Building a Deck - Type of Material? (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Bing]

We recently purchased a new house, and attached to the house is a white vinyl deck. For some people I'm sure they would love the white vinyl but for us it just looks too fake for our liking. The construction has treated posts, joists, and beams that make up the structure so I'd plan to reuse the existing just refinishing the decking.

Thinking of going cedar, but curious what the rest of thoughts are for those that have cedar or recommend another product.

Cost at Menards for:

• Cedar 5/4 x 6 x 12' is $14.45.
• Pine 12' Pressure treated $6.90.
• Composite 12' ranges anywhere from $21.48 - $33.48.

Deck is approximately 22' x 20'.

TIA.

 

[BroadwayG]

Whatever is not appetizing to carpenter bees.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

How interested are you in restaining it every year?

 

[James Daulton]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

 

[avoiding injuries]

Composite

 

[Hawks64]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

MOP Math?

2 Boards across either span puts the Cedar at 30 per span. 22' would require 96 boards and at the Cedars price it would be ~1500.00

 

[gameday]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

I'm not following your math. If the deck is 22' X 20' and the cedar boards are 6" X 12', won't he need 88 boards? 88 X $14.45 = $1,272. Am I calculating this wrong?

BTW, I did a beautiful Cedar deck a few years ago. I have to re-stain it at a cost of about $1,000 every 3 years or so. The next time I will go with composite.

 

[Hawks64]

Composite

This is what we just did. Went with a gray composite from Lowes at 18.00/12' board. Love it.

 

[Hawks64]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

I'm not following your math. If the deck is 22' X 20' and the cedar boards are 6" X 12', won't he need 88 boards? 88 X $14.45 = $1,272. Am I calculating this wrong?

BTW, I did a beautiful Cedar deck a few years ago. I have to re-stain it at a cost of about $1,000 every 3 years or so. The next time I will go with composite.

Have to factor using 5.5 since it's not really 6" even with your gaps you wont' get to 6". But yeah his math is MOP like.

 

[gameday]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

I'm not following your math. If the deck is 22' X 20' and the cedar boards are 6" X 12', won't he need 88 boards? 88 X $14.45 = $1,272. Am I calculating this wrong?

BTW, I did a beautiful Cedar deck a few years ago. I have to re-stain it at a cost of about $1,000 every 3 years or so. The next time I will go with composite.

Have to factor using 5.5 since it's not really 6" even with your gaps you wont' get to 6". But yeah his math is MOP like.

Gotcha. Makes sense.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Buddy of mine just put in a composite deck...looked nice but it was very slippery when wet

 

[spOOfy]

had wood, switched to composite. been very happy with not having to stain/paint it.

 

[Johnny Bing]

How interested are you in restaining it every year?

I don't have issue taking weekend to restrain it every year or every other year. Of course I'd prefer not to do it, but based on the price of composite I can handle the weekend project.

 

[Hawks64]

Buddy of mine just put in a composite deck...looked nice but it was very slippery when wet

The new composites can be since they are some type of encapsulation over the composite. I got this choice decking at Lowes and while it doesn't look as nice as the Trex type stuff it's not slippery at all and acts more like real wood.

 

[Johnny Bing]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

I'm not following your math. If the deck is 22' X 20' and the cedar boards are 6" X 12', won't he need 88 boards? 88 X $14.45 = $1,272. Am I calculating this wrong?

BTW, I did a beautiful Cedar deck a few years ago. I have to re-stain it at a cost of about $1,000 every 3 years or so. The next time I will go with composite.

$1,000 to restain a deck?

 

[gameday]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

I'm not following your math. If the deck is 22' X 20' and the cedar boards are 6" X 12', won't he need 88 boards? 88 X $14.45 = $1,272. Am I calculating this wrong?

BTW, I did a beautiful Cedar deck a few years ago. I have to re-stain it at a cost of about $1,000 every 3 years or so. The next time I will go with composite.

$1,000 to restain a deck?

Yep, we just got a quote last week. It's on the North side of our house and tends to get moldy. Every few years we have it treated for the mold, bleached, and restained. It's a large deck with stairs.

 

[Johnny Bing]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

No there is nothing physically wrong with it. Sturdy and not coming up anywhere. It isn't your standard white blank vinyl. It is basically sheets of vinyl that it appears to lock with tongue and groove. Water does run off to the slope end away from house. Couple pockets where water pools, but just doesn't look like a deck with all that bright white out there and looks a little on the cheap quality side.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

I'm not following your math. If the deck is 22' X 20' and the cedar boards are 6" X 12', won't he need 88 boards? 88 X $14.45 = $1,272. Am I calculating this wrong? BTW, I did a beautiful Cedar deck a few years ago. I have to re-stain it at a cost of about $1,000 every 3 years or so. The next time I will go with composite.

$1,000 to restain a deck?

Yep, we just got a quote last week. It's on the North side of our house and tends to get moldy. Every few years we have it treated for the mold, bleached, and restained. It's a large deck with stairs.

