Trex Decking vs. Wood

Do you need a new deck but want to know which material to choose?  Trex Decking vs. wood? I’ve got answers, but first I need to show you something.

My parents deck is in need of a major facelift.

They live in Seattle. You know, the place where it rains most of the year?

And they have had a wood deck for over 20 years.  That is 20+ years of wood living with hard rain, soft rain, drizzly rain, misty rain, layers of paint, layers of stain, layers of paint over stain, mismatching colors, moss, insects and rotted out areas.

Wood is a great option for a deck, but needs to be maintained.  Depending on where you live, like the Pacific Northwest, that can mean annually. Maintaining it means sanding and painting or staining and replacing broken, warped or rotted pieces. It is about half the cost of doing a composite deck, but there is the cost and time of maintaining it.

Trex decking is the material of choice by my parents because of its no maintenance performance. We chose Trex in Coastal Bluff and these pre-fabricated black metal railings.

Trex decking is a composite. Composite decking is different from plastic.  It is a blend of plastic film and wood fibers. The plastic film that goes into composite decking can include polypropylene or polyethylene. These plastics work well with wood fibers to create a strong, resilient material that is more stable than 100% plastic decking.

Trex has so many colors to choose from and the pricing varies depending on the look you like and budget you have to build a deck.  They have a lot of options!  You can find planks that are stocked in store for $20+, but you are limited on color choice. If possible, I would spend a little extra and get a more realistic coloration to my planks.

You can order sample pieces so I recommend doing that first to get the perfect fit for your home. Have a first and second choice and then check availability of the color you want.  With shipping delays you may find the color you really want is not available.

Why did I build a deck?

True story.  When I heard that the contractors wanted between $20,000 and $25,000 to rebuild their 12′ x 14′ deck with Trex decking I spit out my coffee.

And since I didn’t want their retirement money to be wasted on paying someone a gross amount for their time and labor, I said I would come do it for them.

Who better to help them than their DIYer daughter?

They jumped on that idea. Didn’t hesitate for one moment. (I love the confidence they have in me.)

So I started planning.  And you will never believe what it actually cost me to order the materials and do the work.

Here is where we started.

Keep in mind that this was just repainted by my mom last year! She has always done her best to try to keep it pretty, but it was just a sad space that they no longer wanted to hang out in and she hated the work it took to maintain it.

 

 

This may not look that bad to you. Trust me. In person it is that bad. No matter how well they have maintained it, the paint has been worn off from the weather, the wood has rotted in areas and it was just overall unhappy.

It made my parents unhappy.

I came to the rescue, took time off work and flew from Denver to Seattle for 11 days. Project “Re-build A Deck” is underway!

This deck is in for a major overhaul.

Oh, it is going to be stunning!

Stay tuned to see the process and how it all turned out.  I will share exactly what I used, actual cost, problems I ran in to and tips to make your deck project a success!