Nice work! Sometimes a good looking finished product is in the details

Sometimes you have to face screw it if your running a Dexerdry system to keep underneath dry for a sitting area. The hidden fastener groove gets taken up by the seal for the Dexerdry. Otherwise yes, why face screw it?

Hidden fasteners arent code compliant in some parts of the country. IE where I am, at least.

Please build a time machine so you can tell that to the guy who made me face screw his entire 17'x27' composite deck. And while you're in the past, also tell him that butt joints are not attractive??

I can see the screws in between the trex and MY OLD DECK.. IS IT SUPPOSE TO BE THAT WAY HELP??

@@Spytimegamez what are you talking about?

@ Perkins I have a friend using this same material and he was saying that he would treat it with diesel fuel. Should he do that?

Not that good a video, with composite decking it is really important to leave a 6mm expansion gap where the boards meet, as composite decking will expand??

Not so sure . It wasn't a tight fit . There was a gap caused by the thickness of the blade .

Exactly!! The exact reason why I'm looking at this stuff now. Lumber prices are insane, thank God I reno'd my building last year- a 4x8 sheet of 5/8" Pressure Treated is $114 Cdn today...F*ck that!

You need more joists so may offset the cost anyways

@@ianmctimoney4206 Only need to double up the joists where the trex meets and on the outsides, so not too bad.

@@harbourdogNL also 16" o/c and 12" o/c for stairs, depending size of deck coukd add up. I just don't Iike the product , much prefer real wood. It's also hot af to walk on I summer.

Not only the cost of lumber but the very low quality lumber that’s hitting the market.

we actually use this stuff on almost every house because it actually lasts a long time. We do charge extra to install it so IM NOT trying to talk people out of it on account of it being more labor. We do whatever the client likes ;)

No it wasn't. There was a gap .unless that's intentional

Well said. Also, cut perimeter after installation and a couple days of movement has occurred on hidden fastener systems so as to let the deck find its happy medium. I'm not keen on having wide flat surfaces under the end to perimeter board support like they showed early on. It's just a wider collection for water. Instead I like to space extra joists and space blocks to encourage drainage.

@@seanroberts381 what about covering that blocking with joist tape?

All that being said, totally worth it for the client?

​@@every_thing_wood1251 They are happy so the answer would seem to be yes. A few years in and durability (including harsh sun exposure) has been fine and looks to continue for some time. I would not hesitate to undertake the higher cost and use Trex again. One note is that Trex Elevations (steel framing members) seem to no longer be made. Don't know why. So I guess I'd have to use old school PT beams.

​@BB-xq6rj it does help, but whenever possible, respect for nature always works better in the end. The smaller the surface area for water to collect, the better. Remember, given enough time, water destroys or changes most things, so better to give it a path to leave while you wink at it.

TheSmallmouthAngler haha.. never works like you say when the camera is rolling :) thanks for watching

Scott Senjo thank you Scott… We had no idea how popular this video would be when we filmed it, so makes my day when I hear some positive feedback

I literally just found out about the plugs.. My building center didn't tell me anything about them. Hence, why I never go back to that store, EVER.

Thanks for the comment… I realize that I should have mentioned that in the video so I just made a video about it. You can find it on our Perkins builder brothers KZfaq channel

Yeah, those are nice aren't they?

Trex now has a 25 year Fade Warranty. Not sure how they can support that, but . . . .

Did trex on my cabin porch in 06, no warps or fading yet. Got receipt handy still in case I need it

Well buddy... mine did the exact same thing! Except I just threw it in the dumpster :-). Thankfully nobody got hurt

@Yo Mama I'm not sure what that guy ended up doing.. I got lucky, wasn't hurt and got store credit.. he probably threw the saw out and got stuck paying his medical bills.

he sure smiled nice though, convinced me it looked good

i cant believe he did that lol

I thought the same too!!! That's a garbage miter!!!

Yeah i mightve left that piece square like that but just mark it with a pencil and figure the angle and miter it properly

Yeah I thought that would look rough lol

...and Trex doesn't stand behind their warranty and leaves the homeowner in the lurch...and the poorhouse.

Same here.

@@stevethecat9194 Thanks

Scott Gibson I Google review Trex decking it had a lot of bad reviews. I am very confused now, wood or composite decking?

@@lookssssssssss I own two homes and my other house has two decks one with cider and one with PT, every two years I have to strip the old seal and reseal them. They look good for one years, it's time consuming, expensive and in general a pain in the ass. I much prefer the Trex, it looks good and needs no real maintenanc. If there is a negative it's that is does get hot in direct sun. Good luck either way.

@@mtadams2009 Thanks for quick reply I think I may go with Trex

OK thanks… I actually bought the wire panels pre-made from tractor supply. Going to make a video about this next time I do it :-)

@@PerkinsBuilderBrothers neat! I've always cut my own down, fastened it to the posts and top and bottom rail, then picture framed around the fastened edges on both sides of the welded wire panel. Had no idea they sold them ready to go. And at TCS of all places.... That's awesome. Looking forward to the vid 👍 Thanks for the reply man!

