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kaipl

Decking material

kaipl
14 years ago

I am looking to replace a worn out redwood deck.

This is for a house in Utah. Humidity isn't an issue, but sun, heat, and cold are.

I have a home in Colorado with a Trex deck. We have some warping issues with the Trex boards, so I am exploring other possibilities.

I've seen recommendations on IPE decking materials on this forum. IPE looks interesting. Do you have to stain/seal it every year? Where do you buy IPE? I've called some of the local lumber stores and the big box home stores and they haven't even heard of the stuff.

What about all plastic decking materials (as opposed to the wood-plastic composites like Trex.) Anyone like them? What brands are reputable?

Comments (9)

  • srercrcr
    14 years ago

    Is this Trex installed 16" or less on center perpendicular to the joists? Or if at a 45 degree to the joists at 12"?

  • john_hyatt
    14 years ago

    Ipe is some good stuff,its also in great demand so the price is a little up there. Another lumber tree from S America is Garapa same long life just more garapa trees than ipe trees.

    One good place to get S American lumber> East Teak 800 338 5636 >> Good material and great Folks to work with.

    If you let this decking go gray/silver it is very low maintaince with no finish at all. In the Basic the finish is cosmetic on S American anyway.

    Plastic deckin is in flux right now fairley new. On the upside the color does not fade,it wont stain or mildew/mold up,and it will not split or crack. On the down side it will shrink and expand with the weather there is no tight joints everything with the install has to allow for the movement, and with the hollow decking..think this thru now, it acts as a storage area for static ell. In other words when you walk on it and touch any metal you will get a shock. There is no way to ground it.

    Trex is total junk However in the manmade area a couple of good outfits>> TimberTech and Moisture Shield

  • srercrcr
    14 years ago

    kaipl....how about the courtesy to respond?

  • kaipl
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I don't know.


    Posted by srercrcr on Wed, Jul 22, 09 at 6:35

    kaipl....how about the courtesy to respond?

  • dgbehrends
    14 years ago

    I have an all plastic/pvc deck and haven't had any static electricity problems. To be honest in my travels over the internet forums I haven't seen more than a couple sites mentioning it. I think it might be one of those things that is pretty rare and really needs several conditions to be perfect for it to be a problem.

  • bkc123
    14 years ago

    I have an IPE deck. I decided to go with this wood because of it's longevity. It is a beautiful wood. High maintenace if you want it to keep a beutiful wood tone. If you don't mind having the wood fade to a silver patina then it becomes less maintenace intense. If you want to see examples of IPE decks a good site is CTDECKS.com

  • john_hyatt
    14 years ago

    Its Hollow plactic decking,not solid, that will always act as a storage area for static ell. Not sometimes,Always.Same is true with lexann sheets used for roofing. J.

  • dgbehrends
    14 years ago

    J,
    I didn't say static electricity wasn't there, I just said I haven't experienced any problems with it nor have a read about many. So sure it's probably there.
    -D

  • wildebloem
    14 years ago

    bkc123: I am considering IPE for a deck, heard it is a good choice for what we need, but know almost nothing about it. How long have you had your deck? How long is it supposed to last? I love the original colour - how much maintenance to keep it that way? Restain annually? And what is the best stain? We have used Flood on the cedar siding, will that work? Thank you for any comments or suggestions.

    We intend to "float" the boards (screwed down) on 90 degrees on boards glued to a membrane. It will cover a balcony over a bath and a connected second-story deck that is outside the house. We have seen it done but only just once and we do not know if there are potential problems associated with doing it that way?