On my old layout I had raised my track using the ladder method, had Trex boards screwed to PVC pipes, dont need them anymore and was wondering if anyone is interested in them, about 40 of them and almost all are 8-10 ft long, they are FREE to a good home, I live in Cedar Lake Indiana, anyone close? Or this summer I go to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the Wisconsin side, if anyone close to that route be glad to meet you somewhere on the way.
Any questions please let me know.
Your photo seems to show the Trex in good shape.
Need new deck.
Would you recommend Trex, or not.
Wish I lived near your offers.
I wish I lived closer. I would love to take it of your hands.
Don,
I have a small porch made from Trex and a bench made with Trex. I love the stuff. But I will warn you it gets hot. Not barefoot materiel.
If the Trex they’re making today is anything like the Trex from fifteen years ago, i would look for an alternative. There are many excellent products on the market.
The reason for my one star rating of Trex, as I know it, is that all of the outdoor decks I had seen using Trex looked like they had been sanded with a #1 grit sandpaper after only a few years. The fibers were sticking out all over the place.
I have no vested interest in Trex. And I agree with Dan in that there are plenty of quality option out there. But I installed mine 6 or 7 years ago I think. I think it still looks great. It has faded some But it started out as a weatherd grey and it still looks weather grey just a little lighter. This is a closeup. I don’t think it looks sanded nor are the fibers becoming exposed. This is just my two cents working with the stuff.
My father-in-law used some sort of plastic-PVC I think-decking that is very nice. Expensive but nicer than Trex
I had trex by our pool also, never had a problem with it and the kids really pounded it while playing.
The trex I have was the planking around 10.5 in wide, and I ripped them down to around 2 3/4 in, they bend really easy on curves, I used wooden blocks between joints, was really stable.
Tom H
I think the thing with Trex is to not “break the surface”, if you do, it looks like large chunks of sawdust in plastic. Oh wait, it IS large chunks of sawdust in plastic!
I have it embedded in my back wall that is the 3.5% grade for the layout, and by ripping it into a keystone shape and embedding it into the concrete, it allows me to tack down the track but allow for expansion. Once ripped, it removed the plastic “skin” and let it work really well in this application.
For my “wood frame” under my switchyard which is sitting on dirt, I have stuff that is 100% polypropylene which is way heavier, denser and no chunks of wood apparent when cut Of course this stuff is also TWICE the cost of Trex.
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
I have stuff that is 100% polypropylene which is way heavier, denser and no chunks of wood apparent when cut Of course this stuff is also TWICE the cost of Trex.
Greg
That is exactly the difference. There is composite but then there is the pure stuff which is the difference in price when a lot think is the same product. I have done quite a bit of research and experimentation with these products for many years. It’s just like when folks talk about using Sintra. Sintra is only a brand name for PVC board not the actual product. Then you get into other things like UV treated or not…and so on.
As for Don’s question on Trex for a decking surface. Sure why not, it’s made for that and will require power washing and other maintenance but not nearly as much as wood. However in my opinion it doesn’t have the same warmth and look of wood which requires 3 times (or more) the maintenance.
Edit: because I actually agreed with Greg …(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Devon Sinsley said:
I have no vested interest in Trex. And I agree with Dan in that there are plenty of quality option out there. But I installed mine 6 or 7 years ago I think. I think it still looks great. It has faded some But it started out as a weatherd grey and it still looks weather grey just a little lighter. This is a closeup. I don’t think it looks sanded nor are the fibers becoming exposed. This is just my two cents working with the stuff.
My father-in-law used some sort of plastic-PVC I think-decking that is very nice. Expensive but nicer than Trex
That’s not the Trex I recall seeing and using. Perhaps it was more than the fifteen years I mentioned in my earlier post. The Trex I remember has no wood grain like the one in your photo, Devon. When new, it had a rough surface, but not hairy. As it aged the hairs started to come out.
Dan Padova said:
That’s not the Trex I recall seeing and using. Perhaps it was more than the fifteen years I mentioned in my earlier post. The Trex I remember has no wood grain like the one in your photo, Devon. When new, it had a rough surface, but not hairy. As it aged the hairs started to come out.
