Synthetic/Composite Deck Materials

[montanadave]

Backstory: I installed a Trex deck on my front porch approximately 5 years ago. It is a southern exposure, lots of sun in the summer with 100 degree plus temps, and cold in the winter (can occasionally drop to 20 or 25 below zero). The Trex material failed with surface blistering and flaking. There are multiple class action suits related to this product failure and I have submitted a claim to Trex.

But I'm still facing the replacement of the deck. While my original rationale for choosing a composite material (minimal upkeep in an exposed setting) is still valid, I'm struggling with the "once bitten, twice shy" mentality when choosing a replacement deck material. The Trex material which failed was reportedly due to a flaw in the manufacturing process during a limited number of production runs and the problem is supposed to have been resolved. However, I continue to hear anecdotal reports of problems with Trex and other composites containing wood fillers. One alternative is a solid vinyl material (Procell is one brand) which is supposed to negate the problems associated with the organic fillers in other composites.

Anybody have any experience with these materials in climates which have extreme temperature fluctuations like Montana? I'd like to avoid the hassle of staining (and restaining) a wood deck, but I really do not want to be replacing the replacement deck in another 3-5 years.

[citizensoldier16]

LB Plastics in Mooresville, NC offers a great product. We have it at my family's lake home in the mountains of VA and it has definitely stood the test of time and weather (95+ in the summer, around 30 in the winter)

http://www.lbplastics.com/index.php

EDIT: The issue with Trex is that it's a mixture of plastic and sawdust. The sawdust retains moisture and swells.

[Dunderway]

My Father has worked in this industry for a pretty long time. I should be able to get you a no BS answer this week.

[montanadave]

My Father has worked in this industry for a pretty long time. I should be able to get you a no BS answer this week.

Thank you. I would be very interested to hear what your father has to say with respect to these materials.

[Hmac]

Thank you. I would be very interested to hear what your father has to say with respect to these materials.

Me too.

[Mac5.56]

My experience thus far having worked a little with it:

1. The materials I have used stripped easier then traditional wood when being screwed down with deck screws. I don't know if this was the specific material, or what but I was shocked.

2. My parents home has a large deck made with synthetic boards, and every winter I have noticed something very strange happen. They tend to freeze together in an odd way, and since the frame is wood, the boards seem to expand, contract, and freeze at a different rate then the wooden frame. This has led to some weird expansion/contraction issues as the synthetic is freezing (or not freezing) and expanding differently then its support beams. The result has been two boards that have "popped" (sounds like a gun shot) away from the frame when weight was applied to the deck. In the summer we have found sheered screws that we assume were from these boards shifting during the winter. I don't know what is causing it, but I have only ever seen this happen with this deck.

[TY44934]

Backstory: I installed a Trex deck on my front porch approximately 5 years ago. It is a southern exposure, lots of sun in the summer with 100 degree plus temps, and cold in the winter (can occasionally drop to 20 or 25 below zero). The Trex material failed with surface blistering and flaking. There are multiple class action suits related to this product failure and I have submitted a claim to Trex.

But I'm still facing the replacement of the deck. While my original rationale for choosing a composite material (minimal upkeep in an exposed setting) is still valid, I'm struggling with the "once bitten, twice shy" mentality when choosing a replacement deck material. The Trex material which failed was reportedly due to a flaw in the manufacturing process during a limited number of production runs and the problem is supposed to have been resolved. However, I continue to hear anecdotal reports of problems with Trex and other composites containing wood fillers. One alternative is a solid vinyl material (Procell is one brand) which is supposed to negate the problems associated with the organic fillers in other composites.

Anybody have any experience with these materials in climates which have extreme temperature fluctuations like Montana? I'd like to avoid the hassle of staining (and restaining) a wood deck, but I really do not want to be replacing the replacement deck in another 3-5 years.

A submission to the home section of the Washington Post recently pointed out that TREX is easily stained by mildew & they suggest NOT using a power washer to clean it. Supposedly, TREX contains SAWDUT and polymer/plastic, and that is subject to mildew plus staining. They also said not to use a bleach product as it could easily discolor the deck unevenly.

[WillBrink]

Backstory: I installed a Trex deck on my front porch approximately 5 years ago. It is a southern exposure, lots of sun in the summer with 100 degree plus temps, and cold in the winter (can occasionally drop to 20 or 25 below zero). The Trex material failed with surface blistering and flaking. There are multiple class action suits related to this product failure and I have submitted a claim to Trex.

But I'm still facing the replacement of the deck. While my original rationale for choosing a composite material (minimal upkeep in an exposed setting) is still valid, I'm struggling with the "once bitten, twice shy" mentality when choosing a replacement deck material. The Trex material which failed was reportedly due to a flaw in the manufacturing process during a limited number of production runs and the problem is supposed to have been resolved. However, I continue to hear anecdotal reports of problems with Trex and other composites containing wood fillers. One alternative is a solid vinyl material (Procell is one brand) which is supposed to negate the problems associated with the organic fillers in other composites.

Anybody have any experience with these materials in climates which have extreme temperature fluctuations like Montana? I'd like to avoid the hassle of staining (and restaining) a wood deck, but I really do not want to be replacing the replacement deck in another 3-5 years.

Would they not end up replacing your faulty deck with the "good stuff" as they admited to a bad run? I live in New England, with big temp swings, etc. 5 years of trex deck, looks just about like the day it was installed. I'll never go back to wood.

[montanadave]

Would they not end up replacing your faulty deck with the "good stuff" as they admited to a bad run? I live in New England, with big temp swings, etc. 5 years of trex deck, looks just about like the day it was installed. I'll never go back to wood.

My understanding from the claim form I submitted was that Trex would reimburse the homeowner the replacement value of the materials affected and the homeowner could use those funds to purchase whatever material they desired. I believe the terms of the class action suit also provided for $0.18/lineal foot for labor costs. As laughable as that is, I guess something is better than nothing.

I wish my experience with Trex had been as satisfactory as yours. As previously stated, I'm just paranoid about getting burned again with these composites.

[BrianS]

I wish my experience with Trex had been as satisfactory as yours. As previously stated, I'm just paranoid about getting burned again with these composites.

What is the material made of? I have some experience with single ply membranes on both the commercial installation and sales side of things and can tell you that not all membrane is created equal.