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Trex (or Composite Decking) Feedback

8 years ago

HI all - do you have a deck made from Trex or Trex Transcends? We're considering it for a deck near/around a pool (abutting to a 4ft concrete spray deck directly around the pool). We're in Florida and get a lot of sun - concerned about chalking, heat of the deck and slipperiness. What has been your experience?

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rjs5134

8 years ago

Father's Trex deck in NJ is too hot to walk on in bare feet.

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Comments (8)

Vicatz
6 years ago
would love to know if you installed composite, brand, and if you like it. i'm in the caribbean and looking at the lightest grey colors of composite decking. worried about the barefoot temp in our blazing hot sun 365 days a year. thanks, C
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Some results from IR temperature measurements for decking samples.. Three manufacturers: Trex (Enhance & Transcend), TimberTech (including Azek by TimberTech), and MoistureShield. 20 samples in all. Deck is medium dark, unstained, south-facing redwood. Accuracy of IR thermometer was about 3 degrees F. Results of two days (Trex & TimberTech) compared to deck temp (120-140 degrees) ... Lighter samples (L Gray, mixed Gray, lighter Brown) were 6-10 degrees above deck temp. Darker samples (Dark Gray, Dark Brown) were a solid 10 degrees above. One off-white sample was 20 degrees below deck temp. The MoistureShield product claim to fame is that it runs 30% cooler than other brands. These 2 samples (L Gray, Brown) were 20 degrees below deck temp. More like 20% below deck with lighter colors but definitely respectable. As expected lighter colors ran cooler (6+) , medium-to-dark were a solid +10. Off-white doesn't seem like a practical deck color but ran coolest. MoistureShield ran cooler (-20) than the deck. Take all this with grain of salt - I averaged measurements best I could, temperatures varied across samples with mixed color densities (like Trex Island Mist - Gray with some black components). All samples composite, no PVC tested.
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PRO
SolusLumber.com
6 years ago
Hi Vicatz, Don't do it..... even the light grey will be blazing hot in direct sun. We're located in South Florida and see this problem all too often. If you're looking for a light grey color product then any of our tropical hardwoods will weather to a silver/grey patina, is incredibly long lasting, and will not be hot underfoot.
Ron Natalie
6 years ago
Never again. I agree, Trex gets beastly hot. Also, it stains easily and is hard to clean. I have a very small amount of trex and what I have left is getting ripped out.
lhutch13
6 years ago
I have composite and it does get hot in the summer so shoes are needed. I haven’t had a staining issue, but power wash it every year, and then it looks brand new. I love my deck.
Ron Natalie
6 years ago
Any kind of oil (be it salad dressing or whatever) is impossible to remove. We're getting what appear to be mildew/mold spots on ours, too. Power washing abrades the surface of the trex making things worse.
Vicatz
6 years ago
Thanks everyone for the comments. I recently put my samples of Trex, Timbertech, Moistureshield, Fiberon, and Azek outside in the sun for the day. At midday i went out and rested the palm of my hand on each sample. All of the samples with any wood fiber in them were very hot. The only one that was bearable was the Azek. About half as hot as the others. I was surprised as I thought the all plastic one would be hotter. Reviews for this product aren't always great especially for the darker colors. Seems that they bleach out badly and unevenly. Azek also has a reputation for discoloring under plant pots and rugs. As I'm thinking about going with their lightest grey I'm hoping for the best. On a good note, The Azek is also much lighter in weight. Natural wood isn't my best option as we are right on the ocean and the deck is 50' above the ground in some places so will get alot of salt spray and weathering on the under side that i can't oil or treat with any weatherproofing. I will try to post some before and after pics when I finally decide what i'm doing.
PRO
SolusLumber.com
6 years ago
Vicatz, lots of our jobs using hardwoods are not only next to the water but in the water! They hold up and look fantastic. Will you have living space underneath the deck and are concerned about the aesthetics above you and not being able to reapply oil?
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