How To Install Pvc Decking

How To Install Composite Deck Boards

Learn how to build a deck with composites and other rot-resistant materials for beauty and longevity.

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Introduction

Expert deck builders prove y'all how to install Trex decking like a pro! Get pace-by-pace instructions (with pictures) & pro tips from our composite deck experts!

Tools Required

Build Decks Using Composite and Other Depression-Upkeep Materials

Your deck should exist a place to relax, not a painful reminder of those looming weekends you're going to spend sanding, painting and staining. And so if you're in the planning stages for a new deck, consider alternatives to wood and cheque out some blended deck designs.

You can build yourself a low-maintenance deck using the same tools and similar techniques every bit you would a wood deck. And most parts of a deck are now available in composite material. But there are differences between low-maintenance and wood products. We asked our pros for some tips to assist DIYers avoid expensive mistakes.

Don't know what your deck volition look like? Check out this floating, platform deck The Family Handyman built.

Meet Our Experts

We asked Randy Moe from Decks Unlimited, and Bob Januik and Matt Norden from Precision Decks, for some tips on working with low-maintenance deck materials, including Trex. Birthday these guys have built more than than 1,000 decks, using every material imaginable. X years agone about half their jobs were wood. Today they install low-maintenance materials on iii out of iv. Plus, cheque out these 14 DIY deck add-ons that are seriously cool.

Projection step-by-pace (12)

Step 1

Flatten Joists to Avert a Wavy Deck

Virtually PVC and composite products aren't as rigid as wood, so they don't bridge imperfections in the framing equally well.
If some of your joists are higher than others, you might cease up with a wavy surface.
Our pros stretch a cord across the deck joists to detect high spots and and so plane them down with a power hand planer.
- Pro tip: This might seem like a pain, but information technology takes less than an hour and pays off with a better-looking deck.

composite decking deck joist spacing

Pace two

Beware of Dark Colors when Choosing Composites

Boards with nighttime colors tin can become blistering hot when the sun is beating downwards on them.
If y'all like to become barefoot, consider a lighter color.

How to Install Hidden Deck Fasteners:

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The Family Handyman

Footstep 3

Hide Blended Ends

Many PVC and Trex composite decking products are not the same colour all the style through, so you lot'll desire to cover the ends.
One solution is to "picture frame" the deck by installing Trex deck boards around the perimeter.
- Pro tip: A picture frame creates a professional person look but does require additional framing.
One fashion to back up the perimeter boards is to add an extra joist v-ane/two-in. abroad from the outside joist and then install a 2x6 on its side between the ii joists.
Hibernate composite ends by mitering joints around the deck perimeter.
Add together actress joists for support as needed.

mitered composite deck ends

Footstep 4

Protect Joists From Rot

Force per unit area-treated lumber is rot-resistant, not rot-proof.
Two places our pros often come across deterioration are forth the top edge, where the decking traps moisture, and between two joists sandwiched together.
Rolling butyl record over the top of the joists will add together years to your deck's framing.
Choose a dark-colored tape; shiny silver and white are noticeable betwixt the gaps.
Lay butyl tape over the joist tops to assistance forestall rot.

protect joists from rot

Step 5

Check Deck Joist Spacing

If y'all're planning to replace old wood decking with PVC or composite, measure the deck joist spacing offset.
Most deck joists are centered sixteen inches apart, which is the maximum deck joist spacing for most low-maintenance decking.
If you lot program to install your decking at a 45-degree angle, your joists may need to be 12 inches autonomously.
You also may have to install more stair stringers.
Check your product specs and talk to your local edifice official earlier yous purchase.

Step 6

Avert Random Splices

Utilize splice boards to eliminate random splices in long runs.
If your deck is 24 feet long, don't use random-length boards and butt-articulation them together.
Install a splice board to create two 12-ft. x 12-ft. spaces instead.
Your deck volition expect meliorate and you lot'll avoid the frustration of trying to splice the decking over joists.
A splice board volition also crave extra framing.
Practice it the same style y'all would for the perimeter boards (i extra joist and a 2x6 on its side between the exterior joist and the extra joist).

Splice long runs

Step 7

Hide the Screws

When it comes to fastening PVC or composite decking, all three of our pros like the Cortex concealed fastening system.
You just countersink the screws using the special bit included with the kit, and hammer in a plug that'south made of the same textile as the decking.
Screw holes almost disappear, and damaged boards are easy to remove if you have to.
A box of 350 costs most $74 at Abode Depot.
- Pro tip: Features similar this make composite deck designs really await polished.

deck fasteners

Pace 8

Stair Rails Fabricated Simple

Stair railings are i of the trickiest parts of any deck project.
Some aluminum manufacturers offering a preassembled railing that racks to whatever bending yous need.
Just measure out the distance between the posts, transfer the proper angle and cut to length.
If your rails fit into a sleeve, yous tin can cut them with a hacksaw, reciprocating saw or round saw.
If your rail ends will exist exposed, you lot may want to invest in an aluminum blade for your chop saw.
Either way, make clean up the ends with a file then you don't scratch things upward during installation.

deck railing

Stride 9

Mix and Match

You don't have to stick with one type of production or one wait for the entire deck.
Our pros mix and lucifer all the time: composite posts with aluminum rails, composite rails with aluminum spindles. And don't be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to color.
You tin install perimeter boards the aforementioned color as the railing.
Choose a mail service color that's unlike from the railing.
Find a complementary color for your composite deck stairs.
Have the spindles be a dissimilar color than the posts and runway. The possibilities are endless.

Deck/railing material options

Step 10

Connectors Make Railings Easier

Creating a tight fit betwixt a composite deck posts and a runway is difficult — even pros struggle with it.
Railing connectors brand information technology piece of cake.
This connector, fabricated by Deckorator, is screwed onto the end of the rail before being attached to the blended deck posts.

Railing/post connector

Step 11

Wearing apparel Up Ugly Posts

If your deck is more than a couple of feet off the ground, you lot may want to wrap the posts in PVC to match the residue of the deck.
You'll need 2 1x6s and two 1x8s for each post.
- Pro tip: Our pros avoid material thinner than 3/4-in. because PVC expands and contracts more than woods, and it's hard to go along the seams together using thinner material.
Pivot the boards in identify with a trim gun before screwing them together.

cover posts

Step 12

Dark, Round Spindles Improve the View

Do y'all know why equus caballus fences are usually white? It'due south considering dark ones are harder for horses to see. The same principle applies to deck railings and people.
If you want an unobstructed view, dark spindles are the fashion to go. And circular is ameliorate than foursquare.
A 3/iv-in.-diameter round spindle stays 3/four-in. no affair which management it's viewed from, merely a 3/4-in. square spindle grows to more an inch when yous view it at an angle.