[OTIS] sounds cheap [/OTIS]

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I have a wood deck and if I wasn't putting in a concrete patio I'd be replacing it with composite.

Staining it every year sucks.

 

[chet]

We are in the process of redoing our deck and replaced Trex with Ipe. Not cheap but well worth it IMO.

 

[belljr]

I stain every 3 or 4.

powerwash. Let dry. Stain the next weekend.

I hate it

 

[James Daulton]

Oof. bad math is bad.

Carry on gentlemen.

 

[Fennis]

Ipe

 

[Johnny Bing]

I'm seeing the pattern. Sounds like composite is the way to go. There is a small cut out in the deck 10x8 (so it isn't a true 20x22), but essentially going composite would just be another $450 -$500. Seems like a no brainer based on the above comments.

What is the difference between composite and Ipe? Or is that the same thing?

 

[avoiding injuries]

I've had both. The wood required constant maintenance and upkeep. With the composite, I use a solution from Olympus that I apply with a pump sprayer and wash off every two years to keep it looking brand new. It takese 30 minutes to do a 700sqft deck.

 

[Ketamine Dreams]

Go composite. Staining that often is the suck.

 

[bushdocda]

Moving from a home with a composite deck to a wooden deck. Anyone have experience with the deck restore paint products out? I would love to push out the cost of a new deck out a few years.

Thanks yall

 

[Fennis]

I'm seeing the pattern. Sounds like composite is the way to go. There is a small cut out in the deck 10x8 (so it isn't a true 20x22), but essentially going composite would just be another $450 -$500. Seems like a no brainer based on the above comments.

What is the difference between composite and Ipe? Or is that the same thing?

Ipe is a very hard wood. It has to be pre-drilled, etc. But is extremely durable.

 

[Hawks64]

I'm seeing the pattern. Sounds like composite is the way to go. There is a small cut out in the deck 10x8 (so it isn't a true 20x22), but essentially going composite would just be another $450 -$500. Seems like a no brainer based on the above comments.

What is the difference between composite and Ipe? Or is that the same thing?

Ipe is a very hard wood. It has to be pre-drilled, etc. But is extremely durable.

And it's pretty expensive as well.

 

[Fat Nick]

I'm about to undertake a deck building project this fall. Replacing a painted wood deck. I'm going composite. I don't care what the extra cost is, it's worth it to me to not have to do more than just wash the thing off every now and then. Not to mention it can be a huge selling point when you go to sell your home. A friend of mine wouldn't buy a house without a composite deck...so I guess it's very important to some.

 

[chet]

I'm seeing the pattern. Sounds like composite is the way to go. There is a small cut out in the deck 10x8 (so it isn't a true 20x22), but essentially going composite would just be another $450 -$500. Seems like a no brainer based on the above comments.

What is the difference between composite and Ipe? Or is that the same thing?

Ipe is a very hard wood. It has to be pre-drilled, etc. But is extremely durable.

The guys installing the Ipe cut and drill it onsite.

 

[belljr]

Moving from a home with a composite deck to a wooden deck. Anyone have experience with the deck restore paint products out? I would love to push out the cost of a new deck out a few years.

Thanks yall

Powerwash... stain

voila

 

[17seconds]

Highly recommended for selecting wood

 

[mr roboto]

 

[Bayhawks]

Moving from a home with a composite deck to a wooden deck. Anyone have experience with the deck restore paint products out? I would love to push out the cost of a new deck out a few years.

Thanks yall

I just used Olympic rescue it on my deck (about 250 square feet, a dozen steps, & 125 deck pickets). We've lived here a year, and we knew the deck was going to need to be worked on, but I really wasn't in the mood to tear it out and start over. It had been previously painted, and I had to replace a few boards, so I wasn't really interested in trying to remove all the paint and stain, even though I don't particularly like the painted look. I sanded all the deck boards, and used a brush to paint all the pickets and railings. Used a roller on the rest. **You can't use some of these paints on vertical surfaces, but you can with Olympic** This took me 3 solid days (8 hours day 1, 13 hours day 2, 6 hours day 3). It looks nice, and has a nice textured feel to it (we've had a few days of rain, and I've checked on it when it was wet, didn't seem slippery at all). That said, it was a ##### to do, and I hope it lasts long enough that I can justify tearing the deck down and replacing it before I have to do it again. Also, it's expensive, and if you live where it gets really cold/snowy/icy in the winter, it may not be a great idea; I did a lot of research, and a lot of negative reviews came from places where they have harsher winters, and the weather change caused blistering/peeling, etc.

 

[stbugs]

Composite here as well. Last house, had a deck for 8 years, current house 8 years. Both were composite, neither has had to have anything done to it in 16 total years. I remember how often my parents had to restain/fix/replace their wood deck over the years. The railings can easily be pressure treated, but I wouldn't do the floor in anything but composite in the future.

