New Deck, Timbertech or treated wood?

[scbelleatheart]

DH and I are having a little discussion. We are putting in a new deck. He wants Timbertech composite at $30 a board and I feel we will still be building this deck in 3 years at that price. We do agree on composite/vinyl rails and skirting in white but the actual deck is our discussion.
Pro-Timbertech will last a long time and not have to be stained
Con-Price.
We are middle aged(55) Have all our patio furniture, new hot tub, grill, and I would like to use it before I die I do not plan to move again in this lifetime so I am not worried about resale value. I want my kids and their families to come here just like it was at the old home and not be under constant construction.
He built our deck at our former house and we lived there for 30 years. It bothers him because it needed stained every few years. The new house & property is beautiful(not as many acres) but $4 a board vs. $30 a board is insane.
We have so many other things we could do with the extra spent to improve the landscaping (like dig the pond deeper, put in a beach and gazebo, barn/storage, etc).
Money is and isn't an issue. I want to use a deck now and not have to wait in increments for each area to get done.
I will probably give in and let him do it his way but if anyone has any good reasons to hold up my end of the argument I would appreciate them.
I could have a finished deck/outdoor living area in 2 months or 2 years.

 

[marlynnp]

Sorry, I'm with your husband with this one.

Not needing regular upkeep at your ages is a huge positive in my opinion. Even if it takes two years to complete the deck you want, I think the benefit of maintenance-free future enjoyment is worth the price!

 

[mikehn]

I have a composite deck but the only thing I dont like about a composite deck is that you have to treat it with kid gloves. For example, when it snows, you cannot put a snow shovel to it or you will gouge it up. If you have a grill on it, you will need some protection from drippings, etc.

 

[Friendly Frog]

If money was no object definitely composite. However our family had the same debate and at 6 times the cost there's no way we could do it.

 

[baileys mommy]

We have the same conversations. Look at rustoleum. They have a new product for decks that should not need maintence for a long time.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Look at it this way. With the enormous amount of money you'd save using the cheaper material, you could pay someone to come restain your deck every few years and still come out ahead.

Waiting 2 years to finish this project is ridiculous. You never know what is going to happen; enjoy your deck now.

 

[scbelleatheart]

Thanks fr the replies. DH was up and ready this morning with reasons to go with composite but he was looking at only the deck board price. If he goes composite I know it will be weeks, months before the vinyl rails, post lighting, vinyl lattice will go in.
We need 100 boards approximately so $400 vs. $3000. The posts are all in and he starting doing stringers and joists this week end. he hasn't even figured all the extras and that is where I get to wondering.
I did ask if he was going to want composite why did he not do all the support out of steel instead of wood. Said he never thought of that even though we are in the structural steel business
I am going to show him the Rustoleum application. He just remembers our 30 year old deck, boards getting warped, staining (I did that every year ), etc.. I am sure thay have better products now.
I'll run the numbers on the Rustoleum treatment.
BTW, rails are a must before using the deck because my dog will chew my cushions if she feels she is being neglected so no furniture or hottub cover until the rails are done.
Thanks! It's going to be a long week end. Happy Mother's Day!

 

[artesian]

Thanks fr the replies. DH was up and ready this morning with reasons to go with composite but he was looking at only the deck board price. If he goes composite I know it will be weeks, months before the vinyl rails, post lighting, vinyl lattice will go in.
We need 100 boards approximately so $400 vs. $3000. The posts are all in and he starting doing stringers and joists this week end. he hasn't even figured all the extras and that is where I get to wondering.
I did ask if he was going to want composite why did he not do all the support out of steel instead of wood. Said he never thought of that even though we are in the structural steel business
I am going to show him the Rustoleum application. He just remembers our 30 year old deck, boards getting warped, staining (I did that every year ), etc.. I am sure thay have better products now.
I'll run the numbers on the Rustoleum treatment.
BTW, rails are a must before using the deck because my dog will chew my cushions if she feels she is being neglected so no furniture or hottub cover until the rails are done.
Thanks! It's going to be a long week end. Happy Mother's Day!

http://epsplasticlumber.com/index.cfm/category/11/deck--dock-boards.cfm
I iused this material 10 years ago and aside from a yearly powerwash I am so glad I did. Deck and rail still look like the day I installed it. I am with hubs go for something low maint

 

[LJSquishy]

As pretty as the composite decks are, in your situation I would probably just go with a standard wood deck. If you can't comfortably afford to build a composite deck from start to finish all at once, it isn't worth it. Waiting 2-3 years to have a finished deck is crazy! I think you also have to use special screws for the composite decking which I'm sure are probably more expensive than wood decking screws. There may be other "special" parts involved when building a composite deck vs wood deck. Composite decks don't look like wood decks, so if you are wanting that true natural look, you will want wood.

