Should I use TREX to replace my front porch?

[dennis thompson]

I am thinking about replacing the boards on my front porch, (some are beginning to rot), with TREX.
What do you think of TREX? Is there anything similar to TREX that you would recommend?
Is this a do it yourself project? I have built several decks but never replaced one.
Thanks

[Grant Wilkinson]

I did my back porch in Trex 20 years + ago and it still looks like it did when new, with some slight fading. You can work it with ordinary woodworking tools. Hose it down from time to time and it will last darn near forever.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I’m a great advocate of Trex and Azek. My practice was to frame at 12” on centre because I felt that the composite materials didn’t have the same ridgidity as wood the same thickness.
However in doing a porch, there may be the issue of tongue and groove fir boards so you may need to deal with matching the profile.

[Ron Citerone]

I agree with Aaron, the joist spacing needs to be considered as well as the condition of the joists. Did 2 small decks at my cottage last fall and while I planned on using the old framing, I felt it was barely sound enough and decided to reframe it before I redecked it.

[eugene thomas]

i bib my back deck in wood 3 years ago. if only would of spent allittle more would not get the pleasure to replace all 40 feet of it eventually...

[Mike Henderson]

One thing I'd like to add is that Trex is HEAVY and EXPENSIVE. I have a back deck of Trex and had a few boards fail because of a manufacturing defect. I got a check from Trex for the failures.

I agree that the framing is important. Your surface will last but you need to make sure the underside will also last.

Mike

[Alex Zeller]

I'm not a big fan of the composite decking. Had it on one house and the deck always seemed to be too hot in the summer during the day. I went with tigerwood on my current house and find I like it a lot more. It turns gray like any other wood but it'll last decades. Ipe tends to be a little on the expensive side but the other lesser known exotic wood decking choices are a similar price to Trex.

[Stan Calow]

We just did our deck with a composite material. Do a bit of looking around and you'll find several different companies making similar products, although it seems like TREX has become almost a generic name. We used a brand called Deckorator that Lowe's carries. I was surprised to find that when pricing it out, it was less expensive per BF than cedar would have been.

Do some studying on the installation as it requires special fasteners if you want the screws to be hidden (recommended).

[Ed Aumiller]

If your deck framing is over 12"OC then HIGHLY recommend putting in additional framing as most composites will sag noticeably over spans greater than 12"..

I just replaced a porch with composite and added framing to make spans 12" or less..
Have a small stoop on one place and used 16" span when replaced floor and it is sagging... will eventually need to take it up and put 12" spans on it..

It definitely looks great.

[Dave Cav]

I did a front deck with Timber Tech and it was nearly maintenance free. When we sold the house after 17 years it still looked nearly new. Pressure washed it every year or so and that was about it. On the previous house I built a conventional deck and it was a maintenance headache cleaning, staining, repairing rot, and so on.

[Mel Fulks]

For me the key word is “porch” . With a roof over it ,no drainage is needed . I would make a plywood floor. Glue down light canvas, and paint it. Except for my posts the method was probably last printed in The Whole Earth Catalogue. But it’s much older than WEC.

[Ed Aumiller]

Mel... what keeps the "light canvas" from quickly wearing out and getting holes??

Like the idea of it, but how long will it last ??
I have a porch floor that will need replacing in a few years is reason for asking...

[John K Jordan]

I am thinking about replacing the boards on my front porch, (some are beginning to rot), with TREX.
What do you think of TREX? Is there anything similar to TREX that you would recommend?
Is this a do it yourself project? I have built several decks but never replaced one.
Thanks

I built a floor in my dog kennel (10x10) from PT decking boards. After a few years it started getting soft spots. I put another layer over top to make it last a few more years. Finally replaced it with Trex 2 yrs ago. Too soon to know how it will hold up but others I've seen after 10 years looked new.

Built a side deck from PT to store my garbage cans until time to haul off the trash. After about 8 years the 5/4 decking boards were rotting on the other side of the deck from the trash cans. Could fall through them if not careful. Rebuilt the entire deck with Trex. Several years now and it looks like new. Ask me again in 10 years!

I'm getting tired of PT decking boards. On the other hand, I built a 7-level 1000 sqft deck at my last house. Instead of 5/4 decking boards I used 2x6s. Used 4x6 posts, 2x8 joists on doubled 2x12 beams. The deck is still in great shape structurally after 30 years.

BTW, those times I rebuilt a deck I replaced all the posts, joists, etc as well as the decking. This gives the opportunity to redesign. For example, we tore down our house deck and enlarged it and added a couple of levels. Took the opportunity too use 6x6 posts instead of 2x4.

Oh, Trex is definitely a DYI project but not cheap. Using their fasteners makes the job quick.

[Mel Fulks]

The paint. I said light canvas but if you buy heavier canvas it actually has a little ‘Cush’ that makes it last. It’s really just a “floor cloth”
glued down.

[Mel Fulks]

Trex is good for a deck . But a porch is a ROOM ...without walls. Without rain why is drainage needed ?
But the floor should have a little slope.