I always used a plastic shovel on my PT deck and never scratched or nicked it. I wouldn't shovel off any deck with anything other than plastic.

lanemc: Your deck is beautiful! Thanks very much for sharing with those of us facing this decision. You've been a big help, particularly since we have a big dog similar to your brown one. ;-)

SO any regrest on the railing? I was considering Weatherbest, thought they were cheaper too (did you order online?)
We moved into a house with a deck the same size, however they just had up 2.x4 rails around the perimeter, so I knewI'd be replacing them.

Hi Lane,

I tried posting yesterday but my message never showed up so here it goes again.

Finally I ordered the TimberTech Earthwood in Teak Color from Home Depot and received materials. Yes Home Depot does carry TimberTech as a special order.

The 20' boards are really long. I had a quick question for you regarding installation. According to the TimberTech web site after installing the first board each subsequent board is supposed to be snuggly pushed up against the CONCEALoc fasteners at a 45 degree angle to the plane and then dropped on to the deck joists. Over a 20' span that equates to pushing this against 15 or so fasteners which may not be so simple. Can you place the board flat on the joists and push up against the fasteners? Will the fasteners slide into the grooves or do you have to push in at 45 degree angle for the fasteners to go inside the grooves?

Please post any additional installations suggestions or advice you may have.

We decided to go with Earthwood based on your advice and so far the material looks really nice. I can't wait to get this up. I will post pictures once we make some progress.

Thank you.

wow - hope you're as happy with it as we have been!

being that our deck was exactly 20' lengthwise, we loved having the ability to achieve a 'seamless' look across the span (didn't plan it this way, just happened). we discussed cutting and staggering them, but chose to install the entire 20' at a time. it's definitely a 2 person (if not 3) job. we followed the directions as best as we could. using the concealoc, we started securing from approx. the center joist and worked our way outwards. occasionally we'd have to pry a prong up a bit to allow the groove to enter, but generally we used a scrap of composite (small block or such shape) and layed it along the joist, butting it up against and tapped it onto each fastener snugging it in. NO - it wasn't as if we approached the line of fasteners from a 45, tilted the plank and it went exactly into place - maybe if we had 4-5 people laying each plank that would've worked - those planks are just too long for 2 lay people to achieve that, in my opinion. once we got the hang of it, it was quite simply the easiest part of the entire deck installation - easily! my joists were not spot on perfect across the span (remember, my first deck - heck, first ANYTHING stick built) as far as level. that's why a little elbow grease was needed with a bit of 'prong' prying here and there. you'll likely understand what i mean once you get into it.

the material was a joy to work with (as are many other materials, i'm sure). if you have any other questions, please ask and i'll see if i can offer some input.

and please post pictures!

lane

Lane--

Great looking deck, you have inspired me to get moving with my project, so trying to figure out waht materials I need. Curious....is that the 10" wide fascia material you used? Looks really nice. Also...did you end up going with the Timbertech post caps, or did you get them from somewhere else?

Thanks!

Paul

mtfb - thanks for the kind words.

that is the 10" fascia (they make a 12" also, but we went 10") and it is the things most of our neighbors have commented about - really a clean, finished look!

we did go with the TT RadiantRail post caps on all except for the the four corners. for those we plan to use the LED lighted caps from De-Kor. just waiting for the right time ($$ is a factor for us currently).

motivation, i've found that it's everything!

Lane--

Did you use 8' rail kits or 6'? I have one long (23') span to cover, and am wondering if it would be better to use three 8' kits or four 6' kits. Do you have any long (8') spans? If so, how stable is the railing over that long of a run?

Also -- did you use the template referenced in the instructions (which comes with the kit) to determine exactly where the railing posts should be? Or did you just lag your posts into the 2X8 outer joists?

Thanks for your help/advice.

Paul

mtfb -

we used 8' kits for the entire deck. we actually only had one side of the deck that utilized the entire 8' spans x 2 (deck is 16x20, but two of the three sides have steps, breaking those railings up). the 8' spans are plenty sturdy, though this is going to essentially rely on how sturdy your rail posts are. you could beat the railing on the ground and they aren't going to break - the stuff is sturdy!

we used the template for exact placement and everything turned out 'spot on' best as i can tell. be carefull not to drive your 3" screws too far when mounting your brackets for hanging - it will bow the post sleeves in and could possibly damage them. again, you'll see what i mean as you get into it.

good luck!!!

