Vinyl or aluminum for a patio deck? (1 Viewer)

[Judge Smails]

Time to remodel the backyard. New built in BBQ installed today. Now have to replace our patio cover. Pretty large, goes the entire length of the house in the backyard. Wood got so old it would need to be repainted almost every other year, and it would chip after every rainfall. Had a guy come and test it and several beams are rotted. Soooo..

Doing research on various patio cover materials now. We know we aren't going wood. Major hassle. I'll pay more for either Vinyl or Alumawood/Elitewood. Anybody been through the same decision? Wife's main concern is potential pinging sound when it rains with aluminum. But it is cheaper. Thoughts?

 

[James Daulton]

Aluminum? Is this the 1950's?

You live in Cali, why would you need a cover for rain when I thought it basically never rains?

 

[glumpy]

Given your choices I would lean toward vinyl, but you should also look at a composite here. Looks like wood, prefinished, much more resistant to weather and bugs.

 

[mr roboto]

I don't know what a patio cover is. Like a roof?

 

[jfranco77]

Yeah, that composite plastic stuff that looks like wood is probably the way to go. Like this stuff:

http://www.plasticlumberyard.com/

 

[Judge Smails]

Wow - not the FBG at it's finest...

Western facing backyard, need awning/patio cover whatever replaced, primarily for shade. Latticed now. Big. Length of the entire house with pillars out to the pool so 6-10 feet in width.

We've had multiple quotes. Wood - nope. Maintenance is a pain in the ###. Have to repaint every few years. So every quote we've received is either for Vinyl or versions of Alumawood (Elitewood, etc). Nobody talking plastic or composite. Alumawood looks more real because it has wood grain. Also up to 18 different colors or so. Vinyl is smooth and basically 2 colors. Vinyl a few grand more expensive. Alumawood more fragile, but we don't get hail here. Also hotter, and can have pinging sound when raining. At least that's what the vinyl guy says.

Just trying to see if people had experience with this.

 

[El Floppo]

You want a covered porch and are looking at roofing options?

Pretty sure we all thought you were asking advice about decking.

 

[spreagle]

I had same problem with 25 year old cedar going bad, I used Azek on my deck a couple years ago but it's pretty expensive. I went with the wood grain Azek because it is solid throughout, so a dog or kid scratch wouldn't go through the vinyl covering into the core. Azek is pure plastic not a wood/plastic composite that can sometimes degrade. My smallish 16x20 deck was $3000 for materials and I installed it myself. It seems tough enough and is easy enough to work with yourself. I got a special drill bit for the screws that drills and sinks the screw into the Azek then you pound a small wood-grained plug over the screw to hide it. Pretty nifty.

I had to add extra support joists between all the existing joists because the Azek (all composites I imagine) are not as strong as wood so they are more "springy". That was cheap but just an extra pain of installation.

 

[El Floppo]

You don't want to do a pergola that is open to the sky, but deep enough in section to provide shade from a Western sun that's going to be lower in the sky?

 

[Judge Smails]

You want a covered porch and are looking at roofing options?

Pretty sure we all thought you were asking advice about decking.

????

Time to remodel the backyard. New built in BBQ installed today. Now have to replace our patio cover. Pretty large, goes the entire length of the house in the backyard. Wood got so old it would need to be repainted almost every other year, and it would chip after every rainfall. Had a guy come and test it and several beams are rotted. Soooo..

Doing research on various patio cover materials now

 

[Chaos Commish]

Wow - not the FBG at it's finest...

Western facing backyard, need awning/patio cover whatever replaced, primarily for shade. Latticed now. Big. Length of the entire house with pillars out to the pool so 6-10 feet in width.

We've had multiple quotes. Wood - nope. Maintenance is a pain in the ###. Have to repaint every few years. So every quote we've received is either for Vinyl or versions of Alumawood (Elitewood, etc). Nobody talking plastic or composite. Alumawood looks more real because it has wood grain. Also up to 18 different colors or so. Vinyl is smooth and basically 2 colors. Vinyl a few grand more expensive. Alumawood more fragile, but we don't get hail here. Also hotter, and can have pinging sound when raining. At least that's what the vinyl guy says.

Just trying to see if people had experience with this.

