Never Put Down trex. I vote for TimberTech when using composite. I do try to not use composite at all but if the Wallet cannot be draged away from it I go with TT. J.

I've used Timbertech, Premier, Evergrain, & Amerideck. They have their good & bad points. I actually like the Amerideck the best cause it doesn't scratch up like most do including timbertech which is supposedly top of the line stuff. Their colors use to suck, but they have all new colors which look good.

Al

Folks, when you refer to TimberTech are you talking about the TimberTech Twinfinish line?

I started looking this weekend and this is the line that appears to be most commonly carried by dealers and they are asking $2.29/linear ft in NJ. Is this price reasonable?

Also I saw their Earthwood line which was absolutely gorgeous but the dealers have been trying to talk me out of this line suggesting they scratch very easy. Does anyone here have any experience with this? Also the price for this line is around $3.50/linear ft. Does this seem reasonable?

$2.29 seems good to me. I'm a NJ homeowner and just got a very small porch/steps built with TimberTech. I spoke with the dealer and understood he had the Procell in stock. When I finally went in to buy it, he said he only had TT, so I picked that up instead. When he was giving it to me in the yard, it was so dirty and stained and weathered I told him i wouldn't take it. He said I'll give you a great price... $2.25/linear foot. (lol @ the great price) I was on a strict schedule so I took it. Brand new deck looks 3 years old. ha!

Anyway, all that was to show you're getting a good price.

and for a little venting on my part. thanks.

PS I'd rather use Procell if it doesn't mold stain etc...

Jersey,the price of composite all together is over the line. Forget about any of these outfits using recycled plastic there just is not enough of it to fule the demand anymore.

TimberTech product is one of the best man mades, the whole line.Enclude deciding to go with a man made material with a choice to go with all the short falls the material has and the price that comes with it.

The money your talking about is normal,now reasonable???? So Funny.... I dont need to bring up the price of oil I am sure,or the price of a new chevy truck,or the constant busting of the ruling class, or.....but I go on and on.

Right now the best deal going for a long lasting deck project is the S American material in all respects. John

If a composite is made with recycled plastic don't walk away run. That's one of the reasons Trex had problems with their boards falling apart. It use to be plastics were not biodegradable, but now some are. How can you tell which ones are & which ones aren't? You can't once the label is gone.

I picked up some samples of a new composite last week that looks promising, New Tech. Made in china of course. Their colors actually didn't look too bad, still not wood tho. Check 'em out if you want, www.newtechwood.com

The way I look at it is composites are the way of the future, as a deck builder you had better embrace it or be left behind.

Al

I field the question >> how far ahead in the future???The normal is to push some new stuff out there with some limited in house testing,adverstize the S##it out of it with glossy photos in major mags and sit back and see what happens. Never mind the Wallet who buys into the crap just think what we are learning!!! in a few years the market will have some really good stuff.

Bullllllll Sh##i#t..... It is total possible,a well funded outfit puts some real live work and time into a man made, builds some real live decks and waits......gathers info and goes at in again,and again,and again until they get it right. Then sell the stuff to the Wallet and the Contractor. Belive me I would jump on it like a chicken on a june bug.

I like your work Al,you know that. All that has to happen is for my self to drift into some mooo La and do it myself with this man made stuff!!! John>> yucking it up

John, You have to admit composites have gotten better since trex first hit the scene years ago. The folks at Amerideck did pretty much just what you said. The only thing they didn't get right was the colors. The owner bought the biggest composite factory in the world & now their colors are much improved. It out performs all the rest IMO. It doesn't scratch, doesn't absorb stains, cleans easily (water hose is all you need), no mold/mildew problems & spans farther than any other 5/4 board. I've worked with their factory rep at a couple of home shows. Very knowledgable guy & goes to the extra effort to make things right if a customer has a problem. Good dude too, used his bonus money to throw a BBQ party for all the Austin area deck builders & gave some to the girls at the office. Heck, the most I ever got out of any other rep was a gimme cap or pencil.

In a town like Austin where you have lots of liberal greenies a guy needs to know how to work with composites or he's gonna lose jobs to someone that does. The same will be true in places like cowtown too as the composite keep gaining market share.

