Trex Installation
Trex decking has become very popular and many people wonder...can I install this stuff myself? The answer...of course you can. Hopefully this webpage will help you see what it takes to install Trex or any other composite decking.
We decided to go with Trex for the durability and low maintenance. There are a number of options when it comes to composite decking. We decided to go with the name-brand product as the price wasn't much different and it had a 25-yr warranty.
You will want to work from the outside of the deck toward the cabin so if you have to cut the last piece it is less noticeable. The nice thing about Trex is you can cut and screw through it just as you would a normal wood product. We were able to install 1000 sq ft of Trex in one weekend with one person doing the cutting and another screwing the deck down. You end up putting a lot of screws in when you have two screws every foot of every plank. To create an even space between each board we used 16 penny nails as we went. Here's the manufacturer's installation manual for more details.
Trex Decking & Railing Installation Guide (pdf, 3.34MB)
The finished front deck. Trex installation really tires you out because it is so heavy and if you are the one screwing it down you are constantly going up and down.
You must use special screws made for composite decking. We used FastenMaster 2 1/2" screws. These can be installed without any pre-drilling which saves time. The only pre-drilling we did was for the last set of screws at the ends of the boards since they tended to split the ends of the boards if not.
We installed a couple of trex pieces down the outside rim of the deck and then overlapped the top pieces to give it a clean look.
Cutouts had to be made to fit around the 8x8 posts that were now installed.
Now for the covered side deck. The followed the same procedure working from the outside of the deck to the cabin wall. Again we used 16d nails for spacers.
Finished Trex installation on the covered side deck.
It's nice to have that done....it turned out real nice and will last a long time.
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