Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Apr 13, 2015 14:14:13 GMT -5
I've seen composite products warp.
Because I do take care of our decks ours have lasted a long time. I finally replaced the floor boards of a small upper deck at the cabin. I believe it's original. That makes it 50 years old.
Part of our existing deck is pushing 30 years old. We've replaced one joist since we've owned the house (20 years).
The only other parts of the decks at the cabin that I've had to replace are some of the front support pieces because someone covered them with dirt as part of the remodel project 21 years agot. That would have happened regardless of what the decking material was wood or composite. You're a true gem. If it was going to leave the grain exposed, I can see why this would be nice. Our wood deck is painted and it's fine, but I've had trex before and prefer it to painted wood. Though, #firstworldproblems that we get to debate about what type of deck to have, so we must all have great outdoor spaces to enjoy with people who enrich our lives. Yeah, I stain and don't paint. It makes a big difference.
I honestly don't mind the work until DH pointed out that there were "streaks". I told him next year he gets to do it so he can appreciate what it takes (about half of the house has decking). It's 40 hours of work to clean, prep, stain and clean up.
But I made a mistake last year. Being the cheap person I am I mixed a solid redwood stain that had been at the cabin for a long time with a new translucent one. I really like the look of 1 gal of redwood with 4 gal of cedar. Parts of the railing and some areas of the deck are already peeling. I may be redoing some it in the near future.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Apr 14, 2015 9:34:55 GMT -5
Sigh. This is something I must face this spring, and DW just reminded me of it as the last snow melted off the old split deck boards. I built it 15 years ago using PT decking, and the sun beats mercilessly on it in the summer. This ages it more than any other weather. A few of the boards definitely should be replaced, as they are split beyond being able to fasten securely. Others are marginal. It is structurally fine.
The Deck is 16 x 24, and the decking runs at a 45 degree angle. Plus two sets of stairs. I can either
1. Re-stain with a rejuvenating product, such as Behr Deckover, or Olympic Rescue- it. These products are thick- so thick that they will fill in cracks up to 1/4" thick, and they will in theory add years to the life of the old decking. But, they are expensive, and their coverage rate is terrible, because they go on so thick. I have also heard stories of them peeling, despite what the manufacturers claim. Eventually, when they have t be removed, they are a thick, somewhat toxic mess.
2. Resurface- with either new PT or one of the composite materials. Cost is a consideration of course. Here are prices that I see: 1x6 PT, 16' $14.57 1x6 HD Brand, 16' $26.37 1x5" Trex Transend, 16' $63.04
I have not shopped for discounts yet- I am sure I can beat these prices, but the basic equation remains. The dimensions vary a bit- 5" to 5 1/2". I don't think I will re-stain. I haven't got my head around which material option to go with yet though. What is PT decking?
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CarolinaKat
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Post by CarolinaKat on Apr 14, 2015 10:03:40 GMT -5
Pressure Treated. You know, the green wood. It would be funnier if it was Part-Time decking.... Then it would take Mon-Wed off every week. Or it could be Physical Therapy decking, so you end up having to reach and stretch and do pseudo-yoga moves to get across the deck...
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 14, 2015 10:29:57 GMT -5
We went to Menards last weekend and had some quotes done for just the deck materials w/o the labor - Cedar was about $2,000 and Composite was about $4,000. as we plan to have additional masonry work done, We will not be doing Composite. I want DH to do cedar, he is contemplating doing PT, although he is talking about doing the rails in composite either way. Our carpenter came to start the deck on Saturday and then said he was not feeling well and left. He is a really good carpenter but he is in his early 60's. He works for DH for $20-25/hour. DH asked him to bid the job and he is not comfortable working that way.
DH had a bid from a friend of his brother's and they guy told DH he was bidding it out at $100/hour. His bid was $2,000. We decided we could wait until our regular guy was feeling better and if he is a little slow, he has quite a bit of room before it is going to cost us. Regular guy is a retired union carpenter and has done a lot of work for us. DH's brother is a Union rep for another trade union and the guy he brought over supposedly does work for his union, so he may be on the up and up, but DH had the impression it was a "side job". I told DH if he wants that kind of $$ he better give me his State Contractor's license #, and a certificate of liability ins. and I can 1099 him.
Our retired guy is putting the Posts in today. My DH is like Bonny, I don't think he will mind the upkeep, and if he does, he will probably have a client willing to do it for a reasonable price.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Apr 14, 2015 11:19:28 GMT -5
My DH is like Bonny, I don't think he will mind the upkeep, and if he does, he will probably have a client willing to do it for a reasonable price. Lord help him!
If it gets to him too much you can always hire a good painter. They will probably spray vs hand brush but I think the key is giving it a good clean and keeping some kind of good product on it.
A good product to use is something like this. DH bought a deck flosser maybe 20 years ago. Keeping the debris off the joists has really helped prolong the life of the under-structure.
www.amazon.com/Bradley-Mowers-Scraper-SC2800-Telescoping/dp/B00PD2F8GG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429028044&sr=8-2&keywords=deck+flosser
Also when it comes to cleaning I don't buy any of the fancy bleaching or cleaning products. I just use Oxyclean in a five gallon bucket of water. Nowadays you don't even need to dissolve it in hot water anymore. That used to be a pain. I like it because not only is it both a cleaner and lightener it's o.k. to be around most plants.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 14, 2015 11:26:15 GMT -5
Thanks Bonny. I forwarded it to DH.
I like Oxyclean for washing my tile floors too. I don't use it all the time, but it gets the built up crud off if I use it once a year or so.
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Abby Normal
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Post by Abby Normal on Apr 14, 2015 11:54:30 GMT -5
Composite is not maintenance free. But it is less maintenance than cedar which needs to be stained every few years. DH puts the work into our cedar deck and it looks as good as it did 18 years ago. Of course, we built it right too.
