Why don't you want a composite deck, Trex or other version?

Here is a link to a somewhat related thread that I started about a month and a half ago. Maybe some ideas for you too?

We now know four people who have had their Trex decks replaced for persistent, embedded mildew that cannot be gotten out, cleaned bleached, etc.. The success of Trex depends on your siting (both where the house is located and where the deck is relative to the house) and climate. When we built a new deck a few years ago we also decided against Trex. Plus the fact that it gets very, very hot in our area of the country, so hot you almost cannot walk on it barefooted.

We have several outdoor areas----a screened porch/deck off the living room, a small grill deck adjacent to that with steps down to a large patio. On the opposite end of the screened porch is a deck outside out MBR with a retractable awning, then steps down to a larger deck with lounge chairs and a swim spa, then steps from that down to the same patio. We use the deck just off our MBR every morning for coffee and tea. We use the screened porch for meals until it is just too hot, and we do use the patio (about 12 x 20 is covered) a good bit. The patio area is about 1100 square feet and has a seating area under cover and a table for 6-8 further out, under an umbrella. We used to have a fire pit away from the house near the barn, put in one year for three autumn parties, but after a couple of years we never used it and actually had it removed. We've got three fireplaces inside and I guess I'm maxed out on them....when a landscape designer I hired five years ago wanted to do a huge stone feature fireplace in the back I told her that was the one thing I didn't want. LOVE the way they look, though!

Graywings - If you do a search you'll see tons of negative feedback. Many companies have filed bankruptcy. Mold, fading, disintegrating, buckling, replacement pieces never match, the list goes on. That said, part of the reason he wanted it is because his friend has had a very nice Trex deck for years with no such problems. We have a composite fence and I strongly dislike it. We paid a lot, I don't like the color, it looks fake, it's warped, a panel broke and had to be replaced and it's darker and doesn't match....It will be ripped out and replaced eventually. Having a fence is better than having none, but it visually bugs me.

Crl - Thanks! I'll check it out.

Kswl - Wow, that's a lot of fireplaces! I can see why you don't want another. DH really wants a fire pit (I'd prefer a fireplace) and wanted stone seating around it, but it doesn't look comfortable and cushions would have to be custom made. I'd rather have individual chairs with my own space.

We have a trex deck off our bedroom. It gets hot and is not particularly comfortable. We never sit there. My in-laws have a wood deck and my dad did at his old house. It requires ongoing staining or it starts to look not-very-nice. We have pavers and I like those (we do have them power washed pretty regularly to keep mold from forming and to keep them looking nice).

We have an outdoor fire pit and also an outdoor fireplace (fireplace is in the screen porch). I like the fireplace better. We have stone seating which actually is nice b/c it is designed to be the perfect height to see the fire. We didn't put cushions on, just lots of pillows and it is decent to sit in. We also got a round/arched couch for around the other side of the pit which we love!

Outdoor couch and stone wall:

Better picture of wall:

More pics here.

We have a cedar deck that we scrub and stain yearly. It's a several day process as the deck has to be dry for staining. After ten years, I'd rather have a stone patio.

How interesting about Trex. Our porch floor is Trex, 15 years old, and has held up beautifully through constant use and all kinds of major wear and tear. It has weathered to soft gray and is pleasant to walk on. It is east facing, covered, and we're in a very dry climate, so maybe that's the difference.

Wood decks are a tremendous amount of maintenance. I'd do stained concrete, brick, or stone if at all possible.

We have a deteriorating wood-fireburning pit in the yard that we do use, but it's very messy. A gas fireplace or heater would be more convenient.

I'd do at least part of your space covered-- you will get much more use out of it. We use our porch year round, even when it's freezing :-)

We just put in a large concrete patio, It can be power washed and it will last a long time.

BTW The rope going from the upstairs window to a tree is our solution to keeping squirrels and bears off the bird feeders. It's too high for the occasional bear and too tipsy for the squirrels. There is a pulley on the tree so the feeders can be lowered for filling.

