Cohousing-L Mailing List: Trex and others like it

[Rich Lobdill (richardl]

Dear cohosers:

I see a note discussing Trex and wanted to add my experience.

At Tierra Nueva (Oceano, CA) we had Trex used in the decking of the common
house. It has all the benefits people speak of but one esthetic drawback. It
fades to a drab gray. It was installed two years ago and maybe Trex has
improved on this.

We had the deck in our own home made with a similar product call Tech Deck
or TecDec (or something) and it has held its redwood color very nicely. When
I first saw it, it looked just a bit cheezy because they have added a 'real
simulated woodgrain' . We were going to flip it over and use the other side
but it was just too unfinished. Now I just consider it stylishly kitsch.
Lately others in the community have tried to find TecDec but it seems to not
be available on the West Coast. As I understand it comes from the East and
the demand is so great that they are presently limited sales to the Eastern
US.

Two comments on the use of any of these materials 1) They melt if you put
hot stuff on them like an errant hot BBQ briquette and 2) They seem to hold
stains from spilled oils (also for instance when grilling) longer than wood.

I love that fact that there are no splinters.

Rich Lobdill.