Raised deck -- pressure treated or composite?

Tim

Tim

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Our new place needs a deck. Somewhere around 10 x15 and built off of what is essentially a 2nd story sun room. It's actually 1st floor, but because of the lot's steep slope the ground level would be more than 2 stories below. The yard is essentially not usable, so I don't think we'll plan on stairs.

We are debating pressure treated vs. composite decking. My last experience with composite decking was 20 years ago when it was brand new. My reserve Seabee battalion built several playgrounds using Trex. Se..emed like a good product.

But, at ~40% more in cost I'm trying to balance the investment with my complete and utter lack of discipline when it comes to maintenance. We want this to last.

So...is composite worth it?
 
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The only trouble with using composite is deciding which bank to rob to finance it.

But you knew that.

Beyond that, I just know the last deck I built with treated lumber sure changed after it dried out. And the hardest part was sorting through lumber at Lowes every time I needed another load.
 
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How long do you plan on being in the house? If you don't like maintenance and you plan on being there for a while then definitely go with composite.
 
If it gets sun all day and with your professed lack of maintenance discipline(I’m the same way), I’d go trex. Treated lumber hasn’t been the same since they took the poison out of treating it. It just doesn’t last as long. Unless you’re gonna polyurethane it, which is a nightmare in itself. Trex is a one and done and all you gotta do is sweep it.
Before you decide on size. Check prices of board lengths.
Ex if you want 10x15, they only come 16’ if you’re gonna run them parallel with the house make it 16ft so there’s no waste. If you’re gonna run them perpendicular to the house 10’ check and see the lumber difference in joists needed before you decide on how your actually decking boards will be turned. Or if you’re gonna have steps going to ground, and going to turn them perpendicular to the house you can buy 16’ stuff and use the drop for steps treads. Several ways to figure the materials
 
I just swapped the decking boards from wood to Trex. I doubled all the joist and cross braced between them every two feet. I am pleased. I also hate to do maintenance. The wood lasted 7 years and we had several places that I actually put my foot through. Order the length you need from AAC off of Gerber Rd behind Chick Fil A on Hendersonville rd in Asheville.
 
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Me. said:
How is that possible? We’re the deck boards very close to the ground?

I can’t imagine deck boards failing inside of 20 years, and lasting 25-30 wouldn’t surprise me.


Then again..... I just built my first deck in 20 years. Maybe the new stuff is just getting worse.
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The new stuff in 2013 I ordered from Lowes was wet and I ordered since I wanted 20 foot lengths. It was not the best quality when I received it. The decking had sun all day and it even molded the last year. I sealed it with waterproofing the first and third year. I was not good at maintenance since.
 
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trex. my old neighbor went trex and I went treated. My deck looked like hammered dog shit even with sealing it every so often and was due for replacement after 7-8 years. His trex looked like the day he put it down and did no sealing. I have never seen treated look good after 2-3 years and it always needs sealing. If you can afford it go trex.
 
Trex. Top choice Lowe’s decking is garbage. I should have paid $2.00 more per board at the local lumber yard like I was told by a deck builder. Butted the boards tight for small shrinkage but the gaps are twice what I wanted. Pressure treated lumber does not last since the government got involved.
 
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The deck on my house is 24+ years old now. Has a few rough spots and gaps but given all it's been through it's held up surprisingly well. It's not south facing but it does catch some direct sun during the summer. Haven't treated it like I should have other than maybe every five years a power wash and a quick going over with some stain.

The newer wood probably will not hold up as well as it's been 'cost reduced' along with the EPA mandates no doubt.

Assuming I don't move within a year I will have to get serious about replacing although since I don't intend to be here 9 years from now I'd go as basic as possible and skip the composite unless it really drops in price.

I have been on a few composite decks and one thing that struck me right away is they get very hot in sunlight. Like scorch your bare feet hot. Like blister your arm when you lean over the railing with a beer hot. (Ok maybe not blister but you stand back up). Maybe that's been "fixed" in the newer stuff but it's always stuck with me as something I'd be cautious of when considering composite unless it's under a roof or screened in.
 
All terrific advice!

thank you!

This would be north side, and fairly well shaded.

I think y’all have me sold on the composite, which is nice ‘cause that’s the way I was leaning anyway.
 
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Newer pressure treated wood is crap and doesn’t last like the stuff from 10+ years ago. If you are going to stay in this house for more than 10 years, go composite.
 