We have both a deck and a patio. We rarely use the patio as it's off the lower level vs. the deck which is off of the kitchen so it's most convenient. We have a trex-like composite and have not had issues with it. There are a few things we did which has worked well for us. 1) we put the deck in the SE corner so it gets morning light and is shaded from the hottest of the western afternoon sun in the summer. The prevailing winds are from the NW so we are sheltered from that too, so we get a lot more use out of the deck than we would otherwise. 2) our deck is off of the main level which is one story up in the back, and down below is the view of the fields and the pond, so rather than deal with pickets which would block the view, we went with glass railing so we have a complete view below. We love it and can't imagine what it would be like had we not done it. Expensive but worth every cent. 3) we covered half of our deck with a shed roof off of the house so we have both options of sitting in the shade or in the sun if we want it. Further, we can sit outside in a summer rain and stay dry as we're under the porch roof. If we know rain is coming, we skootch the upholstered pieces under the roof so it stays dry. Our deck would be so much less useful without it. We did find it does get hot out there on the hottest summer days, so we added a ceiling fan on the porch roof and that helps keep it comfortable when it's really warm.

The patio has a sitting wall (18" high) around the edge and we use it for large party situations as there's always room for everyone. The floor is blue stone. We didn't build in a fire pit though as we make fires daily all winter long, so they lose their charm in the summer for us.

Very clever, Sixty!

love the patio and deck pictures, everyone!

We have a small deck here, beside our sunroom. It is wood and does require yearly maintenance. At our Cape house we have a deck and a pergola. There are no mosquito's there so we eat all our meals on the deck and spend lots of time under the pergola. We have a firepit under the pergola.

We own two houses, and between the two we have two small Trex decks which we have had zero issues with, two stone patios, and two screen porches (both with stone floors). The screen porches are my favorites but I don't think they can replace a deck or patio. We are currently thinking about expanding the patio at our beach house to incorporate a fire pit...we have a portable one now and we love using it for roasting marshmallows! I wish we had done it in the first place, when we originally did the landscaping and patios.

we had a trex deck in our previous house and I liked it pretty well. I loved the fact that you don't get splinters from trex!! it did fade a little over the years, which didn't bother me, but it did get very hot--- but our deck faced the south and got a lot of sun. we also had our grill on our deck and got a couple of grease stains which never fully came out... I learned to have an outdoor rug in front of the grill.

we moved to a house that has a patio and outdoor wood burning fireplace -- I would definitely recommend gas if you are in close proximity of your neighbors! the only time we build a fire is when it's cool at night-- the same time our neighbor's windows might be open! we have to be careful that it's not too breezy so our neighbor's home won't smell like campfire!

We have a patio. We have a one level house (just the 2 of us and we plan to stay here, so we built with that in mind - 2 steps to front door, 1 step from sunroom to patio). Our patio is concrete, curved and has an arbor and flagstone "entrance"? Not sure what you would call it. It's where we walk on/off to the patio and there is an area of flagstone just out from the patio (goes under the arbor and a little into the yard but not a walkway). We love our patio and use it daily except in inclimate weather or the coldest part of winter (our winters are fairly mild and short). We do have a firepit, even though we have an indoor fireplace, we are outdoor people and sit out many spring/fall and even summer or winter evenings depending on temps - and will use the firepit. I would suggest one that you can use a screen piece over the top and grill on too. We are somewhat rural, so we don't have the problems with neighbor's windows like busy does. LOL Our firepit is not on the deck but a short distance away on a small concrete pad, with a couple of adirondack chairs - a favorite spot for hubby and me. :)

As for Trex, my MIL has that and I don't like it. Hers does get very hot and it seems slippery to me in certain shoes. It also looks like composite (which it is I know), not wood.

We have a large Trex deck that is at least fifteen years old and is uncovered. We haven't had any issues and haven't done any maintenance. It is a little faded, but it has faded evenly. We have protected it from grill spills and it has no stains. I love it and can usually walk barefoot on it. It rarely gets too hot and there are no splinters. This was a replacement for a wood deck which required a lot of maintenance.

