Why You Should Consider TREX Decking For Your Outdoor Space
Have you heard of TREX?
Chances are you’ve been researching outdoor decks and have stumbled upon TREX as a highly recommended product by home remodelers.
As one of those home remodelers, I’ve spent a lot of my time getting my hands dirty with TREX, and let me be the first to tell you that it’s something special.
If you’ve been in the market for an outdoor deck and have wrestled with the idea of installing TREX outdoor decking over traditional timber, then you’re in the right place.
I’m going to walk you through everything you need to know about TREX and why you should make it a top priority for your next outdoor deck project.
Let’s get into it!
What is TREX outdoor decking and why is everybody using it?
What is composite decking?
Composite decking is an alternative to timber decking that is made up of recycled materials. These materials vary from brand to brand but usually consist of natural and synthetic ingredients including wood fibers, virgin and recycled plastic, and other materials.
What makes composite decking compelling to homeowners is that it is more durable than traditional timber. Because of its makeup, composite decking can manage the most extreme weather and maintain its structural integrity and finish for years.
There are tons of composite decking brands out there for homeowners to choose from, some of the most commonly used brands are TimberTech, CALI Bamboo, DuraLife, CertainTeed, and TREX.
In this conversation, I’m going to focus our attention on one brand that has taken the composite decking community by storm over the last two decades: TREX.
What is TREX?
Trex is composite decking made up of 95% recycled materials including reclaimed timber and sawdust as well as recycled plastic. Unlike traditional timber used for decking, TREX was created to withstand the harsh environmental conditions that most outdoor decks experience on a regular basis.
Just think about what your outdoor deck goes through in a year—4 seasons filled with rain, heat, dramatic temperature shifts, and sometimes snow depending on where you live. That’s a lot of conditions that regular timber can only withstand for so long.
That’s where premium composite like TREX comes into play. It is resistant to rotting, warping, splintering, and termites, all while maintaining color and finish.
TREX compared to other composite decking brands.
TREX stands out amongst the rest of the composite board brands on the market for 3 reasons.
1. Eco-Friendly
The first is that TREX is one of the most eco-friendly composite decking brands on the planet. As I mentioned, TREX is made up of 95% recycled materials, the remaining 5% is a virgin polymer plastic, which is used to cap the end of the boards to protect the core and give it a clean wood finish. On top of that, TREX saves over 500+ million pounds of plastic every year, making it one of the largest plastic film recyclers in the United States.
2. Durability
The second is that TREX is one of the most durable outdoor decking brands that homeowners can buy. That’s because TREX has a very precise process when it comes to making their decking boards. First, the board is wrapped on three sides, allowing vapor to escape from the bottom creating a tight seal. From there, the cap is added while the board is being molded, ensuring that the cap itself becomes part of the entire board.
Other composite decking brands wait to add the cap later to the board after it is cooled, which can lead to splitting and detachment of the cap entirely. Pair this with its rigorous in-house testing and you’re left with a wildly durable outdoor decking board ready for any type of conditions.
3. Design Quality & Variety
The third and final reason TREX leads the composite decking industry is its visual variety.
Every homeowner wants to have a beautiful outdoor deck that fits their aesthetic. TREX offers a range of stains and finishes as well as three different lines of decking so no matter your budget, you can find a TREX product that fits your needs. These three lines include Select, Enhance, and Transcend, all of which are of the highest quality outdoor decking materials.
Now that you know a little more about what TREX is, I want to shift focus to the good stuff. I’m talking about the features and benefits of TREX that will make this decking decision even easier for you.
What are the features and benefits of Trex?
Resistance To Elements & Weather
It doesn’t matter where you live or what kind of weather you experience, TREX is prepared for everything.
One of the most overlooked conditions that impact your outdoor deck can be a buildup of leaves. Since we’re rolling into fall, you’ll start to see leaves accumulate on your outdoor deck and while this is not necessarily an immediate concern, what can happen over time is that those leaves layer over one another holding moisture that can leak into the wood causing a slow decay. I should also mention that often these leaves can eventually cause staining to your deck leaving it patchy and inconsistent.