You can get Trex with grooved(hidden fasteners), or rounded edges(faced fasteners). There are pro/cons to either.

@@jeffw8057 I agree!

I hate the hidden fastener system. It took twice as long to install it then a normal deck through face installation

Also make a gun to shoot clips

@CHEMICALI3URN for sure

And 9 inch on stairs I believe. When using any composite decking you should frame 12 inch center.

Can be found at Lowe’s in the tool section

Yep it needs close support but great decking. I looked at my last home deck the other day I install 29 years ago and still great.

Were plugs included?

@@joeysmith4515 Yes, in the "kit" i purchased a special bit was provided to countersink the holes as well as plugs colored same as the decking.

So I did not go to Lowe's or Home Depot. They seem to rotate specialists and I wasn't confident that they could fill my needs. Instead I went to a building supplier. The person who assisted me had a computer program.I measured the width and length of my deck and railing as well as width, length and number of steps. He put it into a computer program and it spit out what I needed, It included boxes of screws, as well as the anchors for the boards, bits to be used for the screws between the boards (since I used composit and they are not butted together and need room to breath). Also included was the bit to countersink holes and the plugs to fill them. Since MOST of the screws are actually bertween the composit you don't need those counter sunk. Near the ends of the boards you may. I also put a "picture frame" around the deck. This was darker boards in color and also not "slotted' on the ends so that you get a smooth finish all the way around. I did not get a countersink bit or plugs for that, so what I did was buy some plug drilling bits, and made my own plugs from slop I had left over after cutting the picture frame boards. When I was done a neighbor who helped me was amazed at how little slop I had left. The program was pretty accurate. I could also return any boards left over, but didn't need to.

It's 8sqft (16ft board) for 43.38. (for pebble grey & prices vary per design/color. They don't have measurements for square footage for the decking. Best to do the math yourself and compare, 12ft, 16ft or 20ft.. They cut me a discount on every item. They do sell their clips as square footage, which is annoying. Why not just have all units!? 😁 I bought only 16fters.

I pay $2.65 a foot for TRex select. So about $5.50 sf

We always just add a second joist instead of laying one flat, for exactly that reason.

Dwight Carter.. I like your thinking. I have not had any issues yet. If I were to add another joist instead, I would probably go ahead and do a double joist to give you a full inch and a half bearing on the edge of the rim board plus an inch and a half to fasten the end of the boards butting in.

As a custom builder that always strives to exercise "best practices", we would at least install felt paper, or even better a peel'n'stick sill gasket over the top surfaces and especially laminations/joints of wooden structural framing. Trex also has an option for, and strongly suggests, using their steel joist system.

I recently tore out a 15 yr deck for a client that was built that way - all the 2x6's laying flat was rotted out completely so not best practice - I think composite decks have a long way to go or they may be good for just certain climates or situations - especially here in the midwest

Agree completely, we will not install a composite deck on 16s they always end up sagging, always 12"👍

Was thinking the same thing. Let the water go.

Manufacturer recommends tape on joists... I can't believe people don't use it, I love it because it extends the woods life💯

Is joist tape really necessary? My father-in-law's deck is 30 years old and has no problems with rot. Just wondering if it's really worth the $75 it'll cost me as I'm about ready to fasten my deck boards on. And his cousin has put up a ton of decks and never heard of people taping the joists.

@@brianheath5091 "My father-in-law's deck is 30 years old" because lumber 30 years ago was better than the shit lumber of today, that's why. Joist tape makes perfect sense unless you live somewhere where it hardly rains.

Are you referring to 'butt joints'(end to end)?

@@DrugsAreBadUmmmKay yip

Carefully use a untility knife and cut the mushroom close to screw. I tried both methods. If exactly 90°, it never mushroomed on me. Just adding this for whomever. Definitely get at least 2 1/2" composite screws!

I got them at Lowe’s, Have also bought them at our local building supplier.

@@PerkinsBuilderBrothers Any tips on how to drill the screws in the proper way. I'm doing my steps now and I think I'm using the same pressure, but some screws are perfect but other screws aren't flush with the steps. They also can't be backed out once installed. Thanks

I definitely have to charge more for labor vs. Regular 5/4 pressure-treated decking install. It’s really a pretty durable product if your client wants an open deck.

What’s a spine board?

Expansion needs a space, not every space. Close your mitre but leave 1/4 at the opposite end. If butt joining, transition the space to the next board end😢. As long as the line has a space to expand, it will go the path of least resistance. Of course, if you are transition in the middle of a deck, leaving the space on both ends looks nicer with a transition piece and more space to expand.

Use a stop collar on your driver bit.