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Forum Thread

Nice deck

70,256 5,366 March 21, 2018 at 03:58 PM in Finance
laugh out loud

Ok now that I got that out of the way...

Composite vs wood decks discuss.

The builder who made this little neighborhood of home has added decks to most and I can pay to have one added to mine but they are plain wood.. looks like just pine, I will assume treated wood but it's pretty basic. And their quote sounds pricey to me...

I will wait until I move in and shop around for someone to add a deck. I'll have to get stupid HOA approval but think I can get better than what I see on the other homes by doing my own deck shopping.

I am thinking about a composite deck (trex or maybe not)...but have read some bad reviews in that the cold weather makes them contract and break free of the "hidden" bolt things and then it's all warped and unusable.

Does anyone have experience with trex or any other composite decking in cold climates?
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Joined Jan 2010
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> bubble2 6,121 Posts
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ProfessorChaos
03-21-2018 at 07:44 PM.
03-21-2018 at 07:44 PM.
Quote from Schooby :
laugh out loud

Nice Deck

Whoops....

Thought this was a Stormy Daniels thread....

EEK!
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Joined Mar 2018
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> bubble2 2 Posts
uncleslick
03-21-2018 at 07:52 PM.
03-21-2018 at 07:52 PM.
I told U! Dek NOT inpordant! We must do weesearch!
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Joined Jun 2006
Jambi-rific in Seattle!
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Zoe Moon
03-21-2018 at 07:58 PM.
03-21-2018 at 07:58 PM.
Quote from fsyowad :
But u may have to deal with weeds...
He put a weed barrier and layer of polymeric sand under the pavers to help retard any weeds from coming up between the pavers. We sold the house a few years later and it never had weeds while we were there.
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Last edited by Zoe Moon March 21, 2018 at 08:01 PM.
Joined Feb 2010
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idkist
03-22-2018 at 05:11 AM.
03-22-2018 at 05:11 AM.
My last house I built a 16'x25' deck with composite decking. I had no issues with cold in upstate NY and I had the hidden fasteners. My new house I'll probably be doing a 12'x18' composite deck this summer when the house is finished being built. The builder wanted somewhere around 15k for a 12'x12' wood deck. I built my 16'x25' for 7.5k.
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Joined Nov 2003
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rayzac | Staff
03-22-2018 at 05:35 AM.
03-22-2018 at 05:35 AM.
We did composite decking. I believe you saw the pics on my FB. It has been 2 years so far and some cold weather and no issues. Be careful not to go too dark as they can get hot in the sun and bad for puppy paws though. Ours gets warm but not bad enough to burn.
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Joined Dec 2004
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Original Poster
Schooby
03-22-2018 at 05:47 AM.
03-22-2018 at 05:47 AM.
Quote from Iaaaiws :
lol at all the old people putting a priority on how long something is going to last. laugh out loud
Harhar WhompSandhitlaugh out loud


Quote from fsyowad :
Termites would just love a wood deck. Not so sure about composite.
Thanks, don't think I've ever had to worry too much about those critters.


Quote from Zoe Moon :
After having both a wooden deck and a paver patio I would never go back to a deck. The decks (wooden or composite) require maintenance but the big difference is with a paver patio you won't have to deal with snakes, rats, mice, possums, etc., setting up home under a deck and the pavers will last much longer than a wood or composite deck.

It's a little more money up front but if they put the pavers in, in the correct way the patio should last for 20 to 30 years perhaps longer. Our patio guy dug down, put in some drainage (because we had a slope towards the house) and then built a paver patio with a concrete and rebar shoulder underneath the ground so the pavers wouldn't move with frost and thaws over the years.
I had thought about pavers too.. my brother had a nice paver patio at a former house.. he did have to deal with chipmunks burrowing under them and him needed to realign them and reseat them laugh out loud But it was sharp. Prob more than I want or can put into it for a long time. And as Iaaaiws points out.. I'll be Zombie by then.


Quote from idkist :
My last house I built a 16'x25' deck with composite decking. I had no issues with cold in upstate NY and I had the hidden fasteners. My new house I'll probably be doing a 12'x18' composite deck this summer when the house is finished being built. The builder wanted somewhere around 15k for a 12'x12' wood deck. I built my 16'x25' for 7.5k.
Good info, thanks Smilie When you say "I built".. does that mean the 7.5K was just materials and you did the labor?



Quote from rayzac :
We did composite decking. I believe you saw the pics on my FB. It has been 2 years so far and some cold weather and no issues. Be careful not to go too dark as they can get hot in the sun and bad for puppy paws though. Ours gets warm but not bad enough to burn.
Thanks for the reminder of heat absorption.. I shall have to go back and look at your deck laugh out loud
I remember the whole back of the house looked very nice so it must not look "plastic-y" which is a little bit of a concern for me.. maybe I have been around them and not even noticed.

