Decking questions

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bigvin

New member
Hey there friends!

This may have been covered before in some other thread,.... but since I am sitting here
in the air conditioning soaking wet from sweating (from trying to remove old screws off my
existing decking) and VERY Ticked off,.... I figured I'd ask some questions to those of you
out there who are better at these things than I am.

1st off,... I believe it was only 7 years ago,... I completely removed every single 16' board of my
existing deck. Replaced them with NEW pressure treated (ya right) pine from the local "save big money"
joint, and put up that nice white colonial spindle plastic deck fence railing. (I wish I could understand how
to post pictures,... cuz man it looked sweeeeet!) It took MYSELF quite a bit of time to complete the project,
but I did a pretty nice job if I had to say so myself! :)

The deck itself runs the length of MOST of the house. 36' I believe. It goes down 2 steps towards the garage
for an area of about 16'X8' (this is the area we have the grill, and the door to the garage, and steps going to
the back yard). All of the boards run from the house back towards the yard in their 16' length. There is an
opening for the pool access at the other end along with another set of stairs to the yard.

OK,... that is what the "visual without pictures" looks like. LOL. (though I "Will Attempt" to add a photo)

Anyway,....
I would say at LEAST 50% of the boards I replaced NEED replacing again!!!!! and at least 14 or so are
ROTTED through! I followed all the "advice" that was given to me on how to properly maintain the wood,...
so that It would last (or pretty close to lasting) My time here anyway,.....
HA!
Right.
I have kept this baby up as good (anal) as anyone could,... ie.: tri-yearly sealing/staining bla bla bla,.....

So,... I know I am going to replace the "rotted" boards for sure this summer,... but WHERE DOES IT END????
I WISH I would have spent the extra 2 grand I didn't have at the time,. and bought the composite stuff.
NOW,....
My question is. To "replace" the boards It is around a buck a foot. ie:16bucks a board.
BUT,... for a buck less,... I can get COMPOSITE CAPPING.
This would go on a angle right over the top of the existing decking,.... and would probably look pretty darn good.

HAVE ANY OF YOU USED THIS????

It looks easy enough to install. (little washer type things that clip into the sides of each piece to connect them,
then you put a screw thru the middle of the washer thingy and it looks like the deck has NO screws!)

OR

Is this a pain in the ARSE?

Does this stuff scratch up easily? We have a bar on the deck and it is a GREAT place to entertain,....
but if this stuff looks like a cat scratched the heck out of it (after the chairs move back and forth), I would
even be MORE ticked off than I am now.

OR

Do I just suck it up and replace 10 or more boards a year as needed?

As many of you out there that have met me,....
I AM a hard worker at this stuff (when I have to be),....
But with all the time I already have into it,... of course I am looking at the easiest way to go about it!
Drinking beer in my sandals and shorts,.... sure sounds better than another summer on my knees,....
cursing at "cutting and screwing lumber together".

Anyways,...
That is my story for today..

What would most of YOU Do?

Thanks!

~Brotha Vin

:)

Deck (1).JPG
 
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polarisrider1

New member
Myself, I would hang up the "Save Big Money" scam and buy from a real lumber yard. Not all preasure treated is the same. I went with trex and never looked back. pd. $20 per 16 foot pc. used the "special" screws (still pre drilled holes) and all is well. The new owners have not a clue the deck is 8 years old (and still looks great).
 
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frosty

Member
Bigvin, I am on my 3rd COMPOSITE DECK from the big save you money store in less than 8 years. I went with there in house brand the first two times and they both MOLDED within two years of each other. Now I'm on my 3rd one from a different supplier, but still same big save money store, thats located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, that has a son whose a Nascar driver and has only won one race in his entire career!!!!

The cap stuff would probably do a good job for ya, just as long as you didn't drop anything on the deck to chip it.

PR1, I have trex on my balcony outside my master bedroom, and that stuff molded the same as the above mentioned. I haven't had very good luck with any composite decking at all. I am almost to the point of saying screw it and go back to cedar!!

