IMHO the biggest draw back to them is that they are not structural. You
have to use a structural material to support them. My experience is that
the structural material is going to deteriorate before that which you walk
on.



"Therasa" wrote in message
...
Just wondering if anyone has looked into the composite decking materials
like Trex, Veranda, Eon, ChoiceDeck, Evergrain, or CertainTeed.

Which do you think is best? Have you used one and been happy or not happy?
Any lessons learned? Where did you get the material?

Thanks

"Therasa" wrote in message

Just wondering if anyone has looked into the composite decking materials
like Trex, Veranda, Eon, ChoiceDeck, Evergrain, or CertainTeed.

Which do you think is best? Have you used one and been happy or not
happy? Any lessons learned? Where did you get the material?

I've looked at it but I'm not overly excited. The concept is good, but in
practice, it seems lacking. Just not the same as real wood as it flexes a
lot.

FWIW, I did look at mahogany and Ipe. They would be my first choice. I
figured the cost of just the flooring on my 12 x 16 deck will be about $700.
Mahogany was $1.90 a lineal foot, Ipe $2.10. For supports, a 4 x 4 x 8' was
about $45. That was priced this past June. I made a garden bench from the
mahogany.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
om...

FWIW, I did look at mahogany and Ipe. They would be my first choice. I
figured the cost of just the flooring on my 12 x 16 deck will be about
$700. Mahogany was $1.90 a lineal foot, Ipe $2.10. For supports, a 4 x 4
x 8' was about $45. That was priced this past June. I made a garden bench
from the mahogany.
Ed


I have a deck that is going on 21 years old. PT all the way and the posts
are starting to rot. Ipe would be my choice as the life expentancy is 50
years out doors. I am thinking chain link fence galvanized posts as
replacements.

I used trex decking on a 20 by 20 gazebo built 2 1/2 years ago. It looks
great and as long as you stick to the recommended joist spacing, flexing is
not a problem. I used regular deck screws and sunk them in, but it left a
little roughness around each hole. There is a special deck screw for this
material which cuts the hole smooth around the head and if I had it to do
again I would use these.

John
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
om...
"Therasa" wrote in message

Just wondering if anyone has looked into the composite decking
materials
like Trex, Veranda, Eon, ChoiceDeck, Evergrain, or CertainTeed.

Which do you think is best? Have you used one and been happy or not
happy? Any lessons learned? Where did you get the material?

I've looked at it but I'm not overly excited. The concept is good, but in
practice, it seems lacking. Just not the same as real wood as it flexes a
lot.

FWIW, I did look at mahogany and Ipe. They would be my first choice. I
figured the cost of just the flooring on my 12 x 16 deck will be about
$700.
Mahogany was $1.90 a lineal foot, Ipe $2.10. For supports, a 4 x 4 x 8'
was
about $45. That was priced this past June. I made a garden bench from the
mahogany.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome

I replaced my pressure treated SYP deck after 12 years.
I now believe that the "vast" majority of failure in that
deck was the fastners used in the installation. They were
16p hot dipped nails and "every single one" failed. After
talking to a number of friends, they all have the exact
same problem.

When I replaced the decking(supports were all fine), I used
a system called "Deck Master" which is nothing but a series
of galvanized strips that allow you to screw the decking
from below.

The finish on the deck is great and I really like
not having nail heads that are sitting there waiting to rust
by the puddling water in the nail heads.

I believe this method will greatly increase the life of the
deck.

On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 02:07:23 GMT, Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Therasa" wrote in message

Which do you think is best? Have you used one and been happy or not
happy? Any lessons learned? Where did you get the material?

I've looked at it but I'm not overly excited. The concept is good, but in
practice, it seems lacking. Just not the same as real wood as it flexes a
lot.

I used the Monarch product as sold at Home Depot. Comes grey, gets greyer
a bit in the past year. Good strength, not much sag, subtle grain look,
feels good on the feet, and machines well. I'd use it again.

Dave Hinz