Low-maintenance backyard living is a must if you love the outdoors. Fortunately, creating a beautiful outdoor oasis is easy with composite decking.
A lot of homeowners want an outdoor living space, but don’t want the endless sanding, staining or painting that goes with a wood deck. The solution is beautiful and low-maintenance composite decking. It offers the beauty of wood, but won’t rot, warp, crack or splinter.
This post is sponsored by Trex.
Composite decking — made from a blend of reclaimed wood and recycled plastic film — is stronger than regular wood planks and has a much longer lifespan.
Benefits of Composite Decking
Here’s why more and more homeowners are choosing composite decking over wood:
- Durability. Composite wood is ideal if you’re busy or have little time to maintain your deck. You won’t have to worry about replacing rotting wood, staining, or anything other than an occasional wash with soap and water.
- Lifespan. A traditional wood deck lasts, on average, 10 to 15 years. However, composite decks are engineered to last 25 years or longer. This means a composite deck will theoretically last twice as long as a wood deck, without the added hassle of applying wood sealer and replacing rotting boards.
- Environmentally friendly. Composite decking is sustainably made from recycled plastic and reclaimed wood, so you’re helping to save the planet by reducing deforestation and diverting plastics from landfills and waterways.
- Beauty: Composite boards are available in different colors and have streaks and grains for a real-wood look that matches any home style.
Trex Enhance®
Trex Enhance composite decking is long-lasting, features an authentic wood-grain appearance and comes in many attractive colors.
Its high-performance shell is fade, stain and scratch-resistant, and no sanding or painting is needed. The low-maintenance material cleans easily with soap and water.
Plus, it’s not just good for your home; it’s also good for the environment.
No tree is cut to produce Trex decking — and it’s sustainably made from 95 percent recycled materials, including reclaimed industrial wood waste and polyethylene plastic film.
Finally, any major home improvement is an investment, but you can buy composite decking with confidence. Trex Enhance is backed by a 25-year limited residential warranty and a 25-year fade and stain warranty.
How to Install Composite Decking
Composite decking is a great do-it-yourself project, especially with Trex Enhance, which features grooved edges that allow for installation with hidden fasteners.
Trex® Hidden Fasteners screw into the joists and create uniform gaps that allow for expansion and contraction.
If you have an elevated deck, installing the Trex® RainEscape® system allows you to keep the underdeck area dry, which creates a space for storage or an additional outdoor living area beneath the deck to enjoy. The system of gutters and downspouts — designed to divert water from reaching the area below your deck — is installed above the joists to protect the entire substructure from moisture penetration and damage.
And Trex Enhance decking comes in nature-inspired, fade-resistant colors, including Rocky Harbor — a contemporary slate gray with rustic sandy undertones — so it matches any style of home.
Ready to install composite decking? Read on!
Remove old deck boards. Use a wrecking bar to pry the boards from the joists.
Inspect your deck’s frame. Most deck frames are constructed of pressure-treated wood, so it’s important to ensure that it’s structurally sound and can support new decking. If this isn’t the case, or if you’re building a composite deck from the ground up, you’ll have to build a new frame.
For added moisture protection, use Trex® Protect™ joist, beam and rim tape before you install the composite boards. This protects the tops of the joists and beams from developing rot and wood decay. Plus, it’s backed by a 20-year warranty.
Align your composite boards with the deck frame. Make the necessary cuts to ensure a clean fit.
Attach composite boards to your deck frame. When working with composite decking, you should use the Trex Hidden Fasteners rather than nails to achieve precisely consistent spacing between boards. Although the installation may take a bit longer, the result is a cleaner, more secure deck.
Watch: How to Fasten Trex Enhance Decking
Install deck railing. Replace old deck posts, rails and spindles with Trex Enhance railing components. This railing system has the same weather-resistant characteristics as the deck boards.
Watch: How to Install Trex Enhance Railing for a Deck
Place finishing touches. Clean and reinstall existing lattice and pressure wash any bricks or stepping stones. Add extra features like riser lights on the stairs, along with plants and planters.
How to Maintain Composite Decking
Composite decking couldn’t be easier to clean — occasionally rinse it with soap and water. So, you can spend more time enjoying your deck instead of maintaining it!
To keep it looking new for decades, do the following:
- Immediately clean grease and food debris
- Scrub sticky spots with water and dish soap
- Remove snow with plastic shovels to prevent damage from scraping.
Ready to make this home improvement? Trex decking is available at The Home Depot — purchase in stores or order online for home delivery or store pick-up.
