Part 4 of our Deck renovation series; why we chose to build with Trex decking and the benefits to the product, including safety and maintenance.
This post is part of a branded content series with Home Hardware and Trex Decking.
It’s probably the number one question I’ve been asked since we started our deck renovation project – ‘why did you choose to go with Trex?’
And there are so many reasons why that I thought it warranted a post all on its own.
If you’re just popping in, this is part four of our Home Hardware and Trex Deck Renovation series! (You can see the Plans for our Deck, the Demolition Process, and the Framing and Design Process here).
But let’s dig into the wonders of Trex and why I knew it was the right fit for our home, and for our family.
How is Trex different from typical wood decking?
Let’s just rewind for a minute and recall the monstrosity that was the old deck. (Bearing in mind, ours was particularly bad!)
The reason I’m bringing this up, however, is because wood decks experience a lot of wear and tear.
Depending on where you live, the sun exposure, climate, elements, and the freeze-thaw cycles- can give your wood deck a beating.
So the way to mitigate that wear and tear is through regular and consistent maintenance.
*Record scratch*
And I can’t forget to mention one of my favourite characteristics of Trex decking – that it’s made from 95% recycled materials – reducing the overall carbon footprint of the project.
Trex is easier and simpler to maintain
I’m going to be honest with you right now. I’m a Mom in her 40s with two little kids, a business and a life – and as much as I love my home and renovating – I’m really not a big fan of keeping on top of regular maintenance things.
So any up front design decision that can help me avoid long term maintenance is a plus.
With a Trex deck, you all but eliminate those headaches.
Unlike a wood deck, we won’t have to stain or seal our deck every couple of years. This will save us precious summertime and helps reduce our yearly maintenance costs over the long term.
Safety aspects of Trex
Another major consideration for us when we decided on Trex was the safety aspect.
Maybe I’m overly sensitive to slivers, wood chips and broken nails because we lived with the old deck for so long.
But I nearly sobbed with relief when the first few Trex boards went in knowing my kids’ and the pets could walk barefoot on the patio without fear of being hurt.
The baby is still crawling and toddling and now I just let her scoot around on the deck without any worries at all!
Cleaning our Trex deck
As it is with life, I think within an hour of our deck being finished, as we were celebrating with pizza and pop on the balcony, my five-year old spilled Sprite on the deck.
And lo and behold, it just wiped up with a wet dish rag. That was IT!
When we were potting our plants and hanging flower baskets, all we did was use the leaf blower on the loose soil and fallen leaves and then swept up the rest.
At the beginning and end of each season (or after a big backyard party), we’ll just hose down the deck with warm water and brush off debris and we’ll be good to go.
This pales in comparison to a wood deck that needs regular pressure washing, and sealing and will still absorb any liquids or dirt over time.
In the next installment in this series, I’m going to share more details about the dreamy Trex railing system and some of our decisions that went into why and how we chose it and how it fits into our big vision plans for the house!
