Is Trex bad? Composite Decking Choices

last month

last modified: last month

We are building a huge deck (1600 square feet) and in the process of choosing a composite decking product. I assumed Trex was the best choice for good quality at reasonable price, but ran into some discussions on how terrible Trex is. The size of the deck means cost is a big factor, but we want a good quality product no matter what. Concerns are scratching, fading, cracking, heat for walking. Would appreciate any input/recommendations on other brands to try.

Southern California--arid climate--temperatures 90's to 100's in summer. Some deck in shade, some in direct sun.

We are considering:

Trex Select @ $58/16" board (don't like to look of it but we can live with it) Good price at local supplier

Trex Enhance (grooved) @ $41.56/16' board--Good price at Lowes

Fiberon concordia Horizon @ $88/16' board

Timbertech Legacy @ $101/16' board

Timbertech AZEK Harvest PVC 6" @74.60/16' board

Open to any suggestions/advice!!

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HALLETT & Co.

last month

First generation trex was terrible- stained and marked constantly. The new stuff is great. The word Trex is often used interchangeably with the word composite decking since they were one of the first producers. I have timbertech dark hickory and we love it. Sorry you posted on a not very popular section of the forums...

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Comments (17)

aliceblois
Original Author
last month
Can anyone weigh in on this? Is mold the problem with Trex? Mold not a concern in our climate--maybe Trex is bad in damper climates? I can't get any information other than alluding to Trex being terrible but no details.
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If you can find the Veranda styles that are manufactured by Fiberon, that's probably a good choice---or just get Fiberon for that matter. I did a lot of research on this and concluded that among "traditional" composites (that is, mix of wood flour and plastics), Evergrain and Fiberon seemed among the best. I like the fact that Fiberon "Pro" series is reversible and I like the look of Fiberon "Tropics" and I believe HD sells Veranda that is really just rebadged versions of these products. If you've decided on composites over wood, you have your reasons and no doubt, there are some advantages to composites such as no painful splinters and no refinishing every couple years. Wood has it's benefits too, but it's a personal choice and the notion that you should pick one over the other is ridiculous---it's all personal choices and personal needs. If you'd consider one that is 100% plastic, Azek Deck/ProCell is pretty nice. I suggest going to the websites and even calling the manufacturers for samples. The Fiberon people were really helpful.
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H D
last month
That deck above is gorgeous! Aliceblois—Consumer Reports just did an article with ratings of different decking materials that you might find helpful.
aliceblois
Original Author
last month
Thanks for the input. We also have Timbertech at our current home and love it. What I don't love is paying over $100 per deck board! Basic Trex is half the cost but looks like it was made at the toy factory. Timbertech has such a better look and is definitely a better product. We are weighing our choices today and appreciate your info!
H D
last month
Timbertech has a great warranty apparently— I’m looking at boards with 30 year warranty. I would love to know what color Timbertech you have. We are torn between some of the darker vs. lighter shades. Sorry I can’t be more helpful about Trex.
aliceblois
Original Author
last month
We have Timbertech Pro Legacy Collection Tigerwood here at our current home. Installed in 2016 and looks great. No fading on south facing deck, No scratches (even though we move our patio furniture often), not too hot to walk on, not slippery. Very nice color medium brown. Looks like real wood.
PRO
The Kitchen Place
last month
As an owner of a mom and pop kitchen shop, I always try to shop smaller stores.....somewhere other than a box store. Carter Lumber in Ohio quoted Trex and the price was right until I realized the price was for the deckboards ONLY and no lumber or railing. So I went to Home Depot and ordered Fiberon Brazilian Walnut at $35.98 per 16' board. We plan on downsizing in a few years so we were fine with this. I have no regrets and my deck looks great. I went with Home Depot Trex Composite Black railing. Here it is during construction (stairs and skirting not done).
H D
last month
Thanks Aliceblois, that’s great to hear, will take a look at the Tigerwood. The Kitchen Place, your deck is beautiful!
K H
last month
This is our second winter with our Azek Harvest Deck. Very happy with how it looks and feels. It looks exactly like the day we got it. No fading or warping and not too hot to walk on. We live in Canada where winters can be extreme, and so far the deck survived it without any visual changes. Summers can get hot here too, but not as hot as Southern Cali I’d think.
We went with the slate grey color. Highly recommend PVC over composite decking, as PVC doesn’t grow mould or mildew.
H D
last month
Aliceblois and KH, I would love to see a picture of your decks if convenient.
K H
last month
@H D Here you go! We have a full deck. The color is a light beige so it doesn’t get very hot. Hope this helps.
H D
last month
Wow that’s beautiful and really does looks like real wood! Thanks so much for posting. Your siding looks light- is it tan or beige? I’m trying to find a deck color for our tan/beige house.
K H
last month
last modified: last month
@H D Do you mean the siding up the stairs? That’s actually our detached garage and the siding is light beige. Our house has red bricks, no sidings. And thank you. The PVC decking does look like real wood but with way less maintenance.
aliceblois
Original Author
23 days ago
last modified: 23 days ago
@H D As requested, here's our Timbertech Legacy Pro Tigerwood installed at our home in 2016. It needs a good cleaning and was not installed well, but we are very happy with how it's held up. We are constantly moving our furniture around and never any scratches. Has not faded, doesn't get too hot--a really great deck. I like that the surface is the smoother "hand scraped" vs. the rougher wood grain surface. For deck #2 at our new lake house build (the one in the original question above), we are going with Timbertech Reserve Pro in Antique Leather. I like that Timbertech is coated all around including the grooves. Very expensive--especially for a big deck but we have accepted the cost and moving on with installation.
lgatter
21 days ago
I'm researching some deck choices now. One of my decisions is to steer clear of anything made of PVC. It's very toxic to the environment in terms of manufacturing. the Timber Tech Azek is PVC and I believe there are other popular brands that are PVC as well. Timber Tech also makes composite decking in their Edge and Pro lines and I"m considering those. There is also a company called Dekorators that uses a mineral base, with no wood, so it's very good in terms of expansion / contraction and doesn't have the mold issues that a composite with wood has.
H D
21 days ago
Aliceblois, wow your deck is gorgeous, thanks so much for posting! Your view is pretty amazing too 😊 it’s funny because I’ve narrowed our choices to the TT Tigerwood or Antique Leather. I do love the smooth finish of the Tigerwood. Tough decision.
PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
21 days ago
Stick with Trex and use Transcend decking. As HALLETT & Co. mentioned, in the beginning, they had some issues and they did stick to their warranty and replaced all problematic issues they had, and Trex is top-notch decking on the market now. Installed hundreds of decks and visited the same homes years down the road to do other work and the decking looked as if it was installed yesterday.