Rolling into the colder months, the extreme jump in temperature and increase in precipitation can also impact the quality of your outdoor deck. Depending on where you live, precipitation and constant freezing and thawing can cause traditional timber to lose its treatmen resulting in the boards expanding due to moisture.
Can you guess what happens next? You got it—trapped moisture leads to mold, mold leads to decay, and decay leads to downfall. I don’t want your deck to experience a downfall.
TREX is designed to be weather-resistant under all conditions. It doesn’t matter if you get scorching heat or bone-chilling cold, TREX holds its form, integrity, and finish season after season.
Resistance To Rot, Mold, and Pests
As a homeowner, the word “mold” is always associated with something bad. In regards to your outdoor deck, mold is the enemy. Mold is caused by exposure to moisture for long periods of time, i.e. rain, snow, etc. If your outdoor deck is constantly exposed to moisture, chances are it is susceptible to mold.
In that vein, rot is another enemy to your outdoor deck. Rotting is caused by constant exposure to moisture and with no opportunity to dry. Wet rot and compromise the structural integrity of your outdoor deck, which no homeowner wants to experience.
TREX prevents all of this from happening. Because of its composition, TREX decking fights off moisture and mold preventing any type of decay or warping. Similarly, TREX is anti pest meaning that all those critters that love to nibble on timber cannot sustain life gnawing at your TREX decking.
Low-Maintenance
The last benefit of TREX that I like to tell homeowners about is arguably one of the most overlooked and underrated: low maintenance. With timber outdoor decks, maintenance is a constant. In the summer and fall, you have to make sure that your outdoor deck is not overexposed or piling up with fall debris. This means you’re spending extra hours outside sweeping off the deck, and making sure the treatment is still intact.
In the winter and spring, precipitation pounds the outdoor deck leaving it filled with moisture. And while you could technically manually dry the deck with some type of fan, you and I both know that this would be about as effective as putting a screen door on a submarine.
With TREX maintenance is a minimum. Because it’s perfectly sealed with the board cap and each board is precisely locked into the next, moisture is a non-factor. Similarly, these materials can stand firm against any type of condition, leaving the finish looking just as fine as the first day you installed it. All you have to do is give it a sweep and wash with the hose every once in a while to get rid of any dirt or debris that has added up over time.
Did I forget to mention that TREX also has a 25-year warranty against defects for all its products? That means you can confidently install the product knowing that if anything arises, TREX will be there to back you up.
What’s the investment return on TREX outdoor decks?
Now we’re getting to the most critical question that every homeowner asks about TREX. “How much does it cost?” Before I break it down, consider what type of outdoor deck you want to build, including the size, setup, and structure. All of these elements will impact how much it costs to make this outdoor deck a reality.
With that said, TREX advertises its products at roughly $15-30 per square foot. This does not include the labor associated with designing and installing the product itself.
It’s important to note that TREX does have certified installers who are experts at working with their products.
Compared to traditional lumber, TREX costs you more upfront, but the long-term investment is well worth it. Between the 25-year warranty, low maintenance, and robust features, TREX is undeniably one of the best composite decking products on the market. Time and time again, I have worked with homeowners to install TREX products, and every single time, they are beyond impressed with its quality and performance.
If you want to get an idea of the different tiers of TREX products, I encourage you to check out their Outdoor Deck Cost Estimator that gives you a better understanding of what price range to consider based on your needs and space.
Are you ready to get started on your outdoor deck?
I can’t speak highly enough about TREX and its top-of-the-line product selection. When it comes to peak performance season after season, TREX goes above and beyond, ensuring that your outdoor deck is always looking pristine.
As a remodeling company that spends a lot of time working on outdoor decks, we’ve seen the results firsthand and know that TREX delivers on every front.
If you’ve been considering an outdoor deck and want to jump in and get started, my team and I are eager to help! Go ahead and tap right here to share more about your project with us and set up a FREE 15-minute consultation!
Until next time…