The day I hit 500 decks and stopped hating on composite

I've been a wood guy for 15 years, always talked smack about composite decking to anyone who'd listen. Then this spring I finished number 500, a full 600 square foot wrap around in Portland, and the owner had me use the Trex stuff they picked out. I was ready to fight it, but cutting that first board with a regular carbide blade, no splintering, and the hidden fastener system just clicked into place, it changed my mind on the spot. Not saying I'll never build a cedar deck again, but I get why people pay the extra now. Any of you old school guys actually come around on a material you swore you'd never use, or am I the only one who flipped this late in the game?

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alex_taylor1027d ago

Cutting with a regular carbide blade does work but you gotta watch the speed, if you push too fast it melts the edges a bit instead of cutting clean. I found that out the hard way on my first Trex job years back, guy wanted it done quick and I smoked a blade and got some ugly burrs on the ends. Now I run a fine tooth blade and take my sweet time and it cuts like butter, no chips at all. Also that hidden fastener thing is slick until you hit a spot where the board has a bow in it, then you're fighting it and cussing. Still beats face screwing everything though, that part is night and day.

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