does look as good as original. Ipe treated each year with special oil also looks as good as new.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Grady223

Still not convinced. I am sure that Navy "docks" are concrete and decked with Strandex. By their nature plastic composites are flexible and would not offer the same racking rigidity as "two by" wood decking. If you whacked a dock hard decked with Strandex it will give more than it would with wood decking. That effect over time destroys the integrity of the entire dock.

I agree that Strandex seems like a great product for decking, especially when compared to the older version composites (Trex). The difference between Strandex and the others is the size of the wood particles in the composite solution. The Strandex has a finer particle which allows it to be more easily surrounded by the plastic and resist moisture conduction better. That probably allows it to last longer.

I have to say, I have never seen a composite deck that hadn't faded or chalked after 5 or so years. But I have never seen Strandex after that long. How does it age? Does it look as bright as it did when new? If not what do you do to bring it back to original? My PT dock gets stained every 2 years and does look as good as original. Ipe treated each year with special oil also looks as good as new.

Hi Grady223;

Unfortunately all composites fade even ones made with Strandex. This is quite normal and nothing needs to be done and the fading does stop after a year or so. When we do our color selection we always plan on the fade factor. The darker the color the more fade factor you must consider. This is pretty typical with every composite out there. None of my composite decks have ever chalked though. I have seen some of the inferior ones do that.

My entire reasoning for using composite was because I did not want to stain or sand. I wanted ultra low maintenance and strength and the composite I selected gave me that. It also looks really nice!!

Take care!

Dan

[ApS]

I was given a dock section made of this artificial decking, and was surprised how heavy it was—yet relatively fragile.

[JPC]

Aps: That looks like particle board.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by JPC

Aps: That looks like particle board.

Yes, it does. Maybe someone knows its age or manufacturer. A neighbor skilled in carpentry enjoys working with the newest in "fake lumber".

Here's a photo of the top surface:

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by ApS

Yes, it does. Maybe someone knows its age or manufacturer. A neighbor skilled in carpentry enjoys working with the newest in "fake lumber".

Here's a photo of the top surface:

From your pics, that looks like a very low-end "no brand" composite board. The current trend is solid PVC, or pvc-wrapped composites. The better non-PVC boards also seem to have a "denser" composition to them.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Grady223

Be careful, all these decking materials do not have the structural integrity of good old wood. That's why they are a poor choice for docks. 2x6 / 2x8 wood decking for docks add substantial strength to a dock.

In over 30 years, my "ordinary" 2x8-decked dock has only needed a few boards replaced and even then, turning them over was the only repair needed.



A neighbor's dock (below) shows how little was holding the artificial decking on—and the two, maybe three—affected planks can't be readily re-used.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by ApS

A neighbor's dock (below) shows how little was holding the artificial decking on—and the two, maybe three—affected planks can't be readily re-used.

If the person who put the composite decking on had put an end board on and attached as the below illustration shows, then that board might not have lifted up.

This is how Trex instructs you to put an end piece on.