DSCN1056.jpg
 
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scott_b

Member
I used cedar on my deck and aside from having difficulty getting stain to stick to it (yes I did sand it before putting it down) it is holding up great.

For the mold issues have you tried wet N forget? that stuff is amazing.
http://www.wetandforget.co.nz/
 
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bigvin

New member
Someone I work with actually recommended that stuff you put down in the bed of your
pickup trucks. Rhino Coating. Never thought of it before,.... wonder what THAT would
end up looking like?
Would be costly,... and I don't think they could come up with a good color either.
and MY luck,.... the wood would still rot from the bottom, and someone would break through
just like glass.
Would be neat to see though.
 
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98panther

New member
Before you do anything, dig out your receipts and get "Save Big $" over there to look at it.
7 years is nuts for it to be rotted, even their warranty is better that that.

Their grade is usually not as good as some others, but it should not rotted.

Unless you are not really talking about rot, but just don't like the look of it.
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
Nice Pool Frosty! Now I know how you’re dealing with the hot Illinois summer. Bigvin, I’m going through a similar thing with the “Save Big Money” deck boards on my most recent deck addition but for slightly different reasons. Shrinking, warping, curling ends – I could strap on some of these boards and head downhill. My older sections of deck which are about 30 years old were decked with treated 2x6’s and don’t have nearly as many of these problems but they also don’t provide a real “finished” look.

For now, I’m just replacing the worst of the lot a board or two at a time. When I get the time (i.e. retirement) I plan to replace all of my decking so I’m also interested in what people suggest. Cedar is a nice, stable wood and if maintained makes for a beautiful deck but it can be high maintenance. I’m leaning towards the composite stuff because I need to start thinking about lower maintenance choices but I also have heard of problems with mold and it is expensive (I have a lot of deck). I don’t believe I will go with any type of treated again. Maybe powder coated aluminum?
 
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bigvin

New member
98panther said:
Before you do anything, dig out your receipts and get "Save Big $" over there to look at it.
7 years is nuts for it to be rotted, even their warranty is better that that.

Their grade is usually not as good as some others, but it should not rotted.

Unless you are not really talking about rot, but just don't like the look of it.
Click to expand...

No,... A couple of the rotted boards had the legs of chairs go right through them!
I was shocked. They just "hollowed out". I am sure those receipts are long gone,... but
I'll check. As skiroule also mentioned,... a few years back, mine ALSO cupped (some boards) and
about 6 or so looked just like skis on the end also. As if the wood was still wet when sold.
Frustrating.
 
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polarisrider1

New member
Nice Pool Frosty, Same color as what I had. I did have some green stuff (algae??) grow on the side that is always shaded. Power washed deck with just water and it came right off. Bigvin, Are you tossing rock salt on your deck in the winter? That will cause issues for sure.
 
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snolover55

Member
Vin, the composite cap you are referring to is only 3 1/2" wide if it's the same stuff they carry here. Your going to spend more per square foot than buying the deck boards which are around 5 1/4" wide. Didn't know if you realized there is a difference in the width. Treated lumber sucks these days. It always seems to dry out and shrink a lot more than the stuff you bought several years ago. Good luck.
 
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gogebictodd

New member
I have the same decking that Frosty has. Purchased from the save big $ store, coming up on 5 years this October. The product is called solid ulta decking. (It was Not cheap, nearly 3 x the cost of treated). I have cleaned it twice in the last 5 years just to get leave stains out. Did have some mold on the shaded sides, but as said before it came out with one cleaning. The only issue I have had with it is some of the boards appear to an uneven texture showing on top. This is located at my Cabin in DA UP.
 