 

[daddo39]

Steer clear of Trex, just google Trex lawsuits and you'll see what I mean. The best decking we install is actually a composite/pvc hybrid. Clubhouse by Decuenick(sp) is one of the very affordable ones, only about 20 cents a foot more than your standard composite. keep in mind, most composites are 50% recycled wood fiber and 50% virgin vinyl. Exposed wood fibers out of the sun tend to mildew a lot. Fiberon makes a nice product as well, and stay away from the box stores, most of the composite they sell is a cheaper version, usually a bit thinner requiring joists to be 12" on center. Go to a local lumber yard, in the current economy most will gladly work with you on price. If you don't want to see face screws use the grooved planks with the stainless steel invisible fastener system

 

[fatness]

Oops, misread thread title.

 

[Fat Nick]

Steer clear of Trex, just google Trex lawsuits and you'll see what I mean. The best decking we install is actually a composite/pvc hybrid. Clubhouse by Decuenick(sp) is one of the very affordable ones, only about 20 cents a foot more than your standard composite. keep in mind, most composites are 50% recycled wood fiber and 50% virgin vinyl. Exposed wood fibers out of the sun tend to mildew a lot. Fiberon makes a nice product as well, and stay away from the box stores, most of the composite they sell is a cheaper version, usually a bit thinner requiring joists to be 12" on center. Go to a local lumber yard, in the current economy most will gladly work with you on price. If you don't want to see face screws use the grooved planks with the stainless steel invisible fastener system

I thought that these suits were related to the older Trex products. Are people having issues with the newer trex stuff too?

 

[Fat Nick]

Ipe is a very hard wood. It has to be pre-drilled, etc. But is extremely durable.

The guys installing the Ipe cut and drill it onsite.

I think by pre-drilled, he just means that they have to drill before they drive screws, as opposed to just using self-drilling screws.

 

[matttyl]

Moving from a home with a composite deck to a wooden deck. Anyone have experience with the deck restore paint products out? I would love to push out the cost of a new deck out a few years.

Thanks yall

I'm thinking about doing the same with my currently painted wood deck. If I can push out the big expense a few years, I'd love to. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated for something that can get me 3-4 years out of one ##### of a weekend....

 

[NutterButter]

Staining the decking itself is pretty quick and easy as far as painting/staining is concerned. Its all the railings that stink if you have wood but I don't do that nearly as frequently.

 

[chet]

I posted these pics in the pergola thread but thought I'd add them here too.

WIP: rebuilding a roof deck above our garage. Took out Trex system and put stone and Ipe. Added pergola. A couple more weeks of work--mostly staining and adding glass between the beams at the back.

 

[daddo39]

Steer clear of Trex, just google Trex lawsuits and you'll see what I mean. The best decking we install is actually a composite/pvc hybrid. Clubhouse by Decuenick(sp) is one of the very affordable ones, only about 20 cents a foot more than your standard composite. keep in mind, most composites are 50% recycled wood fiber and 50% virgin vinyl. Exposed wood fibers out of the sun tend to mildew a lot. Fiberon makes a nice product as well, and stay away from the box stores, most of the composite they sell is a cheaper version, usually a bit thinner requiring joists to be 12" on center. Go to a local lumber yard, in the current economy most will gladly work with you on price. If you don't want to see face screws use the grooved planks with the stainless steel invisible fastener system

I thought that these suits were related to the older Trex products. Are people having issues with the newer trex stuff too?

I've heard of a couple, my problem is the company's unwillingness to admit they sold a POS product and making people jump through hoops to file a warranty claim.

 

[Fennis]

Oops, misread thread title.

http://www.thecraftibug.co.nz/image/cache/data/4M/RobotDuck-600x600.png

 

[Spike]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

I'm not following your math. If the deck is 22' X 20' and the cedar boards are 6" X 12', won't he need 88 boards? 88 X $14.45 = $1,272. Am I calculating this wrong?

BTW, I did a beautiful Cedar deck a few years ago. I have to re-stain it at a cost of about $1,000 every 3 years or so. The next time I will go with composite.

Why stain at all? If you do, then you're locked into restaining it every "x" number of years for the life of the deck.

Don't stain it, just pressure wash it every 3 years or so and it will be fine. It'll silver in between but then look like new when you pressure wash it.

 

[ScottNorwood]

I've found this to be a real good resource on decks:

http://www.mtgdeckbuilder.net/

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

Craptacular wood deck getting replaced.

 

[NutterButter]

Is there anything wrong with the decking? At the cedar price you'll play upwards of $7k in materials alone.

I'm not following your math. If the deck is 22' X 20' and the cedar boards are 6" X 12', won't he need 88 boards? 88 X $14.45 = $1,272. Am I calculating this wrong?

BTW, I did a beautiful Cedar deck a few years ago. I have to re-stain it at a cost of about $1,000 every 3 years or so. The next time I will go with composite.

Why stain at all? If you do, then you're locked into restaining it every "x" number of years for the life of the deck.

Don't stain it, just pressure wash it every 3 years or so and it will be fine. It'll silver in between but then look like new when you pressure wash it.

Is it really true that cedar looks like new if you pressure wash it?