Advice on composite deck materials

[spence]

Another installment in the landscaping project

We're trying to replace our existing deck with a new, bigger and nicer deck. About 240 square feet total, 12x16 main deck 8' above grade with a stair way and single landing in the middle.

I was looking at the Portico product that Humphreys in Tiverton sells. The complete material cost to do the footings, box in PT, and use composite for all the decking and railing system is looking like $31 sq/ft not including labor.

This seems like a heck of a lot of money.

Has anyone done anything similar to compare?

thanks,

-spence

[Raven]

fried like an egg ...too, as the sun reflected off the house...

the material is tough to work with as in you have to pre -drill it
to prevent splitting it with screws and to keep the screw from walking...
so it ain't slam bam thankyou mam carpentry like it is with Pressure treated wood. the difference is in its shelf life and longevity without ever having to refinish it....so thats what your paying for....[[LOOKS} it doesnt splinter either. It doesnt warp,cup,or get crooked...but i thought the material was rather abrasive as a composite material...coarse like 150 grit sandpaper just about...
which is better than slick as black ice plastic...i guess is the idea.
my first thought Spence ...going by what you said in your post...is that some of the origional deck could be re- utilized for materials...to help offset the added cost and/or reduce the 31 per square foot cost .

one trick is to rip in half a single deck piece on the table saw to frame in the board ends into a single clean line for the sides.

[spence]

Unfortunately the old deck is a POS, there's nothing to be recycled. My problem is that we want composite but it's freakin expensive. The railing system comes out to like 35 bucks a lineal foot!

Thanks - spence

[Nebe]

sounds like you better take that new job

[mikecc]

When Trex goes on sale I stocked up it is 22.00 and change for a 16' 1x6.
I talked to a lot of dealers and they all said that you can shoot it with Stainless Ring Shank Nails. Just remember you cant use the wire coil type nails.

[TheRattBoy]

built a new deck 3 years ago...pt frame and Fiberon decking (Homies) with the railings too...expensive but MUCH better than pt decking... johnny "tRB"

[capesams]

I've done a few decks with comp. materials..never again...nasty on the knee's, rough.very hard to drill/cut..3 time's the labor for insall...give me pt framing and mahogany decking/railing an day.

[nightfighter]

Sorry Spence, but dat's what we in the trades face in every bid. I build with Weather Best for my composit deck products, but you're not off base with the materials price. I have one job where the client wants me to just remove and redeck and put on new composite rails, thinking he's going to save money...but the PT is the cheapest part of the job. I fear he might be paying up if we have to mess around with existing structure/framing that isn't good enough to receive the new deck screws... The rails systems are expensive (110 for 6' plus sleeves) but they are slick and you aren't going to need any maintenance, (just watch out for hamburger grease, does stain) Ratio for materials/labor including demo and disposal Generally runs about 50/50 on a job like that.

That said, these composites have been around for 5-6 years, so we really don't KNOW what their lifespan is, but so far so good all but the very early products. Gotta agree with Steve on the mahogany though,,,, nice wood and at BIG discount from fir. Just my .02

[spence]

I'll look into the mahagony as an option. Our deck is somewhat near the water and very exposed, so I'd rather keep the year to year effort down if possible...but it's difficult to swallow the long term cost of ownership when you're trying to stay on budget.

I was thinking the labor quote was a tad high, but given the comments it may actually be reasonable. It's from a reputable local crew who we've worked with before. I need to get a few more quotes though...

Thanks for the help

-spence

[capesams]

most of the home's we build are high end,,1-4 million and most are 100' or less to the salt water..the mahogony hold's up the best...a lt. coat of oil once a year keeps it like new..if nothing is done to it...it turns a silvery grey. hand nailed with sst ring shank...finish heads[small].

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by spence

I'll look into the mahagony as an option.
-spence

From a painters perspective:

If you do go with mahogany put a good quality clear stain finish on it.Don't use garbage like Thompon's.Use something like Messmer's or Sikkens.Oh make sure to do BOTH sides of the decking.Your deck will last MUCH LONGER.

PS.You may also want to look at epai(ipe).More expensive than mahogany but less than composite.The nail bangers here would know better than I on the pricing.

[spence]

I've seen ipe decks, pretty nice...that stuff is HARD!

It will be interesting to see how mahogany compares price wise.

thanks again guys,

-spence

[UserRemoved1]

Spence, AYC makes beautiful decks too...and if you ever need wood to turn you could just go rip off a deck board or two

Seriously though I may have a connection I can get you this stuff wholesale.....

[spence]

I've already sold my soul to the devil, what else could I have to loose

-spence

[HighTide]

Built a mahogany deck on my house about 7 years ago. Before I installed the boards, I rubbed a 50/50 mixture of linseed oil and thinner on them and that really brought out the color of the wood. But that didn't last through the winter so after that, I've been treating it with either Messmer's or Cabot (fire mahogany). It's alot of work to do esp the railings (I used fir and clearcoat them every other year or so, I usuall finish around Labor Day). But it all looks nice when its done.