SIGNIFICANT WATER POOLING ACROSS NEW DECK SURFACE We recently had a deck built with TimberTech Azek and it looks great. The product was recommended by our contractor and Big Creek Lumber. It is not cheap, nor was the installation ($40,000+). We had realistic expectations, but now we have problems. PROBLEMS: We have significant water pooling/cupping from a couple rains and some heavy mist. (I've also noticed dried dirt marks left behind when it finally dries, but that's a secondary issue.) CUSTOMER SERVICE: I reached out via phone to a representative from the website. He assured me that some "beading" was natural and over time this would stop. When it didn't stop, I reached out to my contractor because this is not "beading"; this is pooling. I waited a few more weeks and after more pooling from heavy mist and fog, I reached out to my contractor. My conscientious contractor said he has used this material before and has not seen or heard of the issue from any of his clients. He promptly gave me his rep's name and number. The rep said she's had no issues over the past 2 years and she would check—with someone—at the company. She emailed saying that "beading" was normal at first. I sent her deck photos of: Pooling/cupping from rain comparing my neighbor's dry, non-cupping, deck (with another composite-type product). So side by side, at the same time of day, with same weather conditions and sun exposure, my neighbor's deck was dry while mine was significantly pooling with standing water along the entire surface. I also sent a photo of significant pooling/cupping from heavy mist. I have asked the rep for a timeline of when this should stop or resolve itself. I haven't heard back yet and am concerned. A site search brought me to this page with the following: TimberTech's stated superiority over wood decking cupping. Product promotion that helps prevent cupping. Suggestions to dry your deck with a squeegee or mop when there is standing water. Dangers of "standing water," becoming slick (falling danger) and damage to the wood substructure. In summary, the site does not come out and admit pooling/cupping, but it talks about dangers and care of standing water. WHERE TO GO FROM HERE: I'll be calling the rep and asking for a site visit asap, unless anyone else has a suggestion.

Morning Beth, Love the bathroom wall! Super cool! Just very cool and super interesting.(Japanese garden seat is an interesting twist) Next time we have a bathroom to redo you're getting the call for the design! Here's an outdoor shower that one of our customer's built using 5/4x6 FSC Cumaru Shorts and last photo is a door we built using genuine Burmese Teak. It's a lovely wood and I if I remember correctly we were around $24 bd/ft for 8/4. Teak can be very expensive depending on the sizes you're using and the old adage of "measure twice cut once" could be upped to 3/1 because mistakes are costly. Yes, as you well know, these woods are super hard, but don't require any special saws to cut them. Carbide tipped blades and a little bit of patience and it will go right through. It does not cut super quick and easy like a piece of PT. Morning Tony! Welcome to the conversation and so glad your happy with your PT deck. It looks fantastic! There are few lovelier places to be than outdoors in your neck of the woods during the summer (Go Badgers!) Few points of note. Hardwoods require no more nor less maintenance than PT. Period. The choice is one about usable lifespan, pricing, aesthetics, and the environment. Beth oils it because she chooses to oil it not because she has to. The "maintenance" is an aesthetic choice and that's all. We've known individuals in Wisconsin and Chicago and Buffalo who go years without oiling their Hardwood decks and the color doesn't fade. (We're sure we already posted it here in this thread, but just in case we didn't, to see how easy it is to Oil a deck go to our video gallery and watch our "How To Oil" video https://www.soluslumber.com/gallery-how-to-videos/ )The main factor is the amount of sunlight it is exposed to as opposed to snow and rain and cold. If you place your respective woods next to each other and wait 25 years one will still look great and the the other will need to be replaced. Ipe was used on the Coney Island boardwalk and was down for roughly 75 years untreated before it was replaced. Contractor who won the bid kept the reclaimed material, surface planed it, and resold it. We personally have a boardwalk in Massachusetts using 2x6 PT boards, it is 20 years old, hasn't been oiled with any preservative, had to flip the boards because they got too bad to walk on and now the second side is done and desperately needs to be replaced as their useful life is over. Our porches are 1x4 Cedar left totally untreated and they're still doing great. Composite ( there are so many different kinds that now fall under that heading but too early in a Monday morning to open the can of worms on that discussion), but agree they do get hot to walk on and you raised a great point about the sagging. With composite we do not EVER receimmend a 24" OC center joist span for this very reason. 16"OC is the absolute minimum we recommend independent of what a manufacturer may say and we're not opposed to 12" OC depending on board size and what you plan to put in top of it. Very smart move on the stainless steel screws (304-305ss will do the trick) Joist tape is never a bad idea. It will help protect your joist from water sitting in them and rotting the wood. Some water will still get in around the screws and that's where the problems will start, but the tape will definitely help mitigate that.

I don't have any advice on non-wood options, but if you're looking for low-maintenance, don't automatically dismiss wood. Tropical hardwoods like ipe and cumaru are as low-maintenance as you can get; you don't have to do anything, and they would excel in your climate. If you're worried about fading, then you can oil the deck once a year to preserve the color, but it's not necessary. Tropical hardwoods are expensive, but by the time you get into the decent-quality synthetic options the prices are comparable. The most significant difference is that these hardwoods have been proven time and time again to last for decades, while synthetic decking has a short, dubious performance record.

We're looking at putting in a Decorators Vault brand decking. I'm wondering if anyone has used Deckorators Vault brand in their decking and how has it been in general but also as far as dirt and pollen collecting in those crevices. TimberTech is our second choice but we've heard that people have had problems with scratching. Any thoughts on either of these?