Message: We are looking at various composite decking materials.  Can you tell me anything you may know about Trex Transcend product.  I know it is a fairly new product.  I believe the problems from the past are the Accents material.  Do you recommend one manufacturer over another?  We have a 1800 square foot deck and do not want to replace it again.

Thanks, Mary

I am to build a 250 sq ft deck in my yard.  The area is presently concrete patio.  The height of the concrete patio with respect to the door sills will allow a deck using 2X6 redwood grade “deck-heart” screwed to 2X4 PT sleepers (that is, laid on 3.5 inch side) at 90 degrees to the deck at two foot intervals.  I will use some shims between the sleepers and the concrete since the concrete has many dips and slopes.  I live in Mountain View, CA.

The sleepers will be in contact with the concrete in many places, although no more than 1/32 inch standing water in rain.  Am I OK doing this or do I NEED NO CONTACT with the concrete.

Thanks for checking my project,

Curt

Message: I will be replacing the decking for a clients 16×16 deck in the next week (weather permitting here in the midwest). They want me to install ChoiceDek

I have read all your information concerning ChoiceeDek-Lowes. I have a couple of questions concerning their installation requirements. I called ChoiceDek and they advise to follow all requirements to in-order to validate the warranty. Without out concern about the warranty

Can I:

• Use 3/16″ between planks rather than 1/4″. Will the 1/16″ difference cause a problem with the composite expanding.

• Use #8×2 1/2″  Headcote stainless steel screws rather than #7×2 1/4″ stainless steel

• Use 2 screws and each end of plank and 1 screw on each joist, alternating from one side to the other (zig zag) rather than 2 screws on each joist.

Thank you for taking time to answer these question and getting back to me as soon as you can.

I recently hired a fencing company to put in a 6′ dog-eared cedar fence.  I already have black streaks  going down, from where the screws were set. I took one of the screws out and it appears it is a 11/2″ drywall screw. Is this acceptable? Is it common to use drywall screws for cedar fencing? Do I need to replace them with something else?

Any idea about the useful life of 1/2″ steel bolts holding a pressure treated bottom plate of an  exterior deck to the top of a concrete wall? Some of the bolts will never get wet – they are under a deep porch – some may get a little wet – this is the pacific northwest. If it is not critical I’m inclined not to rip the whole deck apart and replace them. Simpson’s info seems to indicate that half inch or greater has a long enough life. But Simpson’s main job is to sell their products and avoid liability so I’m not sure that I entirely trust their opinions. I’d rather have the opinion of someone with experience and no bias.

Thanks for your help!
Henry

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 12,000 times in 2010. That’s about 29 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 57 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 92 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 13mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was August 22nd with 99 views. The most popular post that day was TREX Composite Decking Review-TREX Accents.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were en.forums.wordpress.com, healthfitnesstherapy.com, search.aol.com, google.com, and slashingtongue.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for composite decking reviews, choicedek reviews, trex transcend reviews, composite decking reviews 2010, and trex decking reviews.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

TREX Composite Decking Review-TREX Accents May 2010
17 comments

Lowe’s ChoiceDek Composite Decking Review-Part 2 of 3 May 2010

Lowe’s ChoiceDek Composite Decking Review-Part 1 of 3 May 2010
1 comment

1.3d-What type of treated lumber is available at the home centers? April 2010
1 comment

ChoiceDek Review-Conclusion May 2010
1 comment

HOME BUILDERS ARE NOT DECK BUILDERS, GET NADRA CERTIFIED AND BUILD DECKS THAT LAST.

Fact #1   Cedar  decking is corrosive, stainless steel should be used.                                              (CORROSIVE)

Fact #2    PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride (Composite decking) when in sunlight gives of Chloride.             (CORROSIVE)

Fact #3    From the great lakes through Pennsylvania to the coast, Acid Rain is present.                   (CORROSIVE)

Fact #4    Deck washes and cleaners contain bleach.                                                                     (CORROSIVE)

Fact #5    2/3rds  of the United States use salt on highways and road systems (road spray)               (CORROSIVE)

Fact #6    50 miles in from the U.S. coast’s ocean air, and salt                                                         (CORROSIVE)

Fact #7    About 60% of the United States have high humidity levels.                                                 (CORROSIVE)

Fact #8    Green Treated Lumber ? does it matter at this point?                                                         (CORROSIVE)

The real facts we need to know are that more than 3 million decks will be built in the United States this year, 2/3rds of them by DIY or do it yourself builders. That number is about 2.1 million decks without the knowledge To use G-185 or Stainless Steel. None of the big box stores even sell a premium ledger flashing. Without education and access to these materials aluminum or cheap flashing will fail in about 3 years.! We are not building decks, we are building time bombs.

We at the Everflash Corporation recommend Stainless Steel and proper installation. Please go to www.ledgerflashing.info
and download our free installation instructions.

EVERFLASHING, the leading edge in deck flashing for the true deck building professional.

Thank you and have a great day
Mark Morsching
Deck safety professional
Everflash LLC.

This first post will describe how to establish the first and most important building line, when laying out your deck or addition. Though this stuff is pretty basic, for the uninitiated, it may be a learning experience.

Suggested Tools:

• Framing Hammer: (We use 24 Oz., but  any framing hammer will do)
  
• Wood or Metal Stakes (We used 12″, 16″ and 24″ stakes for various ground conditions, but a 12″ stake can do just fine for flat ground)
• String Line (We use braided yellow masons line).
  “batter boards”-(1×4 pine, 2×4 or any board will do, approx 2 feet long, and 4 for each corner of the deck. (More on these later).
• Measuring Tapes (We use 30-35 foot Stanley tape measures and also carry 50 and 100′ tapes)
• If you can’t tie a cinch knot to a stake, then carry an assortment of small nails, to secure your line to the stakes. (My favorite is a 5P galv. box nail).
• Helper-( A Helper is handy when laying out lines-Good for the kiddies)!!

Establishing the first building line on homes with nice straight foundations. For our purposes, we will layout the first building line for a new deck, which is 12′x16′ and starts at the left corner of our home.

Note: Many will ask, why I pull my string lines 2 feet past the proposed width of the deck. the reason is, that we will be setting up “batter boards,” -a set of right angle boards, set at each deck corner to secure our lines to, which will establish the deck line and the elevation. (More on these later).

Establishing the first building line on a uneven or bowed foundation is a bit more time-consuming. The same principles apply, however you need to be accurate. (Don’t forget to transfer the difference to your proposed deck line…I’ll have a few horror stories to tell about folks who forgot to do this)!!

You need to register on their site, by creating a user name and password, but even this old goat, can figure out how to do that, lol! (They say the online course takes about an hour).

Here’s what Simpson says about their course on their site:

Course Description

The length at first, was only to extend about halfway down the house leaving a bit of yard on that side.

After laying down some lines on the ground, we played around with moving the owners existing patio furniture, BBQ, planter pots and kids play area, inside the lines to see how it fit in with the limited space they had.

During this process, it was decided to shorten the width, leaving a small strip of grass between the deck and the rear fence-partly due to setback requirements, and partly to allow some room for aesthetics-a green strip of sod in front of the plants, room for the plants to grow, and some room to work or move objects around from side to side.

The length was extended to the full length of the house-mainly to accommodate a second patio set and a small section, set up with a toddlers sandbox and play toys.

I have used this same method over many years. Even if you don’t have patio furniture yet, you can use kitchen chairs, a small table, planter pots, etc. to experiment with.