UltraDeck (Menards) composite decking?
j_omom
16 years ago
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Paul Ahern
last yearHU-254575643
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Do your dogs go across your deck to go outside?
Comments (14)Saw your post and pics on the Decor forum and have to agree with others that the worst wear is from the weather. But, you also have a combination of mold, algae, old solid stain (or paint) on the surface and possible rot under the boards. As handymac mentioned, the joints and screw heads look suspicious. We always had a wood deck when we lived in Calif and even with our short rainy season we had to clean and restain at least every two years. Like yours, it would wear worst in the areas exposed to the sun and rain while the areas under the eaves looked untouched. I hated that deck as much as I loved it! Cedar is a very soft wood and I can understand your son not wanting you to use the pressure washer. Judging by the pics, it appears you already have raised grain in several areas. To get the deck nice again, I think you're going to need to sand the surface and then treat it with something that will strip everything that's left. After that it will need yearly treatments. If you go to all that trouble I'd suggest laying flagstone, precast concrete, etc. at the bottom of your steps and training the dogs to go there as long as possible. But my guess is that eventually, as the dogs age, they won't be able to use the steps and will probably start using the deck again. Our current home has a composite deck and I can't say enough good about it. No more chemicals and no more treatments! I know others recommended replacing your boards with a composite, but it's not that simple. Composite needs more support than wood so the structure underneath your deck will need some 'beefing up'. Unless all the work needed to restore your deck will be DIY, I suggest you calculate the costs of treatment, sanding, and continued costs of staining, then compare that to the cost of replacing the boards with composite. Before doing anything, I would have someone climb under the deck, if possible, and check for rot. If you have rot, nothing will adhere to the wood. BTW, I think rubber mats will just hold more moisture and cause things to rot faster....See MoreEON decking,
Comments (29)I used Eon decking about 17 years ago. The worst decking company in the world. Consumer Digest rated it the top of the line at the time and so did Home Depot. What a joke. My boards are cracking everywhere and the color is not the same. The problem that I have is that the company claimed that it was a 100% guarantee. I tried to get them to honor that guarantee and they stated that they were bankrupt and out of business. I have two decks that cost me over $20,000. I am pissed. If I replace some of the boards they will probable crack again and still the color is off. I am told the only place I can get them from is Canada. Please, whoever is thinking about Eon don't. My neighbor used Ultra decking and he is totally happy with his deck. I wish I could sue this company but that had a letter out there that wouldn't let you sue them. It is totally unfair....See MoreSo we're designing a big ol' deck....
Comments (20)Mmmm, nice visual with that oats analogy, John. ;-p I've got a layout now. I was working through all the load calculations by hand in figuring out where the piers needed to go, how thick the beams and joists needed to be, etc. when I saw an offer on decks.com. $100 gets you a deck design. That was hard to pass up, so I bit the bullet, and 24 hours later I've got them in hand (how cool is that?). It's bare bones, no 3D rendering or anything, but it did my engineering calcs for me, so I'm a happy camper. Here's my excel mock-up, showing some of the detail. Here's the framing plan and the pergola plan. The left portion is about 15x20 and pergola'd. The upper right portion is about 10x20 and pergola'd. (this is west-facing). The bottom right is just benched, with a fire pit planned. Decking is going perpendicular to the house so I can use full boards and avoid butt joints. Any input welcome, as to our layout and any issues you potentially see with construction....See MoreHome build advice - Need everything!!
Comments (67)The Anderson windows are made of Fibrex: "We call it Fibrex® material. It's made up of reclaimed wood fiber and thermoplastic polymer that is fused together and is unique to Andersen." I'm not sure what a thermoplastic polymer is, but I don't think it is fiberglass. I live in an rural area and getting building materials is hard and tedious. So, we had a choice of 2 different types of builder grade vinyl windows and the Anderson 100s if we wanted to get something from a local supplier. We chose the Anderson 100s because they were much nicer than the vinyl choices we had. For what it's worth, my husband installed various types of windows for over 40 years starting with wood windows and aluminum and then onto vinyl. He likes these Andersons. As to your question about how I like the single-hungs. I guess it depends on which way you swing the casement window, but I'm not that fond of them because if they swing in, they take up room in the house. If they swing out, then in our windy area they tend to rattle. So, that's why we went with the single-hungs. We had to go with sliders in the basement because they are 4 foot wide, and they are fine too. Regarding facing west. Because of our lot constraints, the front of our house faces east and the back faces west. The afternoon/evening sun blasts in the windows. However, I have a beautiful view out the back and the sunsets are stunning so I can live with the sun. If you don't have a view or a compelling reason to face the back of the house to the west, I would seriously consider changing it....See MoreUser
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