Need to re-do deck....are composites still problematic?


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Old 09-15-07, 11:56 AM
T
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Need to re-do deck....are composites still problematic?

We have a deck on the 3rd floor of our house. It sits on the roof above a bedroom. The old boards were cracking and splitting and the roof was leaking. I had to take off the old boards and I am getting rid of them. I need to choose a material to re-do the deck (the structural parts are all fine).

Initially, I had wanted to use Ipe, but with it being on a roof that has had problems with leaking, I don't know that I should. Ideally, for the best appearance I would want to countersink all the fasteners and plug the holes but this would make it impossible to ever access the roof again. I don't really like the look of the stainless fasteners and I am concerned with being able to ever get them out once installed because they are so soft. Also, installation is far more labor intensive and the material is also more expensive.

I've been looking at composite and plastic products as an option. I hate the look of most of them as does my wife. The only ones we both liked were the Timbertech twin finish planks and the Trex Brasilia. At $2.25-$2.50 per lineal foot they are substantially cheaper then Ipe which is currently pushing $4/ft. Everything I read about composite decking is either manufacturers marketing material or customer nightmares. Most of the horror stories seem to come from 2-3yrs ago though. I'm wondering whether these companies and these products have seen improvements since then that make them a safe choice?

As I said, this will be on the third floor roof of our home so it will be exposed to all the elements. We live in Philadelphia, so we get hot, humid summers (in the 90's) and cold, wet winters (20s-30s more rain and ice than snow). I do have one tree that drops alot of leaves on this deck so staining will be a concern. Also, as it is on a roof that is practically flat, standing water beneath the deck may be an issue. Do the anti-mold treatments in these products work or am I still at risk of developing black mildew? The decking itself will be sitting on a frame of 2x10 treated lumber.

-Tim
 
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Old 09-15-07, 12:51 PM
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Tim,

I can't comment on the Timbertech -- I have never dealt with it.

Trex has changed the makeup of their Brasilia in the past year so that now all of the wood fiber is hardwoods -- they use no softwood in it whatsoever.

Mold/mildew shouldn't be a problem with it. About the only Trex product that ever had a spotting issue was their Natural color, and they discontinued that several year ago. (That was never a Brasilia color anyway.)

You are correct about the use of stainless steel fasteners. If you have ever tried to remove one from a compostie, you know that it's virtually impossible. Removing Trapeze screws is difficult enough.

The tree leaves will stain any composite if you allow them to lay on the deck for any length of time. Sweep or hose them off frequently.
 
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Old 09-15-07, 02:49 PM
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Thanks, that makes me feel better about the Trex. I would love to use Ipe if only there was a way to install it that I knew I could "undo" if I needed to access the roof.
 
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Old 09-15-07, 03:15 PM
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Tim,

If I were decking over a roof, especially one that is virtually flat, I would install metal roofing before building the deck. Metal roofing will outlast 2 or 3 decks, and leaks are virtually unheard of.
 
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Old 09-15-07, 08:24 PM
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In-laws used composite on their lake home deck four years ago and no problems at all so far. I plan to never use wood for a deck again ever, especially if it's cheaper than wood (ipe's pretty pricey).
 
 

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