Composite
You guys made me go an look. Because I couldn’t remember. The cut end of this stuff does reveal that it has wood in it. Seems its concentrated at the center. Maybe they refined the process, I don’t know, but it doesn’t exhibit any exposed fibers that I can see. I am almost positive it is Trex brand composite decking, but i could be wrong on that.
Now where I agree with Rooster is this is not wood. Nothing about it looks like wood or feels like wood. I love wood and wood has a unique texture and look that in MHO cannot be duplicated. This stuff looks like what it is, plastic faux wood. It feels like plastic faux wood. We bough into it because of the low maintenance and high durability of it. It makes a great deck, just not a great wood deck.
Devon,
That looks like Choice Deck from Lowes. The same material I used on my Walkway Crossings post. http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/25418/protecting-track-on-walkway-crossings I have a deck made of it off the master bedroom and it looks great.
Hmmmm. Now I didn’t buy it at Lowes but that does looks exactly like the same stuff. Mine does show light brown wood saw dust on the ends. Hard to tell. I bought it at a local building supplier and I could have sworn it was Trex brand but I won’t bet a fortune on it. I do know that the place I bought it no longer carries it. They have switched to another composite brand.
I bought brown stuff that had a corduroy finish on one side. I sliced and diced it to make an On3 ladder. Had 150’ staked and leveled. In 1 year it started cracking at every screw. I had used self drilling/tapping dry wall like screws and formed finish washers to spread the bite.
I later heard that it needed it’s skin intact.
I sent it to the landfill. $20 a board…
John
We always run a risk when we use something well beyond its intended use. It sucks it didn’t work. I would have thought it would. I would have tried it. I was even considering it. I will stick to either Redwood or PVC boards for the ladder. I hate to see good ideas fail but I am not above learning from them. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Well Pardner, that’s about the only reason I have for telling that tale.
Maybe we can steer another to the trim boards that are already a good shape.
I can’t say about using it like it was meant to be, I am guilty of cross- purposing a lot of stuff.
John
Devon,
Here are photos of Choice Deck. It is rated for ground contact. I’ll comment on your posible choice of Redwood as a ground contact substrate. Todays second growth Redwood is no applicable to use under ground as it does not have the same properties as Old Growth Redwood. you may get 3 years and decay will set in. Non natural material today are the way to go. Read the engineering on any product that may come in contact with ground.
That’s not the same stuff. Similar but not the same. I think I have a scrap of it that I can take a picture of.
I am leaning toward the PVC. I have a lot of years ahead so the longer it lasts the better. But I still haven’t ruled out redwood yet. Chuck has used redwood in his ladder and I think he told me it is 15 years old and still going strong, most of it is contact with the ground. The system he uses is very nice, if not a bit labor intensive, but the ladder holds its shape naturally. He cuts 1/4 strips off a 2X material and laminates two of them together in a form, that gives him a 1/2 X 1 1/2 rung for the ladder. He makes an inside and outside rung. I assume on my part that way the wood doesn’t fight against the posts to return itself straight. The result is a pre-bent ladder system. I very much like this idea.
But it is wood and no matter what it will rot. Now we have fairly dry conditions and well drained soil and I will embed the whole thing in 3/4 crushed gravel for added drainage. But still it is wood and it will rot.
PVC on the other hand will outlast me. Its more expensive but less work and time is money. It is also proven so not like I have to experiment. Most likely PVC will get the nod.
Sounds like the splines we used on the smaller stuff. Laminating strips glued together when bent will dry in the curve…
Down here termites eat redwood, needs to be heartwood for any prevention.
'cuse me but don’t the rungs hang between the side frames?
John
Devon,
Here’s the method I used to lay my track. I have many grade changes and used 8" plastic stakes at intervals of about 24" to 36". Laying my track as a template trenches were dug for the 3/4" minus base stone. I could then use my level to adjust each stake to the desired grade. The track was then screwed to the top of the stake, then I dressed the track with 1/4" minus Bluestone for ballast. The beauty of the 1/4" minus is that it packs very well with little erosion over time. One issue with Bluestone is it’s magnetic, so, if you’re magnets on your locos try decomposed granite it’s not magnetic. This method was inexpensive and has kept the track in place for 7 years.