* thanks for supplying the pic.
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Joined Feb 2010
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idkist
03-22-2018 at 06:10 AM.
03-22-2018 at 06:10 AM.
Quote from Schooby :
Good info, thanks When you say "I built".. does that mean the 7.5K was just materials and you did the labor?
Yeah, that's correct. I did all the labor. Just trying to give some kind of reference for labor mark-up.

I'll agree with the heat comment too. Ours was a "cedar" brown color. It did get pretty warm on bare feet when in direct sun light.
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Last edited by idkist March 22, 2018 at 06:13 AM.

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Joined Dec 2004
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> bubble2 70,256 Posts
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Original Poster
Schooby
03-22-2018 at 06:13 AM.
03-22-2018 at 06:13 AM.
Quote from idkist :
Yeah, that's correct. I did all the labor. Just trying to give some kind of reference for labor mark-up.

I'll agree with the heat comment too. Ours was a "cedar" brown color. It did get pretty warm on bare feet when in direct sun light.
Thanks. Yeah I don't want to have it too hot for dog paws. Good reminder.
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Joined Jul 2003
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DC
03-22-2018 at 07:02 AM.
03-22-2018 at 07:02 AM.
Quote from rayzac :
We did composite decking. I believe you saw the pics on my FB. It has been 2 years so far and some cold weather and no issues. Be careful not to go too dark as they can get hot in the sun and bad for puppy paws though. Ours gets warm but not bad enough to burn.
That looks pretty nice Ray! nod
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Joined Sep 2006
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> bubble2 19,431 Posts
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Fallacy
03-22-2018 at 07:32 AM.
03-22-2018 at 07:32 AM.
We had a composite deck built 2 years ago. We were thinking between wood and composite, and went with composite. Trex isn't the only company that does it. Azec and Fiberon are also great.

No issues in the winter. In the summer the fake decking gets a little hot to walk barefoot, if that's your thing. The only maintenance we do is pressure wash it 2-3 times a year.

Schooby, I'll PM you a couple photos for ideas in case you go with composite. Nevermind, I can't PM photos, and I don't have access to any photo sharing sites at work.
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Last edited by Fallacy March 22, 2018 at 07:38 AM.
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rayzac | Staff
03-22-2018 at 07:50 AM.
03-22-2018 at 07:50 AM.
Quote from DC :
That looks pretty nice Ray! nod
Thanks. A friend actually did it for us. Some of it is custom like we used the floor boards as the railing but the underside is not finished so he cut them down and put them together so you do not see an unfinished edge.
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> bubble2 35,473 Posts
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DC
03-22-2018 at 07:53 AM.
03-22-2018 at 07:53 AM.
Quote from rayzac :
Thanks. A friend actually did it for us. Some of it is custom like we used the floor boards as the railing but the underside is not finished so he cut them down and put them together so you do not see an unfinished edge.
Those are nice details...the mark of a Pro vs. Amateur. nod

Edit: Question, where did you get the Sun medallion hanging on the wall? I've wanted to get one of those, but the were stupid expensive and the SD'er in me said no way and didn't buy one.
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Last edited by DC March 22, 2018 at 07:55 AM.
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rayzac | Staff
03-22-2018 at 07:59 AM.
03-22-2018 at 07:59 AM.
Quote from DC :
Those are nice details...the mark of a Pro vs. Amateur. nod

Edit: Question, where did you get the Sun medallion hanging on the wall? I've wanted to get one of those, but the were stupid expensive and the SD'er in me said no way and didn't buy one.
No idea. My husband had it before I met him so it is well over 10 years old. I hate it though because it is a haven for wasps to build a nest behind with the direct sunlight and all.
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Joined Jul 2003
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DC
03-22-2018 at 08:01 AM.
03-22-2018 at 08:01 AM.
Quote from rayzac :
No idea. My husband had it before I met him so it is well over 10 years old. I hate it though because it is a haven for wasps to build a nest behind with the direct sunlight and all.
Ah...good to know. I might just stay with my plan to make a wooden one that sits flush on the fence, not letting anything get in behind it. bulb
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Joined Dec 2004
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> bubble2 70,256 Posts
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Original Poster
Schooby
03-22-2018 at 08:21 AM.
03-22-2018 at 08:21 AM.
Quote from Fallacy :
We had a composite deck built 2 years ago. We were thinking between wood and composite, and went with composite. Trex isn't the only company that does it. Azec and Fiberon are also great.

No issues in the winter. In the summer the fake decking gets a little hot to walk barefoot, if that's your thing. The only maintenance we do is pressure wash it 2-3 times a year.

Schooby, I'll PM you a couple photos for ideas in case you go with composite. Nevermind, I can't PM photos, and I don't have access to any photo sharing sites at work.
Thanks, yeah I have a feeling Trex will be higher just for the name.

I should be closing on the house on the 4th Whee
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