If you go with treated, just stay away from Lowes/HD. Go to an 84 or other lumber yard and the stuff will typically be better quality. I’d also recommend Fiberon over Trex. We used to offer Trex as an upgrade over treated and it’s too expensive for what you get. We’ve switched to Fiberon now and it’s a better quality product for the price.

And right now is a pretty terrible time to do either. Materials costs are through the roof because of everyone being home and doing projects around the house. It’s bad enough that I’ve had to go to a couple different stores in order to complete lumber packages a few times over the last couple months. I don’t know what your timeframe is but if you can wait until later this year to buy, you’ll probably be able to save 15-20%
 
dave421 said:
If you go with treated, just stay away from Lowes/HD. Go to an 84 or other lumber yard and the stuff will typically be better quality.
Click to expand...

So here's the "con" side of composite. The ends of composite boards are ugly so in most cases you will need to run a border strip parallel to the joists along any exposed edges, and I wasn't talented enough to figure out how to make it work. Composite gets hotter than wood in direct sun. Composite can grow algae when it's not exposed to direct sun and requires cleaning. Most composite manufacturers sell in three quality tiers, avoid the low end. When wood gets old, you can often sand and refinish for a new look, you can't do that with composite.

In the Triangle, try Capitol Lumber where Hillsboro Street passes under the Beltline. They seem to specialize in decks, and sell both composite and a kiln dried wood product that is made for decks. It costs more than just yellow lumber but it's straight, has fewer defects, and doesn't contract after installation because it's already dried. They have a lot of nice accessories and great service.

I tried BMC in Apex but I couldn't get anybody to help me so I walked out. Twice.
 
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MostWanted said:
So here's the "con" side of composite. The ends of composite boards are ugly so in most cases you will need to run a border strip parallel to the joists along any exposed edges, and I wasn't talented enough to figure out how to make it wor.
Click to expand...

Add an extra joist 5 1/2” from your end and then run bridging between it and your band every 12-16” (whatever is needed for the boards you use). That will let you end your main boards on a joist and the bridging will let you screw the edge board in. Then just 45 your corners. Hope that makes sense.
 
Coxs treated lumber is the way to go. My deck was originally built around 2010. 2016 I found all the joists and most of the decking to be eat up with mold and rotten. Cox treated lumber came with a life time warranty. I called them and they sent a rep out. He found the tags on the lumber and told us that there was a problem with the formulation of the chemicals during that time frame. They replaced all the wood for our entire deck at no charge. I did have to pay a builder to build the deck but I didn't have to pay a penny for any lumber.
 
I built mine with old decking boards from a torn down deck back when they were treated properly. A little work cleaning them up and pulling nails but they were free. The boards are probaly 30 or 40 years old and still solid as a rock. I tend to overbuild though. Lots of support under those boards. Friend of mine built one with the newer stuff and after two or three years he had to replace it with composite because they were so bad.

These days composite is the way to go if your buying from lowes. I have seen some nice cedar decks though.

Nice thing about composite is you dont get slivers. Crazy expensive though. Wood looks nicer and more natural....if you can get good boards. If my deck ever fails I will probably just do a brick or stone patio. Maybe find some old demoed building and use some old brick.
 
If you want a quality deck from lumber DO NOT BUY FROM A BIG BOX store!! Repeat- AVOID A BIG BOX store. They're the Wally world of hardware. High quality stuff- check out KDAT from a building supply house. Be prepared, it costs quite a bit more but is straight, ready to stain immediately, and no knots or gooberage.
 
I'm currently in the same boat as you. I like the look of real wood but I don't like the maintenance. But the prices of composite will probably make me go with wood and suck it up and do the extra maintenance. Right now I'm looking at kiln dried pressure treated decking from Yellawood. Not sure what prices are yet but it's prob still less expensive than composite.
 
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Rebuilt my deck last year with trex that I got from a Lowe’s store that was closing out that color [Tidal Gray] I think. Bought it for less than the cost of treated lumber. I was just looking at the tree and the manager of the lumber dept. stopped and said “if you like that I’ll make you a deal, we are closing out that color. Took him up on it right then and bought all that I thought that I would need. Just that store was closing it out, went to another store and it was reg priced with no plans for discontinuing it. So find the manager of the lumber dept. and ask.
 
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