I agree with the previous poster that said with the money you'd save by building a traditional wood deck you could afford to hire someone to restain it every 2-3 years. I think that's a great idea if the upkeep is going to be an issue for your husband. Or, if your family frequently makes good use of your deckspace in the summer, have a staining party every few years. We help out my in-laws with projects like that all of the time just because it's the right thing to do.

 

[Jeff_G]

Some of the composite materials are having issues such as fading, molding / mildew staining, etc. I echo the previous comments that they can be scratched easily as I found out with a snow shovel.

I used composite to cover up a small 8x4 porch the material has faded a bit and as I said scratched by the snow shovel.

If I were to build a full deck, I would not use composite. Save the money and pay someone to re-stain it every few years...

 

[luckyman_apd]

If it is really going to take 2-3 years to build with composite, then DO NOT use it. Composite decking fades in sun....all brands do. If you start halfway this year, and finish next year....they will always be two different shades as the first section will fade more then the second.

I'm a huge fan of composite. It's not 100% maintenance free however. They are susceptible to mold so a good powerwashing every year keeps it fresh. However, I hate splinters and the way wood starts to look in a few years. Composite decks must be built correctly and differently than wood. Regular wood gets supported every 16 inches, but composite is every 14 at the absolute maximum.....where 12 inches is recommended. I would support every 12 inches to prevent any dipping or cracking in the composite. It does scratch and gouge but so can wood if you are rough on it. The screwless look is ideal, but takes triple the installation time. I'm at this very decision now with a small add on deck to our patio.

 

[mjkacmom]

Most people I know who had wood decks replaced them with composite because their kids kept getting splinters.

 

[HeatherC]

We have two composite decks...one of which is Timbertech. We build it about six years ago and would never do anything other than composite again.

Two years ago we added a deck around an above ground pool and used whatever composite Home Depot sold...forget the name. It was definitely cheaper than the Timbertech.

I would use either again. Once a year, we pressure wash the decking and railings and have not had any problems.

It really is great to not have to worry about splinters or wood rotting or having to restain it every year.

Hope this helps!!,

 

[CTdiznymom]

We installed a very small composite deck about 4 yrs. ago and after the first summer it started to spot. Black stains that looked like oil was splattered on it. I will never use this product again. It was called Veranda. We didn't get it at HD, but I believe they sell it there. In fact there is a class action suit against Louisiana Pacific. Some folks report splitting and warping. We haven't had those problems yet. We did decide to paint over the spots and so far it hasn't bled thru. I would go with a high quality wood.

 

[ilovemk76]

Composite

 

[wiigirl]

Sorry, I'm with your husband with this one.

Not needing regular upkeep at your ages is a huge positive in my opinion. Even if it takes two years to complete the deck you want, I think the benefit of maintenance-free future enjoyment is worth the price!

 

[dhuba]

When we put our deck on 6 or 7 years ago we used Eon. It is 100% plastic, no wood components and we have never had it mold or fade much. It's beautiful and very smooth on the feet but, it has a wood look. The colors that it comes in are beautiful. We picked one that was close to the inside wood floors so the colored flowed outside. We are happy with it. I would never put a wood deck on ever. If you can afford it, go for anything but wood. We just clean ours with soap and water in the spring. We used white vinyl railings to offset the color, but Eon makes matching railings I believe.

 

[sasmmb]

We recently built and opted for Trex composite for the deck. When we ran the numbers, we realized the breakeven point between the Trex deck and the traditional wood deck and paying to stain, would balance out after about 4 stainings. Especially as you get older, you're not going to want to do this yourself. The relatively maintenance free version of Trex was well worth the initial up front costs.

 

[poohguys]

In Laws had a Trex deck. They get too hot and you cannot walk on them with bare feet. Also friend has one and had it fade after a year or too. The company (not sure which one) said they would do nothing about it. I would just go with real wood.

 

[Halle]

I would not go with a composite, it gets mold which is impossible to get off. We put an Azek deck on our home last year DH is 60 I am 58. We were sick of staining our pressure treated deck....too old for that. Love the Azek, very costly but beautiful. enjoy your new deck.