Installing Outdoor Tile Over Wood Decks

Resurfacing an existing structure with a high-quality, low maintenance alternative, like Trex decking is doable under the right circumstances. How do you know whether a resurface or a rebuild is right for you? FWIW, there used to be a plastic decking made precisely for this duty -- similar to regular plastic composite decking only maybe 1/2" thick. But haven't seen it around for a couple of years. It's an ideal way to save time and money, while enjoying all of Trex's benefits over wood. Composites are made in a range of profiles to make boards lighter, easier to install, or both. They look like composites, but these boards are actually 99 percent virgin PVC plastic, very different stuff from the polyethylene-wood mix found in most composites.

Learn How To Build A Deck With Composites And Other Rot

Use clips to attach and snap composite decking into place according to your design. Contact our team to get an estimate for your composite decking project. Here are the top 5 myths about composite decking, updated for 2017. As to the Kontiki deck tiles and how they hold up, shorea wood is very durable, and very eco-friendly too since it is a plantation forest . Shorea is attractive and the tiles are easy to install  great for DIYers laying decking onto a concrete surface like a rooftop, balcony, or existing deck surface.

How Far Apart Should You Place Floor Joists On A Composite Deck?

This can happen in many ways but the most common is just the daily use of the deck. After a while, foot traffic on the deck wears off some of the plastic coating that surrounds and protects the wood particles in the composite material, exposing them to the environment. This is the cause of "white-spotting" as the sun fades the particles. It also gives mold and mildew an opening to root in the deck. This means that special processes must be used in manufacturing and installing composite decks to account for this un-wood-like expansion and contraction. For guidance, we can look to the experience of the vinyl siding industry that has been contending with the problems of plastic expansion for over a half-century. Many of the techniques of installing composite decks are taken from the vinyl siding professionals.

Decking Over An Existing Deck

You can build yourself a low-maintenance deck using the same tools and similar techniques as you would a wood deck. And most parts of a deck are now available in composite material. But there are differences between low-maintenance and wood products. We asked our pros for some tips to help DIYers avoid expensive mistakes. Learn how to build a deck with composites and other rot-resistant materials for beauty and longevity.

Whereas wood planks are typically sold only in 16-foot lengths , composite decking is routinely available in board lengths up to 20 feet. That means you can have fewer seams on your deck, depending on its dimensions. Simply choose a composite material in a matching or complementary color and replace as many visible boards as possible so that next year, you won’t have much painting to do. When people think decking, they think about a composite deck or a wood deck — not the two mixed together. But, it is possible to use both materials to build a deck, and there are some good reasons why you may want to do so.

Replace it with Trex high-performance composite decking and enjoy long-lasting, low-maintenance beauty for decades to come. After all, your time outdoors shouldn’t be spent sanding, scraping and staining – it should be spent sitting on your deck enjoying the view. As idyllic as your backyard deck could be, maintaining that elevated expanse of lumber can be a downright chore. When the less demanding plastic-composite decking appeared on the scene in the 1990s, homeowners happily adopted it, despite the higher price and limited color selection . A decade later, as companies began to offer new products that looked like fresh-cut cedar and Brazilian walnut but never turned gray, sales of composites took off. The best way to ensure adequate ventilation is to install your composite decking properly.

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Watertight

If you prefer they are perpendicular to the joist, position them 16 inches on-center. With the frame complete, you’re ready for the decking. This final part of our How to Build a Floating Deck series takes you step by step through the process of installing composite deck boards. Then we’ll suggest some finishing touches to get your new deck ready for relaxation.

In consequence, the flour provides a very friendly abode for mold and mildew which happily puts down roots. Once well anchored in the wood particles, mold and mildew are almost impossible to eradicate. The smaller the spacing, the longer your joists can span. Your composite decking manufacturer will have a unique joist span table to help you determine the maximum length based on joist size and spacing.

Hidden Fastener For Slotted Boards

• Capstock deks also fade, just not as much or as quickly.
• The bright, crisp composite decking color you get fresh from the factory is not going to be the color you see a year or even 3 months, after installation.
• Never apply decking tiles directly on grass, sand or other unstable surfaces.
• Locate a flat surfaceon which you want to install your deck.
• However, you can apply composite decking boards onto pre-existing concrete or patios.