Problems With Trex Decking

Weathered Wood

High density hardwoods will hold up particularly well for decades even in the worst conditions without painting or staining. Many of the mold and mildew removing deck cleaners are effective with softwood decking such as cedar decking and pine. Because it is a softwood, you have to be very careful not to damage your decking if you want to use a pressure washer on cedar decking. Because of their modified properties, they are also insect and rot resistant.

Fading issues are unpredictable and hard to understand. Some Trex decking will have problems and others of the same type will not. This leads us to believe variables in the manufacturing process makes fading worse or better depending on what’s done at the factory. The deck boards look exactly the same, but don’t always perform the same when in the field. Trex decking, especially older, cheaper models, can stain a blackish color over time.

Trex Composite Decking Company Information

• Mold, mildew, and dirt attack every deck - plastic, metal, wood or composite – with evenhanded tenacity, and have to be taken care of at regular intervals.
• Every decking material needs at least a periodic washing.
• Just like the mold, this issue is unpredictable and hard to understand which decking will have problems and which will not.
• All composite manufacturers now recommend a periodic maintenance schedule, specific procedures, and even products by brand name for cleaning and maintaining their composite materials.

Sometimes the materials fail, but it’s very rare. Every material in the construction trade can have a bad manufacturing run. In fact that’s true of just about anything you buy. That’s the reason we have lemon laws for cars and laws protecting consumers.

Decking

Composite decking has become very popular over the past two decades. These decks are constructed of a synthetic wood material that has become popularized as a maintenance free alternative to wood. This all sounded great in the early 2000's but as the years have past it has been found that they are not maintenance free and can actually have more issues than traditional wood decks. The leading manufacturer, Trex has been involved in multiple class action lawsuits as well. The consequence to you as the composite deck owner is that the nice, tight, wood-like joints in your deck when it was installed in July may be wide, unsightly gaps in February.

But the big different is the top of each plank and the top third of each side is capped with a solid plastic that's embossed with wood grain. The capping material also has some extra coloration to simulate the real look of wood. My wife is a very tough critic of all things that are made to simulate wood. She feels this is the closest she's ever seen of any product to replicate real wood. In the summer of 2016, I replaced all of the generation one Trex decking at my home with Trex Transcend. The Transcend product has the same, or similar, core of wood fibers that are encapsulated by plastic. The wood fibers inside the decking are getting wet, rotting and fueling the growth of mushrooms.

Insects, rodents, and other wildlife will also not be attracted to your modified wood deck. Last, but not least, modified wood ages beautifully (even becoming a silvery-grey) and rarely splinters.

Composite Decking Brands

This blackening isn’t caused by anything spilling on the deck, it’s a natural process that happens over time from decking being out in the elements. It doesn’t always happen on ever deck but when it does it really looks bad. New model Trex decking with capped design don’t have staining problems like the older products do according to Trex. In fact, Trex is so confident in the stain resietance of their products they back their entire decking portfolio with a 25 – year Limited Fade & Stain Warranty. As a general rule of thumb assume everything stains a Trex deck.

But to paint the whole category as bad is absolutely false. There are bad brands of products in every building material category…doesn’t mean the whole category is junk.

Trex Composite Decking Reviews: Transcend, Enhance And Select

From premium hardwoods to treated lumber, like high-end IPE, traditional wood offers no capping or surface protection against mold or moisture damage. In fact, when hardwoods start to get moldy it's difficult to effectively clean the deck boards and remove the attached spores. We are literally having a contractor come in 2 days to tear out our existing wood deck, and we were going to install Trex. Thanks to all who posted, because we are going to go with a redwood deck instead. Even if Trex has completely fixed their problems with the decking, I will not help their bottom line when Trex treats customers so cavalierly and badly. All other composite decks seem to have some problems also .

And, since plastic does not expand and contract evenly, those gaps may still be there the following July. There is not a lot that can be done about it – it's the nature of the material. Composites may look like wood but they are not wood, and they don't act like wood. So, don't expect a perfectly convincing wood-like appearance. All materials expand when heated and contract when cooled. Wood expands and contracts but very little along the length of the board.

Trex offered to pay for all our materials but not for the labor. At this point we just wanted it fixed so we took the settlement and bought new boards. We bought our new deck boards at Lowes and used a different brand. I just receive a settlement from Trex for my deck.

Nails and screws are inexpensive, easy to handle, and suitable for nearly any material. But nails can pop loose over time, while screws are more permanent.

Skip Composite And Stick With Real Wood

The plastic in the composite mix is compromised, and water gets past the protective plastic and into the wood flour. This means that special processes must be used in manufacturing and installing composite decks to account for this un-wood-like expansion and contraction. For guidance, we can look to the experience of the vinyl siding industry that has been contending with the problems of plastic expansion for over a half-century. Many of the techniques of installing composite decks are taken from the vinyl siding professionals. But, there are still many problems that have not yet been conquered. In our heat retention tests, dark stained wood was typically Fahrenheit 5° to 10° (Celsius 2.8° to 5.6°) hotter than natural, unstained wood.