Anyone "invest" in this, or the comparable expensive deck materials?
Is it worth the extra money over wood?

As always on this site, IF the prime goal is cost or its cousin cost vs life and of course this has become the SOP standard for all that with possible better competitors.

If it doesn't cost more, then fill/backfill/compation flatwork/pavers will DO more & better for most everything, fireproof & no more expense.

If terrain slopes too much, then big $$$ selects a more fireproof Brazil wood or teak/other hardwood that is judged "forever" and "carefree".

Maybe I invest with investors a concrete/Hardie plank.deck.wood and get rich ...

I really like trex except that it gets burning hot in the summer sun. If afternoon sun is hitting your deck, it can burn people and dog feet. I think they will send you a sample on their website so that you can put it in your deck spot and see how hot it gets.

agnerd said:

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I really like trex except that it gets burning hot in the summer sun. If afternoon sun is hitting your deck, it can burn people and dog feet. I think they will send you a sample on their website so that you can put it in your deck spot and see how hot it gets.

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Allegedly they have some new products out that don't get as hot.

I used Azek when I put in my deck and really like the look. Due to the heat issues mentioned above, I went with a lighter color. Over the last 3 years of installation it's been a non-issue. I did the work myself and it was a low deck.

I installed 12" OC framing which may be overkill, but the deck is solid and for the size I was building the cost delta was a non-factor to me.

On installation, get several bits to face screw as they wear out and it's nice to parallelize the task with others. Once the bit is set, face screwing was easy enough for my kids to do. The best way to hide the plugs is to ensure that you're aligning the grain and they disappear.

I can't say if the cost delta was worth it or not, but after 3 years it looks as good as new with minimal maintenance. You'll still have to power wash/clean the deck, but I could replace a board today and I think it'd blend right in.

We used a similar product for ours. I love it because of the ease of maintenance. It does get hot, but we're not barefoot on it in the middle of the summer anyway. Definitely worth it to me to not have to mess with restaining or refinishing.

IslandAg76 said:

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Anyone "invest" in this, or the comparable expensive deck materials?
Is it worth the extra money over wood?

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I helped my dad redo his back patio from pressure treated southern yellow pine to trek after the SYP reached its end of life last year.

Pros:
-it is nicer under foot with respect to surface finish and splinters
-the modern layout you usually see does look nicer

Cons:
-bigger gaps between boards to accommodate the hidden fasteners, make sure whoever is doing the job paints the sub structure black so it fades out of view when you're done.
-gets stupid hot if its in direct sunlight in the summer.

Since this patio isn't in the evening sun it wasn't an issue, but something to be concerned about. It does look very nice and my parents are very happy with it.

I've heard good things about timbertech as a pvc based product that helps with the temperature. But fyi, pvc based products are susceptible to large amounts of thermal expansion.

Face screwing is generally viewed as stronger and, with plugs, become practically invisible. I think this largely mitigates the gap situation. You can gap it to pretty much whatever you want (though as you mentioned you probably want >1/16 for thermal expansion)

Thanks all, this is in Galveston and some of it is over boat house-full sun

IslandAg76 said:

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Thanks all, this is in Galveston and some of it is over boat house-full sun

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Looks like you get to include building a patio cover as part of this project as well.

IslandAg76 said:

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Anyone "invest" in this, or the comparable expensive deck materials?
Is it worth the extra money over wood?

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My dad built a trex deck over the lake he lived on in northwest houston and pretty much never did a thing to it other than a hose rinse now and then.

This was in the mid 90s. It's still there. Full sun and water exposure for 30 years.

So to answer the question, that's probably a yes.

Ryan the Temp said:

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agnerd said:

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I really like trex except that it gets burning hot in the summer sun. If afternoon sun is hitting your deck, it can burn people and dog feet. I think they will send you a sample on their website so that you can put it in your deck spot and see how hot it gets.

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Allegedly they have some new products out that don't get as hot.

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'don't get as hot' still = hot.

I got about 3-4 samples each from 3-4 companies when deciding on this last year, and put em all outside in full CO sun.
The heat reducing ones are still hot for sure.

I ended up with Trex enhance which was one of the cheaper lines and coincidentally had the heat mitigating tech.. but mostly we picked it because they had the color we wanted (no colors are in more than 1 line for Trex), and it had the hidden fastener install.

Yes, but frankly in direct sun in Texas everything, including wood, is hot to walk on barefoot. Tons of factors go into it like what color you stain the decking and the actual type of wood. A light color is going to be cooler, but in Galveston, just wear your flip flops and it's a non-issue.