Neighbor enclosed an acre around his property with 8' pvc (vinyl) panels. The came preassembled, installed very fast, looked amazing. I tried to get my next door neighbor to split the price with me for the same because we'd be sharing the fence. He wouldn't. Which was good. The one that went in warped in three years. It looked awful. He had a 15 year warranty and a long fight to get satisfaction. The neighbor who said no has told me several of the vinyl projects out here have ended up having problems. This is the Mojave desert so our extreme temperatures could be the problem, but I'd save the money and go aluminum. That stuff looks just as good, has been around a lot longer, and is proven. Tell your wife you get so little rain, that when you do, you should be able to hear it (though I doubt that's an issue either).

 

[El Floppo]

You want a covered porch and are looking at roofing options?

Pretty sure we all thought you were asking advice about decking.

????

Time to remodel the backyard. New built in BBQ installed today. Now have to replace our patio cover. Pretty large, goes the entire length of the house in the backyard. Wood got so old it would need to be repainted almost every other year, and it would chip after every rainfall. Had a guy come and test it and several beams are rotted. Soooo..

Doing research on various patio cover materials now

Patio Cover is a new term to me... and looks like I'm not hte only one.

If it's a roof, what about an open pergola with members deep enough to block most of the sun unless it's parallel to them or directly overhead.

 

[sartre]

You want a covered porch and are looking at roofing options?

Pretty sure we all thought you were asking advice about decking.

????

Time to remodel the backyard. New built in BBQ installed today. Now have to replace our patio cover. Pretty large, goes the entire length of the house in the backyard. Wood got so old it would need to be repainted almost every other year, and it would chip after every rainfall. Had a guy come and test it and several beams are rotted. Soooo..

Doing research on various patio cover materials now

Patio Cover is a new term to me... and looks like I'm not hte only one.

If it's a roof, what about an open pergola with members deep enough to block most of the sun unless it's parallel to them or directly overhead.

In your defense, the thread title is "Vinyl or aluminum for a patio deck" not "Vinyl or aluminum for a patio cover"

 

[TheIronSheik]

"Vinyl sounds better." - every Hipster

 

[Binky The Doormat]

You want a covered porch and are looking at roofing options?

Pretty sure we all thought you were asking advice about decking.

????

Time to remodel the backyard. New built in BBQ installed today. Now have to replace our patio cover. Pretty large, goes the entire length of the house in the backyard. Wood got so old it would need to be repainted almost every other year, and it would chip after every rainfall. Had a guy come and test it and several beams are rotted. Soooo..

Doing research on various patio cover materials now

Why not put a couple of nice columns and a roof to match your house roof so that it looks more like it has been there and meant to be a part of the house?

 

[Chaos Commish]

You want a covered porch and are looking at roofing options?

Pretty sure we all thought you were asking advice about decking.

????

Time to remodel the backyard. New built in BBQ installed today. Now have to replace our patio cover. Pretty large, goes the entire length of the house in the backyard. Wood got so old it would need to be repainted almost every other year, and it would chip after every rainfall. Had a guy come and test it and several beams are rotted. Soooo..

Doing research on various patio cover materials now

Patio Cover is a new term to me... and looks like I'm not hte only one.

If it's a roof, what about an open pergola with members deep enough to block most of the sun unless it's parallel to them or directly overhead.

It's a common term to me?

Pergolas and Patio Covers

The aluminum isn't what some of you think.

 

[mr roboto]

Why don't you have it framed, decked and roofed?

 

[Dr. Gobbler]

I need to know what the exterior of your house is made of to give a proper opinion. Is it stucco, wood shingle? Also what type of house? Eichler? Spanish Colonial?...

 

[El Floppo]

You want a covered porch and are looking at roofing options?

Pretty sure we all thought you were asking advice about decking.

????

Time to remodel the backyard. New built in BBQ installed today. Now have to replace our patio cover. Pretty large, goes the entire length of the house in the backyard. Wood got so old it would need to be repainted almost every other year, and it would chip after every rainfall. Had a guy come and test it and several beams are rotted. Soooo..

Doing research on various patio cover materials now

Patio Cover is a new term to me... and looks like I'm not hte only one.

If it's a roof, what about an open pergola with members deep enough to block most of the sun unless it's parallel to them or directly overhead.

In your defense, the thread title is "Vinyl or aluminum for a patio deck" not "Vinyl or aluminum for a patio cover"

I'm ok not being defended- I honestly have never heard somebody call a roof a "cover". But now I'm learning it's a common expression- so, good.

I agree with the posters saying to roof it... cover it... in a way that harmonizes with or matches the rest of your house's roof cover.

Can you post some pics?