Lane

Thank you so much for your patience. Your project looks great, absolutely wonderful. So of course I have some questions which may have been asked already, I apologize in advance.

I browzed through the instructions and it appears they recommend starting from the house out. I figure there must be quite a bit of figuring to place that first piece so that the last ends up square with the front of the deck. I thought I noticed that you started from the outer edge, that seems to make sense, but what happed with the piece next to the house, was it square.

Also

Did someone say they oiled the TT???? to eliminate fading????

Did you Plan on useing the Facia Trim board right from the start to frame the decking. Did you consider using some sort of bull nose and having a overhang.

Thanks again for your input, great work.

Joe

nnlogistics, I think the installation instructions state that you should start from the outside of the deck and work your way towards the house. You cannot be assured that it will line up exactly with the house. If it does great. If it doesn't you will need to cut the last board down to size.

I am currently installing the TimberTech Earthwood as well. I will post pictures once I am done.

Lane has been instrumental in my decision to go with Timbertech.

Good luck.

Lane -

i may be using the timbertech railing for m IPE deck, but just had a couple questions...

I'm an extremely novice deck builder so sorry if this is a dumb question: The 4x4 posts....how did you attach them? Did you lag bolt them to the joists or the rim joist?

Second question: Does the railing feel solid? Does it wobble or move when you lean or push on it? The reason i ask is the local building supply company had a sample deck in their yard with the TimberTech railing and the railing wobbled when I pushed on it. I assume it was beacuse it really wasnt built for stability, rather just to show off the TimberTech product...

Thanks lane.

BTW, your deck look awesome...

nnlogistics -

i would NOT start laying material from the house out. ours just happened to be perfectly square, but it was a ripped piece that wouldn't look very appealing on the outer, very visable outer edge of the deck.

we planned on the fascia from the start, and they do have a decorative type bullnose piece. we just didn't go that route. think the way we've finished it with the fascia is very appealing.

mrmichaeljmoore -

our 4x4 posts are notched over the frame skirting (2 2x6 skirting around the entire deck). we lagged them x 3 and blocked behind them with another 4x4 piece, lodged b/w the 4x4 and next joist in - if that makes any sense. so to answer your question, i'd say both (attached to rim joist/skirting & to the joist) - anyhow, it's sturdy. the TimberTech Radiance Rail is a post sleeve witch goes over the 4x4.

the whole thing is super sturdy.

I love your deck lanemc. I hope ours turns out as well as yours did. Does anyone else have pictures of their timbertech deck in colors other than the walnut? Also my house is trimmed in a bone/cream color so I am looking for a similar color to cream instead of the white for the railings, anybody know what i should be looking at? also does anyone know if timbertech will be making matching railings soon?

I just purchased Timbertech Earthwood decking in the Teak color. I just finished up with the framing and I will post some pictures later this week of the decking. I spent considerable amount of time selecting the right composite decking. Timbertech had the color and installatin method that I wanted to use.

Gracie,
I attached a couple of photos of the Teak color in the Timbertech Earthwood groved plank.

Thanks for the teak pictures! looks great. are you happy with it now that it's in? Any regrets or anything you would change?
are you using the fascia board and if so, how are you installing it? i recently saw one that was screwed on and the screw holes were very distracting. i think lanemc's photos did not show the screws? any one else have info on this???

I have contractors just finishing up my deck...long 3 month process. I used the Tropical Walnut and cedar ornamental railing. I don't have any white trim on my house and most it dark stained cedar shakes, so this combo seemed to be the best choice. The railing is taking them a very long time to do since they never did this railing before and I'm not even quite sure if they even doing it correctly. Very experienced fence and decking company, but the normally don't do Timbertech.

In any case, I have a question regarding the top railing piece. I've never actually seen the railing in person until it going up now. It seems that the top rail has somewhat of an unfinished, rough or sanded feel and look to it. Is that meant to be that way or is there a defect here? Seems like a strange design if Timbertech intended it this way. I emailed them...waiting for a reply. Was wondering if other people with the Ornamental rail have the same thing.

Thank you for any input! Will hopefully post some photos soon.

