TimberTech vs. Azek ??

[Disney2NJ]

We are looking to do a major home improvement project (major for us) by replacing the wood deck with a low maintenance composite-type decking material. We are in the process of getting estimates and my head is swirling with making decisions about the decking material. Does anyone know of a reliable website with reviews. Or can anyone share their experiences they have had. We seem to be leaning towards TimberTech or Azek. Thanks so much@

 

[CTdiznymom]

We are looking to do a major home improvement project (major for us) by replacing the wood deck with a low maintenance composite-type decking material. We are in the process of getting estimates and my head is swirling with making decisions about the decking material. Does anyone know of a reliable website with reviews. Or can anyone share their experiences they have had. We seem to be leaning towards TimberTech or Azek. Thanks so much@

We did a very (10x15)small ground level deck last summer and we used Weatherbest composite (gray) for the floor and trimmed it with Azek (white) fascia boards and rails. We love how it looks. So far so good. We had some spots over the winter which we cleaned with deck cleaner ($25/bag at HD) and it worked great. We tried everything from bleach, kerosene, magic eraser to baking soda and nothing would remove the spots. I'm only mentioning this bc everything we used never damaged the deck or bleached the color out. We're very pleased with the composite we chose.

 

[tbstew]

We are looking to do a major home improvement project (major for us) by replacing the wood deck with a low maintenance composite-type decking material. We are in the process of getting estimates and my head is swirling with making decisions about the decking material. Does anyone know of a reliable website with reviews. Or can anyone share their experiences they have had. We seem to be leaning towards TimberTech or Azek. Thanks so much@

I own a deck building company and we have worked with TimberTech and Azek, amongst other products, over the years we've come to like some products more than others.

Azek is a PVC decking material. Timbertech also manufactures a PVC deck board called XLM - TimberTech also manufactures five or six other types of decking products.

Most consumers are familiar with traditional composite decking - first introduced by Trex in the mid 90's. Traditional composites, in very general terms, are a combination of wood and plastic. Although they are "low maintenance", they have their short comings. Since composites have wood in them, they will absorb stains like grease, coffee, wine, etc. Some composites will fade, some scratch easier than others, some get extremely hot, and others expand and contract at considerable rates.

PVC products offer stain resistance, fade resistance, scratch resistance, and they come in more color options than composites - which is why we typically recommend PVC decking.

We prefer the Timbertech PVC product, called XLM. It is stronger than Azek (we have to frame Azek at 12" o.c. to account for its sponginess), it has a far superior hidden fastening system, it has a class "A" flame spread, and we get better customer support from Timbertech than from any other decking manufacturer - and we deal with them all. XLM has performed very well for us - we've got many happy customers that echo our sentiment.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I own a deck building company and we have worked with TimberTech and Azek, amongst other products, over the years we've come to like some products more than others.

Azek is a PVC decking material. Timbertech also manufactures a PVC deck board called XLM - TimberTech also manufactures five or six other types of decking products.

Most consumers are familiar with traditional composite decking - first introduced by Trex in the mid 90's. Traditional composites, in very general terms, are a combination of wood and plastic. Although they are "low maintenance", they have their short comings. Since composites have wood in them, they will absorb stains like grease, coffee, wine, etc. Some composites will fade, some scratch easier than others, some get extremely hot, and others expand and contract at considerable rates.

PVC products offer stain resistance, fade resistance, scratch resistance, and they come in more color options than composites - which is why we typically recommend PVC decking.

We prefer the Timbertech PVC product, called XLM. It is stronger than Azek (we have to frame Azek at 12" o.c. to account for its sponginess), it has a far superior hidden fastening system, it has a class "A" flame spread, and we get better customer support from Timbertech than from any other decking manufacturer - and we deal with them all. XLM has performed very well for us - we've a lot of happy customers that echo our sentiment.

I'm glad you just offered this info, I was going to ask my DH, he deals with both on a daily basis!


*edited to add, DH said "Azek, hands down."

 

[mereum]

Timbertech is the only company that designed their own Concealock fastener to be used exclusively with their own product and it is the best made hands down. It is stainless steel, powder coated brown or black to make it virtually invisible, and installs quickly and securely. In short, Timbertech is a great innovative company that makes some of the best composite and PVC decking on the market.

 

[HeatherC]

We used Timbertech decking and their white railing on our deck about six years ago. It has held up great and I would use it again if given the choice.

We power wash it in the spring and it looks good as new every year.

We also put up a pool deck using some cheap Home Depot knockoff composite about three years ago and it is awful. Shows every stain and even in full sun shows mold. Hate it, but living with it because it is not on our never ending list of house projects.

 

[msmama]

I did mine about 4-5 years ago but I found that different companies seemed to be more comfortable pushing different materials. (I have Trex). They all seemed to close to me that I went with the company I was most comfortable with and ended up with the product they suggested.

They were all relatively close in price, but the professionalism of the companies I got quotes from varied greatly and that was way more important to me!

 

[Halle]

We have two homes. One has a Trex deck and it is awful looking, stains, mold and nothing we do completely eliminates the problem. Two years ago we had a Azek deck installed at our other house it is gorgeous. I always wash the railing and spindles in the Spring and discovered that some of the spindles were splitting. An Azek rep came out immediately and told us that they were aware of the situation and they have fixed the problem by manufacturing the rails differently. They have replaced the spindles but we are responsible for having them installed.