Maybe we have no issues because we live in a semi-arid climate and the deck is one floor above the ground, so there is ventilation. It gets no sun in the winter though, and is often covered with snow and ice, but we've never had mildew or mold. We have a lot of stairs coming off the deck and all the composite railing on the deck and stairs is like new with no maintenance.

The only complaint I have heard in my area about composites is from a friend who had some warping on her fascia boards.

I also have a paver patio on the ground level and it is very nice. It isn't as pleasant to walk on barefoot though.

Good luck!

There have been several class action suits brought by homeowners against the makers of Trex....it is a matter of public record. I agree with you on the importance of taking ones climate into account when choosing a deck material.

I’m sorry I’m just not getting back to this.

Beagles – Yes, that’s what DH wanted to do with the
seating around the fire pit. I’m glad to
hear it’s not too uncomfortable.
Beautiful pictures. Thanks for
sharing and the feedback!

Mayflowers – That sounds like not much fun. I think I might be ok with it for a few
years, but in the long run. . .

Jlc – I’m glad to hear your Trex is holding up! I think DH is hoping I change my mind on
that. Definitely want an enclosed area
or something with a roof somewhere.

Sixtyohno – Very nice!
And power washing – that’s the ticket! Great idea about the feeders too.

Annie – Beautiful!
so rather than deal with pickets which would
block the view, we went with glass railing so we have a complete view below.

That’s a good idea. I rarely sit on our front porch because my view
is smack into the railings thanks to my height!
L I’m glad to hear
your Trex deck is holding up. Ours will get pounded with afternoon/evening
sun. Love the sitting walls.

Bonnieann
– That’s so pretty. I really do like the
look of decks. I’m sitting here
wondering how much it costs someone to maintain the wood yearly. I should look into that.

Sueb
–I’m glad your Trex deck is holding up too!
I think we’d really enjoy a fire pit or fp – we’ll make sure we get one
of them in the design.

Busy
– No splinters is a plus! Oh, grease
stains! - That was the other thing I
remember reading people had issues with.

Tina
– DH mentioned today about wanting to put a screen over a fire pit. I was wondering about the safety of a fire
pit being close to a house, but people have fireplaces in their house.

Remodelorbuild
– Thanks for the feedback. Speaking of
your deck being off ground, I read a review where the couple had a loud whistling
noise coming from where and the way their Trex deck was installed. They said you could hear it on the other side
of the house, while inside!

Honestly
since DH has an opinion on the Trex deck, if I could find consistent, good
reviews I’d probably agree to it, but I can’t get it on board.

There
will be a few steps leading out and I don’t know why I was thinking we HAD to
have some kind of deck when you can make steps with other materials, lol. I’m leaning toward a stone patio at this
point.

Thank
you everyone for sharing your experiences and photos with me!

I despise wood decks and the maintenance required. There are many brands of composite decking material other than Trex that may not have the same problems. When my wood decks need to be replaced it will be with composite material. In my opinion a stone/concrete patio is the way to go but that isn't always an option.

Do any of you with composite decks and large dogs see scratch marks on the composite from the dogs' nails? I'm curious because I thought I read that somewhere, and that would be an issue for me. It's bad enough that all of my indoor floors are scratched -- don't want my deck to be too. But I am interested in the composite decking. There are so many of them besided Trex. I would prefer wood, but am not up for the maintenance.

Gibby and Gail - I'd do some searching about the other composite deck companies. They seem to all have their issues. On one site I there was a LIST of companies that claimed bankruptcy. Definitely research the company first.

Will definitely do that, misformink. But if dog's nails scratch the boards, I won't even bother researching it. Thanks!

no issues with scratching by our large dogs' nails... and we had large dogs all the 13 yrs we had the deck... (and we had many many scratches on our hardwood floors). but, the dogs didn't really play/run too much on the deck and none of them tried 'digging the deck'... I would imagine if they were actively digging it, it would have scratched...

Fortunately I don't need anything right now. I figure if I wait long enough maybe they will have a composite material that is decent or decent enough that it will meet my needs for the rest of my life. I don't need it to be perfect - just functional, reasonably long lasting and needs no more maintenance than power washing with plain water.