Hawkpilot--

Your deck looks great! I am ready to start laying my decking now. Out of curiousity....how much (if any) gap did you put between the deck boards at the seams/where they are butted up against each other?

Thanks

MTFB

Thanks for the comment. I put an 1/8" gap between the seams. I believe that is what Timbertech calls for in the Earthwood product line.

Some of these photos should make it to a Timber Tech brochure. What a nice deck.

Hey Lane -

I am in the process of doing my Radiance Rail....and had a quick question...

The straight deck rails were piece of cake to put up....the stair rail on the other hand has been quite a bear.

My question is this:
Do you find that the spindles/balusters on the stair rail have a tendency to not be as tight/snug as the spindles/balusters on the straight deck rail?
The spindles on the deck rail go into the channel in the support rail, while the stair spindles (because you have to rotate the support rail 90 degrees) just sit on the support rail....
The channel on the top support rail on the deck prevents the spindle from spinning....but because you spin the top support rail 90 degrees for the stairs you lose this feature...

It seems no matter how much we tighten down the screws in the ends of the balusters, they still are a bit loose. You can spin the spindle with your hand. And sometimes if we try to tighten a bit more, the balusters split at the end.

Any insight on this? Did you experience the same thing?
Any other tips for doing the rail?

I hope my question/problem makes sense.....Thanks.

Just as an aside.....the angle we are using on the stairs is 38 degrees.

mrmichaeljmoore -

sorry, but we didn't have any sort of experience resembling the one you're dealing with here. ours stair spindles are just as snug as the others.

sorry that i couldn't be of more help.

Hey mrmichaeljmoore,

Why would you need to rotate the support rail 90 degrees? From what I have seen of the installation instruction video on the TimberTech site you don't rotate the support rail, you just cut it at the appropriate angle to snuggly fit between the two post. Also, given the angle of the rails you have to cut the ends of the spindles in the correct angle to snuggly fit against the support rails. With this angular cut the spindles should not be able to rotate/spin at all. Check out the video at the link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: TimberTech Radiance Rail stair installation video

mrmichaeljmoore,

I just viewed the video again and I stand corrected. Sorry for disputing your assertion regarding rotating the support rail. Please disregard my previous post.

Jersey Guy -

The instructions call for the support rail to be rotated 90 degrees on stair applications. It even says it at the beginning of the video you linked.
If you don't rotate it, the support bloocks and mounting blocks won't work.

Rotating the support rail was a bit odd if you ask me....you lose the channel that holds onto the spindles so nicely (and covers up any gaps between the support rail and the spindle).

I ended up using some PL construction adhesive. I put some of the adhesive on the bottom of the spindle and on the screw. I let the spindles set up over night......the next morning the spindles were nice and strong.

Now I just got to fix the gap on my second stair rail.....I posted that issue on a nother thread.....

Sorry Jersey Guy.....
I must've been posting while you were posting....I just saw your re-reply.

No worries......
Thanks for trying to help...

take care,
mike

Dear Lane,

I am at the stage of installing the Radiance rail posts and rails. When I place the radiance rail post over the 4X4 posts there is a little play. Basically the opening on the Radiance rail post is bigger than a 4X4. Did you secure the post covers in any way? Do you have any suggestions on the installation?

Thanks,

centraljerseyguy -

there was 'play' for each of the sleeves we installed as well - believe there's supposed to be. when you place the plastic pieces that hold the support rails, the sleeves will become secured with the 3-4 inch screws. be carefull to not over torque/tighten these screws as it can buckle the sleeves. get them snug, but again, don't crank them super tight. you'll get my drift when you go to do them.

hope this helps,

lane

pictures finally! just need a railing now. click on the linlk

Here is a link that might be useful:

Lane,
Just wondering how the TT Earthwood is holding up after a summer with the dogs? We're considering TT for our screen porch flooring, but we have a 53 pound Goldendoodle puppy (8 months). Love the decking color - yours looks awesome, and your dogs are cute too.

Shana in wisconsin

Lane,
The photos of your deck inspired us to go with a natural wood deck and Trex railing, but now I wonder if we should go with Timbertech railings. I am wondering how MrMichaejmoore's deck turned out. Is TT better than Trex? I didn't see many comments on TT while researching Trex.

Thanks.

ieva -

I used the TimberTech Railing. I read too many awful stories about Trex.....mildew, class action suits, etc.