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ezra

Well-known member
bigvin said:
Someone I work with actually recommended that stuff you put down in the bed of your
pickup trucks. Rhino Coating. Never thought of it before,.... wonder what THAT would
end up looking like?
Would be costly,... and I don't think they could come up with a good color either.
and MY luck,.... the wood would still rot from the bottom, and someone would break through
just like glass.
Would be neat to see though.
Click to expand...
i think it is rustolium that has a product just like that for decks it is at home depot and lowes it comes in grey or tan not to spendy .
i have not used i am a bit leary of a thick hard product over a expanding and contracting product but hey if thinking of scrappint the whole works it may be worth a shot
i think thewarrenty was good but then who cares about the cost of a few gal of product when you are ripping off a whole deck because the product did not work as intended
also a company called armor poxy has a textured epoxy coating with a lifetime warrenty i looked in to a bit but did not pull the triger
sold home owner new decking
the issue with newer green treat is the fault of the EPA and you fed looking out for your best intrest because you never know if you may have the urge to start chewing on the corner of your deck
the newer stuff is treated with some kind of copper and is not nearly as good as the old arsnick stuff that lasted 30 yrs
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
ezra said:
the issue with newer green treat is the fault of the EPA and you fed looking out for your best intrest because you never know if you may have the urge to start chewing on the corner of your deck
the newer stuff is treated with some kind of copper and is not nearly as good as the old arsnick stuff that lasted 30 yrs
Click to expand...


Have resisted the urge to chew on the corner of my deck but my neighbor’s Shar Pei gave me an arsnick once. Blindsided me, never saw him coming – bled like a son of a gun. I know what you mean about the older treated lumber though. I built most of my deck in the 80’s and there’s no evidence of rot anywhere, even on the base of the support posts. I think this lumber has the half-life of Plutonium. Some of it did have kind of an odd, deep green color which I should maybe be worried about. Even so, when I do replace the decking for appearance purposes, I don’t believe I’ll have to mess much with the support structure.

Tell you what bigvin, you go with the composite and once every summer, put on a few dozen racks of ribs and some of us will come over and see firsthand how it is holding up. If it looks good and the ribs are good, I think I would be convinced that it’s the way to go.
 
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frosty

Member
polarisrider1 said:
Nice Pool Frosty, Same color as what I had. I did have some green stuff (algae??) grow on the side that is always shaded. Power washed deck with just water and it came right off. Bigvin, Are you tossing rock salt on your deck in the winter? That will cause issues for sure.
Click to expand...

Will see how this one holds up, the last two, the mold grew from the inside out! We did a bleach cleaning to it three times in one summer and it didn't a darn thing!! We had black spots all over the place and this is a CHLORINE pool! Imagine that?! I will say, the save you big money did honor the warranty all three times, but I still had to do all the labor..........imagine all those cuts around the post for the pool. Not to mention that gazebo is 10x20 and built out of steel. Aluminum couldn't handle the gale force winds i get during a bad storm. That thing was a beast to move off the deck then back on.
 
garyl62

garyl62

Active member
I've been holding of on commenting on this as I'm somewhat unsure why you've had the rot problems. Looks like you have enough air flow, and if you seal or stain it as often as you say it shouldn't have done that. Since now the comments are more as to what to do I'd say two things. I've seen the stuff ezra was talking about and even told a friend about it. Not sure if it would fix your "chair leg going through the board" issue but it could protect the other boards. I'm Trex Pro, which really means nothing other than I've done a lot of decks with their material and I get a few perks, and a lot of info from them. As to the upkeep on composite, it is not maintenance free. You need to clean it at least once a year, and you should not pressure wash it. If you do that the mold concerns should not be a problem. There have been mold problems with most manufacturers, yet now they have corrected them for the most part if you do regular maintenance.

I'd still try the warrenty issue guys talked about before. Even if you don't have the reciept see if the store can search your credit card if you paid that way. Seems like they have that data stored nowdays so its worth a try.

Goood Luck!
 
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bigvin

New member
Well,...
I dug around for the lumber receipts.
As figured,...DUH!
So I ended up going to a "non-big-box-store" place locally.
HOLY COW! Though the boards were 2 dollars more,....
What a difference in quality!
So I bought a dozen,... and maybe will have to get a half dozen more,...
but,... I'll replace them as I need to I guess.
Seems to be the cheapest solution.
Now,....
Have to fix the lawnmower!!!!
UGH!
 
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