Trexx wood alternative....

[Norm St.Onge]

I wonder if anyone has any idea how it reacts to cold (around 0F or so) and snow?

I'm in the ski country of southern Vermont and we use Trex on alot of decks...no problems in winter. It holds up well, easy to shovel the snow off...if you're installing it in colder weather there are different gaping requirements than in the warmer temps...pay attention to them.

-Norm

[Jeff Heil]

If you build the deck out of a composite, consider doing the railings out of cedar or redwood. (opaque stain holds about about 2-3 seasons, clear needs annual upkeep to stay looking new. I find most composite railing systems sag with time and may need reinforcing with real lumber and are less than pleasing to the eye. Most building code requires railings hold 200lbs of force. Some composite systems barely meet that standard. Decks can be complicated, make sure any deck you build will hold the weight of all that water in the soaking tub.

[Bjorn Andersen]

I'm in the ski country of southern Vermont and we use Trex on alot of decks...no problems in winter. It holds up well, easy to shovel the snow off...if you're installing it in colder weather there are different gaping requirements than in the warmer temps...pay attention to them.

-Norm

Great - Thanks, Norm. Couldn't find much info on it on the net regarding low temps and how it handled snow.
We (my better half and myself), are still ehh.. debating on whether we should build of the entire decking of wood/trex or slates. I think slates are nice to look at (example: http://www.saethre-sten.no/uutendors/53.jpg) http://www.saethre-sten.no/uutendors/Terr-08.jpg , but they are hot to walk on in summer, and the part of the garden where the deck will be has about 15-16 hours of sun every day in the summer. I was also fascinated that trex is so easily bent into shapes. That makes it so much less difficult to follow the shapes of an oval or kidneyshaped pool, which we also are planning to build this spring.

Oh well - we'll see. But thanks again for answering my concerns; that gave me some more ammo in my fight to not have slates in the garden!! *grins*

[Russ Filtz]

Based on the specs, I would say the Trimax would be a better product than the Trex (no affiliation!). Trimax is a composite of HDPE and fiberglass. Trex is recycled wood and plastic bags (probably HDPE). The small chunks of woods cannot impart the same strength as fiberglass. The wood is pretty much there as a "filler" it seems. Don't know the costs, but i would bet the Trimax is even more expensive!

[Bjorn Andersen]

Based on the specs, I would say the Trimax would be a better product than the Trex (no affiliation!). Trimax is a composite of HDPE and fiberglass. Trex is recycled wood and plastic bags (probably HDPE). The small chunks of woods cannot impart the same strength as fiberglass. The wood is pretty much there as a "filler" it seems. Don't know the costs, but i would bet the Trimax is even more expensive!

You have a link for trimax? Cant seem to find it online

That said; trex.com that trex gives you a 25 yrs warranty; if the product is no good, wont that be a real expensive deal for the company?

[David G Baker]

You have a link for trimax? Cant seem to find it online

That said; trex.com that trex gives you a 25 yrs warranty; if the product is no good, wont that be a real expensive deal for the company?

Bjorn,
Go to Google and type in Conrad Forest Products. They have the all the information you could ever need on TriMax. I really loved the product. It was carried locally in Northern California but the only way I can get it in Mid Michigan where I now live is to have it shipped to me. I have not done that yet so I don't know what the total cost will be. If you are interested, contact the Conrad folks and they will send you a quote by e-mail.
I have known folks that have used Trex and they have been very happy with it.
David B

[Bjorn Andersen]

Bjorn,
Go to Google and type in Conrad Forest Products. They have the all the information you could ever need on TriMax. I really loved the product. It was carried locally in Northern California but the only way I can get it in Mid Michigan where I now live is to have it shipped to me. I have not done that yet so I don't know what the total cost will be. If you are interested, contact the Conrad folks and they will send you a quote by e-mail.
I have known folks that have used Trex and they have been very happy with it.
David B

Thanks, will do.
I need to find out if there are any dealers that has it in Norway; having it shipped from California to me would be a VERY costly project

[Russ Filtz]

Here ya go! Limited LIFETIME warranty.

http://www.trimaxbp.com/