The main issue with composite is mold, and fading. Like someone else mentioned if you need to replace a few boards, you may not be able to find a match. Were as Cedar is always available.
People tend to think that composite is the more eco friendly route. But it's really not. It takes much more energy to produce and most are petroleum based. Where as cedar is a renewable resource. Plus- if you do have an issue with the composite (warping, which is not uncommon) all you can do is put it in the landfill.
Cedar holds up well as long as it doesn't have ground contact. You need pressure treated for that.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 14, 2015 12:02:25 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2015 13:13:46 GMT -5
My Mom and Stepdad have cedar. Dad and Stepmom have composite. Mom has to restain every two years and recently they've been having a lot of problem with warped boards and it not being smooth. Dad loves his deck and it looks great. No maintenance that I know of, but spendy to start.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Apr 14, 2015 14:04:47 GMT -5
We went to Menards last weekend and had some quotes done for just the deck materials w/o the labor - Cedar was about $2,000 and Composite was about $4,000. as we plan to have additional masonry work done, We will not be doing Composite. I want DH to do cedar, he is contemplating doing PT, although he is talking about doing the rails in composite either way. Our carpenter came to start the deck on Saturday and then said he was not feeling well and left. He is a really good carpenter but he is in his early 60's. He works for DH for $20-25/hour. DH asked him to bid the job and he is not comfortable working that way.
DH had a bid from a friend of his brother's and they guy told DH he was bidding it out at $100/hour. His bid was $2,000. We decided we could wait until our regular guy was feeling better and if he is a little slow, he has quite a bit of room before it is going to cost us. Regular guy is a retired union carpenter and has done a lot of work for us. DH's brother is a Union rep for another trade union and the guy he brought over supposedly does work for his union, so he may be on the up and up, but DH had the impression it was a "side job". I told DH if he wants that kind of $$ he better give me his State Contractor's license #, and a certificate of liability ins. and I can 1099 him.
Our retired guy is putting the Posts in today. My DH is like Bonny, I don't think he will mind the upkeep, and if he does, he will probably have a client willing to do it for a reasonable price. We opted for the cedartone PT lumber from Menard's. Still in the process of installing it, so can't tell you how it's worked out. We didn't want to have to wash a composite deck all the time to prevent mold.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 14, 2015 16:23:14 GMT -5
We went to Menards last weekend and had some quotes done for just the deck materials w/o the labor - Cedar was about $2,000 and Composite was about $4,000. as we plan to have additional masonry work done, We will not be doing Composite. I want DH to do cedar, he is contemplating doing PT, although he is talking about doing the rails in composite either way. Our carpenter came to start the deck on Saturday and then said he was not feeling well and left. He is a really good carpenter but he is in his early 60's. He works for DH for $20-25/hour. DH asked him to bid the job and he is not comfortable working that way.
DH had a bid from a friend of his brother's and they guy told DH he was bidding it out at $100/hour. His bid was $2,000. We decided we could wait until our regular guy was feeling better and if he is a little slow, he has quite a bit of room before it is going to cost us. Regular guy is a retired union carpenter and has done a lot of work for us. DH's brother is a Union rep for another trade union and the guy he brought over supposedly does work for his union, so he may be on the up and up, but DH had the impression it was a "side job". I told DH if he wants that kind of $$ he better give me his State Contractor's license #, and a certificate of liability ins. and I can 1099 him.
Our retired guy is putting the Posts in today. My DH is like Bonny, I don't think he will mind the upkeep, and if he does, he will probably have a client willing to do it for a reasonable price. We opted for the cedartone PT lumber from Menard's. Still in the process of installing it, so can't tell you how it's worked out. We didn't want to have to wash a composite deck all the time to prevent mold. That is interesting. DH is busy right now, he said he will look into it when he is done working. So you expect it to be less work maintaining than cedar?, or it was cheaper than cedar? DH likes Menards, he even said he felt they had more options for the deck rails than Home Depot.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Apr 14, 2015 17:58:56 GMT -5
We opted for the cedartone PT lumber from Menard's. Still in the process of installing it, so can't tell you how it's worked out. We didn't want to have to wash a composite deck all the time to prevent mold. That is interesting. DH is busy right now, he said he will look into it when he is done working. So you expect it to be less work maintaining than cedar?, or it was cheaper than cedar? DH likes Menards, he even said he felt they had more options for the deck rails than Home Depot. We chose it because it's cheaper. (We considered the ipe wood for a couple seconds too. . ). Menard's is our go to store for most everything. It seems to be cheaper than both Home Depot and Lowes, though we go to all of them for bigger projects.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 15, 2015 22:13:02 GMT -5
Leaping Lizard - did you get the 11% rebate? If not go back and ask for it. They may have to re-ring it, but I would not be surprised if they do it for you.
If you don't have Menards in your area, they periodically run 11% off rebate sales on everything in the store. You just have to submit the rebate form. You get a credit slip to use in the store in the future.
We are interested in this. We are going to price it out. I was trying to do it online, but some of the stuff I was trying to price out is discontinued. The regular deckboards in cedartone 5/4 x 6 x 10 are cheaper than the regular ac2 treated lumber.
DH will go check on it tomorrow. He wasn't goning to consider it befor LL mentioned it. I also could not find to much info on performace 2-3 years out, although, it has been around for awhile.
My Moms treated lumber deck is 15-18 years old and we are tight for $$ righ now, or we are tightwads like Carl...so while we would love to have composite, we also have 2 kids in college in fall, and lots of regular and discretionary maintenance due on our house, so we are very interested in the Cedar Tone Treated lumber option.
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