We are replacing an old PT deck, about a foot off the ground, located on the north side of the house, in Wisconsin climate (current joists 16" on center). I have five deck samples before me that have the grayish color I'm looking for. Can someone PLEASE tell me the difference and what you would recommend?

TimberTech XLM Grooved Plank: RiverRock color
Azek Harvest Collection: Slate Gray color
Azek Terra Collection: Tahoe color
Trex Escapes: Pewter color
Trex Transcend: Gravel Path color

I am SO hoping I get some responses. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.....!

But I have a basic question:

When folks mention the brands, ie: Timber Tech, Azek as being "good", does that mean ALL the STYLES are good because the brand name is good?
(reason asking is because TT has a PVC style AND a capped composite style, so does that mean both are evenly "good" products?)

Same thing with Trex. People say it's "bad" but is that ALL the Trex products/styles?
(reason asking is because I thought the "Transcend" style is relatively new so possibly doesn't have the poor qualities that earlier versions had or the ones that were sued over. Is Trex "Transcend", in particular, new and improved, or does one still forget it?)

Just confused

a couple of points: TT has a good reputation and they had what i wanted as far as color. DH was good with it. he was installer. so far so good. we have had it installed about a month..so not much mileage. get back to me about 3 years, lol. hoping it last much, much longer especially for the price.

azek: we liked it, but much more $$$ than TT. so we axed that right off. TT is very expensive, but for us, it was the best option. so we sucked it up and spent the $.
we wanted least amount of maintenance as possible..re: no staining, sealing, and water proofing so that's why we went with composite.

hope we are pleased in the long run, time will tell.

We did install 12" on center and it has an amazing solid feel to it.

Pia

We had replaced a 20+ yr old Trex deck that was inherited when we bought the house. That deck was still in amazing condition, but it was the framing that had dry rot so we just decided to redo the whole thing.
Ultimately it really come down to whether to stick with Trex or go with another type of decking material from ipe wood to Trex competitors. It was really difficult because there are quite a few competing fake products out there and then of course the tried and true 'real' wood.

The arduous part for us was getting through the negative posts about Trex products. I am not a contractor so I am only talking about from a home owners point of view.
From a big picture point of view, I dont know anyone can really make broad statements about a company's products when they have several product lines, a stock price that is over $30/shr. I just dont think a company could possibly last that long,e specially in the homebuilding industry. Clearly they must be doing something right vs the mess they are probably most known for from over a decade ago.

For us deciding on this specific line was not about which was 'better', wood vs fake. It also wasnt about 0 maintenance claims either. I think we would have been fine with any of the products. We chose this because we liked the hidden fastener system and the splinter factor. But really these are minor details and totally subjective.
Our contractor was vastly experienced with all the materials we were considering and was neutral about which we chose.

Some tips if you are getting this line:
- Make sure the contractor knows what they are doing. Trex is very specific about how it is installed.
- Dont expect 0 maintenance. This is simply naive. Anything that has to sit out in the elements will be prone to natures way.
- Get the hidden fastening system if you like the aesthetics of indoor flooring. Yes you can have that installed on many other systems including wood, but we were most impressed with the Transcend fastener system.
- Think about where you live and look at what contractors do and the successes they have with certain materials. Trex or other fake wood products might not be fully realized in your area.

At this point I dont think you can wrong with any product, especially the real thing. Just weigh up the options that are best for you and the lifestyle you have as it relates to how you will use the deck. Its possible that you can save a lot more money in the short/long run when weighing up these options.

As far as the photo, we went with Spiced Rum and Vintage Lantern picture frame and fascia boards. White Transcends rail system. The deck is ~630 sq ft and the framing was done to spec per manufacturer in terms of spacing etc. In other words, there will be no sagging. I believe they went with 5/8 spacing on the boards.

Good luck!

Thanks very much!!

That said, I would not even try to parse the many negative comments and justify using the Trex lines. We've got neighbors and friends who have various Trex products for decking, and seems to me that they are all problematic, from fading to moss/algae to staining. I would stay far, far away from anything made by Trex. There is a reason why they have had class action lawsuits against them.