Does Composite Decking Get Slippery When Wet?

Choosing Deck Materials

Snowy and icy weather can make your deck into a slippery safety hazard. are slip and fall accidents, and as we brace ourselves for the winter, we . Rock salt and calcium chloride are safe to use on composite decks but.

Composite Decking Vs Wood

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The Concealoc hidden deck fastener system is made for and designed by Timbertech but works on just about any decking with a groove. The CONCEALoc Hidden Fastener System is designed for installation of edge-grooved planks, ensuring a smooth, safe, and attractive deck surface. The “wings” on each CONCEALoc Fastener insert into side grooves in adjoining Deck Boards. Decking can be installed with a lot more than just nails and screws these days. Hidden fasteners secure the deck boards from beneath the surface, creating a clean look that’s as smooth as hardwood flooring.

Is Trex Decking Slippery In Winter?

The home builder was so impressed by the product he wished that he had used it for the large deck, he had recently built, on his own home. I was excited about having something touted as being “maintenance free.” Over the years I have power washed it to keep the vegetation (moss? algae?) at bay.

• Composite decking on the other hand has a very low water absorption rate which will prevent fungal growth.
• The surface texture of plastic-wood mixture is similar to that of wood and has a rougher surface to further improve the anti-slip performance.
• But then, when dead leaves, pollen, dirt, and dust, accumulates on the composite decking’s surface, it could encourage molds and mildew to grow on the surface.
• Compared with other composite materials, the WPC decking products we designed and manufactured are more focused on improving the anti-slip performance.
• WPC decking looks and feels like wood, but is actually made of high-density plastics and wood fibers, therefore harder than wood.
• At present, some WPC decking is covered with a layer of plastic on the surface, but the plastic surface is smoother.

Different types of anti-slip strips are available commercially that you can install over your portions of your composite decking. They have a very rough texture that would greatly increase the surface traction of your composite decking. Long wear, appearance and low maintenance are among the reasons that some homeowners and builders choose composite materials rather than wooden. If you’d like to learn more about how you can resolve your slippery decking problem, please give us a call or send us an email.

Built-in moisture resistance – Where there's a pool, there's apt to be water – a lot of it. Unlike traditional lumber decking, using composite decking around pools can provide a smooth, clean surface for many years with little to no maintenance. Have you tried composite decking for an outdoor project? Let me know how you liked working with it and make sure to check out the TimberTech website to see all their products. TimberTech has engineered certain formulations of their composite decking products to minimize heat build-up, so they’re cooler under your feet.

For the most part it has held up well and we have enjoyed the deck. For now, I’d say the best way to avoid problems with composite decking are to avoid it altogether and stick with wood. It’s not wood, so it shouldn’t be expanding and moving the same, right? It actually moves more AND more unexpectedly than wood decks.

They also fill the grains of your decking that are supposed to provide traction. Calcium chloride or rock salt also can be used to melt the snow and ice from the deck surface. If you own one of the older generation Trex composite decks, such as Accents®, calcium chloride or rock salt may be used but should be rinsed off as soon as possible. In what direction should decking boards be placed (horizontal / vertical) compared to the deck? The boards are usually placed horizontally perpendicular to the adjacent wall. This choice is above all aesthetic, but it also important to be sure that the direction of the boards does not hinder water drainage.

Trex

Should Decking Be Ribbed Side Down?

Slippery decking can pose a serious safety risk, particularly in winter when you add sub-zero temperatures, ice and snow to the already-wet conditions. If slip resistance is a priority for your decking, you should know what to look for when buying a composite decking. Composite decking on its own has better slip resistance than wood decking.