I know you like to stick with the tried & true, nothing wrong with that. However you did branch out from ipe with tigerwood & garapa. Try the same with another composite, not everyone likes TT's high price tag.

Al

Does Amerideck have a web site? I searched and did not find one.

dooer, They did have one, it must be getting re-done to show all the new stuff made in China. There is a much of info about it on AWD's site, www.austinwholesaledecking.com, click on the composite tap then on the amerideck logo.

I forgot to mention it has a class A fire rating same as ipe. It was originally made & marketed for the west coast for the wildfire problems they have there. In some areas of Calf. you have to use something with that rating by law. Here in Texas we lose more acreage to wildfires than Calf. so it's a good selling point for me.

If you want to call for some more info their office # is 877-855-1080. They are out of Sedro-Wooley, Wa. If you want some samples/lit. call Fernando @ AWDS, 512-834-1200.

Dam if I don't sound like a commercial, Bob better take me out to lunch next time he's in town for this plug, ha.

Al

Unfortunately, I don't live in Austin. I do have a sister in DeSoto though, and a brother outside of Houston.

I was checking to see if they had a local dealer. No. Calif.

Point taken Al, I am in bit one time twice shy mode. Its a given dont you agree, most of the calims the man mades make can not be taken as fact. Thats why I stay with what I know.I put amerideck right in there with the rest of them because really I have no reason not to, of course I have no reason to know if what they are saying is true either.

I have some freindly compatition over here who is into weatherbest like I am into the S American material. I constanly have to counter the never needs maintance thing when biding against him. This puts me in an area I would like to get out of, starting out in contention is a bad way to begin with a Customer. If there was a composite in the money range that was holding up down the road I could just pitch that and not have to go into the negeative at all.TimberTech is some pricey stuff no way can I bid heads up with it against this guy.

When I stated with ipe 10 years or so ago I dident have to be careful using it the facts had been time tested for 200 years. You defently have more hands on with composite than I do,John

John, You are right about the wild claims some of these guys come up with. I also don't want to have my customers be guinee pigs knowing I'd be the one they'd be calling back.

Once you feel comfortable using amerideck you'll be able to sell it easy against weatherbest. Take a sample of each & give it the thumbnail scratch test first, then ask if they have dogs, furniture on the deck, or children with toys. Will they want to grill on the deck? If a kid drops a hamburger on the deck the weatherbest will stain bad & not come out. The amerideck you get the waterhose & simply rinse off. What if charcoal falls on the deck or their insect candel spills? Weatherbest burns amerideck doesn't. Price is the same, appearance equal now.

It's also easier to work with. Weatherbest mushrooms when screwed without pilot holes, amerideck doesn't. Weatherbest is limp like a noodle & hard to carry, amerideck is much stiffer & a little lighter in weight.

I don't know if you do homeshows or not, but I know that Bob would come work a show with you & they would probably give you enough material to build a display deck, they did for me. Bob has the gift of gab, he'll sell jobs while you watch. Heck he sold a huge ipe job for me when the guy was deadset against composites. To top it off he talked to the promoter of the extreme fight night that was going on at the same venue & got us free tickets.

One more thing, building railing with it sucks plus pricey. I steer folks to ipe rails will alum. balusters to complete the low maint. deck that some people want.

I can tell you're not in it just for the money, you want your people to be satisfied knowing they have a great deck that will last. Tell me something, how many deckbuilders are working in OKcity & how many do you consider to be competetion? Here every guy with a hammer swinging from a toolbelt wants to be a deckbuilder, few truely are tho. It's tough here with all the cheap labor/cutthroats plus we have some really good deck builders in Austin so I have to stay on top of what's available & how to use it. That's what great about this place, I can learn things from guys like yourself & the many DIY'ers here.

Dooer, I know that they have several lumber yards stocking it in Calf., also in AZ, OR, & WA. Anywhere east of there & you have to deal with AWDS. They have yards in San Antonio & Dallas, but do all shipping out of the Austin yard. If you want to buy from there & you're a deckbuilder talk to Z, he's the owner & will cut deals to get your business, the other guys have to go by prices on the computer.

Al

Sure wish it'd quit raining so I could go to work.