If you've spent a Saturday every spring power washing, sanding and restaining a wood deck, you already know why people switch. Composite boards don't need stain. They don't splinter, and they don't cup and check the way wood does after a few freeze-thaw winters. You sweep them, hose them off, and get back to using your yard.
On a recent job in Hopkinton we built a Trex deck with PVC trim and new railing. The PVC covers the rim boards and stair risers, so there's no raw lumber left to rot or paint. From the yard it reads as one finished piece. Up close, you won't find a single exposed end grain soaking up rain.
Composite is only as good as what's under it, though. Boards last for decades, and a frame that rots in ten years drags them down with it. So before you get a price, we check your footings, posts, ledger and joists. If your frame is sound, we resurface. If it isn't, we tell you and show you the photos.
What's included
- Inspection of footings, posts, ledger and joists before quoting
- Trex or composite deck boards in your choice of color
- PVC trim on rim boards and stair risers
- Joist spacing set to the decking manufacturer's manual
- Ledger flashed against your house
- New railing system to match the deck
- Stairs laid out with even rise and run
- Site cleared and magnet swept at the end of each day
Signs it's time
- You're tired of restaining your wood deck every year or two
- Your boards are splintering, cupped or cracked at the ends
- Gray, weathered wood keeps coming back no matter what you seal it with
- Your railings feel loose when someone leans on them
- You want a deck that looks finished without painted wood trim
What we check before we put composite down
Composite boards flex more than wood between supports, so joist spacing matters. Your existing frame may have been built for wood decking at a wider spacing than the composite manual allows. We measure it. If the joists are too far apart, we add blocking or new joists so your boards don't sag between them.
Then we look at the ledger, the board that ties your deck to your house. A lot of older decks around Massachusetts were bolted straight to the rim with no flashing. Water runs down your siding, gets behind that board and rots both it and your house framing. We flash it properly before any new boards go on.
Manufacturer warranties on Trex and composite boards pass straight to you. Our 5 year workmanship warranty covers how we built it.
What happens behind your composite decks
You won't see most of this once the job is done. That's why we photograph it before we cover it.
- Substrate inspected and photographed before it's covered
- Every opening flashed so water gets directed back out
- Seams and laps of the weather barrier taped and sealed
- Fastening and clearances per the manufacturer's manual
- Soffit ventilation kept open, corners and returns sealed
- Site cleared and magnet swept at the end of every day