The TimberTech was fine to work with (just a few minor operator errors with cutting angles) and it cleans up nice with dish soap, bleach and water colution. It is only year 2 of my deck, so hopefully it lasts a long tine

here are a few pics:

Michael,
Love the combination of the IPE and the radiance rail - that's currently tops on my list. Can I ask you what you used to treat the IPE and how many times you've had to do it?
And how does the radiance rail stand up to wear? Does it scratch or scrape easily?

-Dan

Dan -

I used Penofin on my IPE. I can get it locally and it is pretty easy to use. Just brush it on with a stain pad on a paint pole.....wait 20 minutes or so and wipe it off with old white T-Shirts until its dry.

I put the deck in last summer. Stained it at the end of the summer. I restained it last month. I fully expect to stain it once a year. My deck is only 12x24....so since it isnt too big, it's not a big deal to me to stain annually.

The radiance rail has been great. Before I re-stained the deck this year, the wife and I wiped the rails down with a solution of Dawn dish soap, a little bit of bleach and water. They came out great. For any tough dirt, we used the Magic Eraser.
Don't really notice any scratches or scrapes....so far it has held up well.

Thanks for all the great pictures and info. The info helped us decide to go with the Tropical Teak decking with the CONCEALoc fasteners.

My frame is complete and I started to lay the decking yesterday. I ran into a problem with the CONCEALoc fasteners however. On TimberTech's installation video, it showed the boards slipping right into place onto the fastener when holding the plank at a 45 degree angle and then rotating it. I couldn't seem to get the plank to slip onto the fasteners and wound up having to use wedges to drive the planks onto the clips. Are there any tricks to getting the plank engaged onto the clip? Did you have to use a tool such as the BoWrench?

Here is a link that might be useful: My deck building blog

bass-notes,

your project looks as if it's coming along fantastically. and as for the blog on the subject matter - KUDOS! if only something like it had been available to us at the time of our big build - would have been a valuable resource.

true, the planks do not simply pop into place from a 45 degree as shown in the TT installation videos (think i made mention of this in one of my post/replys above), but with two individuals and a little elbow grease it is still quite simple in my opinion.

one thing i noted, and it could be much, much too late for this bit of input, but you should start laying your deck boards from the outer rim TOWARDS the house. if you're deck is absolutely, perfectly square and exactly 'x' amount of board widths (plus spacing) from the house, then this isn't a factor - but good luck pulling that one off! otherwise you're going to end up ripping that last (and most would say VERY, VERY noticable) plank lengthwise & likely on a slight angle. better to have this 'quirky' board snugged up next to the house where it won't be nearly as noticed.

ahh, this is probably useless information for you though, as you'll barely need to even touch that TT once it's down - just lounge around on it and enjoy it for years to come. at least that's what we've been doing! 8-)

again - the blog will help many more DIY'ers than you'll likely ever know. big thank you!!

mr kichael j moore

i have an ipe porch and deck as well and am interested in your results with Penofin. could you share with me the area of the country you are in, how long you get between additional applications, amount of sun etc..

i went one year year between an additional application on my horizontal surfaces, but there was a lot of fade on the color on the 5 months prior to recoating. i used woodzotic last time but am looking to change.

thanks,

ken

Lane,
Thanks for the compliment and for visiting my blog! Once we started using clamps to help pull the planks onto the CONCEALoc clips, things started progressing smoothly and would now recommend them.
I went back and forth on whether to start planking at the outer edge of the deck or at the house. Ultimately I decided to start at the house because I could pop the rimjoist off or attach a second rimjoist to the first if I was left with a sliver of a plank. I didn't want to have a small sliver of a plank at the house. I'll post some pictures of how this area turned out when I get done.

Here is a link that might be useful: My deck building blog

mr kichael j moore

i have an ipe porch and deck as well and am interested in your results with Penofin. could you share with me the area of the country you are in, how long you get between additional applications, amount of sun etc..

i went one year year between an additional application on my horizontal surfaces, but there was a lot of fade on the color on the 5 months prior to recoating. i used woodzotic last time but am looking to change.

thanks,

ken

We're getting ready to replace a very large and very old deck. I've been reading from this thread and reached the conclusion after reading all the posts that Trex has lots of problems, mold, mildew, class action lawsuits, etc.

TimberTech, on the other hand, is getting great reviews here so I googled TimberTech to see what their website offers as far as info and photos. The first thing I came across are posts on the Bob Vila website berating TimberTech for many of the same problems attributed to Trex -- mold, mildew, much higher maintenance that advertised. Please read the post titled: Timber Tech's Shame, 5-04-08.

Since the complaints go back to 2005, but as recent as May 2008, I am wondering if the problems are confined to an older product line, AND that the newer line of Earthwood has been around long enough to substantiate its good reputation.

We *need* a reliable low maintenance product. Low maintenance is a must for us as seniors. Our location is the western Sierra foothills in California. The majority of the deck gets morning sun. Our summers are hot but our humidity is ow. Our snowfall rarely exceeds 6" at any one time. We get 1" to 6" of snow about 12 times a year.

I would appreciate any feedback to the info at the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: TimberTech posts at Bob Vila's website

There is at least as much maintenance using man made material as there is using wood. Deck Pros and refinish Co have said this from the begening. Mold / Mildew will grow on most anything including us if we stay still long enough.

The define of low maintenance started right after the first stick of composite came off the drying racks and will not stop. Plain and simple an outside project requires work to keep it looking nice, look at it the same as your car left alone without any care its not going to look/ run all that good no matter how much you paid for it.

Far as TT Decking/Rail systems go it is in the high end along with Moisture Sheild and a couple others. The install instrustions far as ground clearance/cross ventalation/spacing/sister joists.... must be followed to get any place near what the Co say will happen.

It is possible to put a high grade finish on composite material, I have done this with very good results but doing this is not what the normal Wallet wants to hear so its not what the Co say.

South American lumber..ipe,garapa,masenramduba.. left alone with no finish exposed to the sun will go gray/silver installed corectley this material requires as close to low maintenance as a person can get but same kinda deal its all in the define it has to be kept clean or its going to look like Sh!ttt in a few years.

Like the Contractor that broke me in usta say " when I came to this Country you could get a 5 cent beer and a free lunch but there aint no 5 cent beer now and there is no free lunch so you might just as well go to Work!!! " Warren Ove sigh... J.

kenstl --

To answer your questions....
1. I am in Fairfield County, Connecticut

2. My deck is less than one year old. I applied one coat of Penofin when I finished the deck in September 2007. Then I reapplied in the spring 2008. Penofin says it will probably need yearly application. And most experts state that IPE will need an annual application. I don't think anyone has found a product that lasts much longer than 1 year.

3. The rear of my house faces East. So I would say by 1-3pm the sun has gone over the house and the deck is in the shade. So....I guess you could say my deck gets part sun.

Hope this helps.
Anymore questions, let me know.

mike

We're planning to build a deck with TT Earthwood and wanted to check with you all TT deck owners what your experience is with this material.

Can you please let me know if you notice any issues in terms of slippage, fading, heat, stains, mold/mildew, etc. after a year or more from the installation.

Thanks,
Jay

We're planning to build a deck with TT Earthwood and wanted to check with you all TT deck owners what your experience is with this material.

Can you please let me know if you notice any issues in terms of slippage, fading, heat, stains, mold/mildew, etc. after a year or more from the installation.

Thanks,
Jay

I see that the last post on this was 2009, so I'm not optimistic that anyone will respond....but can any of you who've installed TimberTech Earthwood decks in the last few years comment on how they've weathered? Are you still happy you went with the TT Earthwood? I'm particularly interested in the Walnut color, but of course none of the pictures show up anymore...

Thanks!

Love all the pictures and information provided on this post..I will also post some pictures and comments shortly..

Question, I was just reading and noticed that the fascia should be installed using the "new TOPLoc fastening system. Does anyone have any experience with these or are the screws I used on the decking boards okay????

Thaks much!!

I really like these decking material that you use. Pics are highly appreciated.

URGENT: It's 2013! How time flies! 6 years since Lanemc, Brass-notes, etc post. Hows your Timebertech holding up? We need help w/our urgent choice of composite deck material. We actually bought Trex (!) and just heard of the nightmares (contractor didn't even mention any choices). We are returning the unopen boxes and tearing out what we installed so far. It's gonna cost us! Considering Timbertech. please help with any updates.

Any updates from TimberTech owners?? Reviews?
Sarah in Albany, NY