How to Choose the Right Composite Decking Brand

Upgryd installs three composite decking brands: Deckorators, Trex and TimberTech. Deckorators is our preferred brand and most of our installs. We add Trex and TimberTech so that you can choose the color, finish and price point that fit your deck. Here is the framework we use in consultations to help you decide between them and between the lines inside each brand.

The lines we install

• Deckorators: Summit, Voyage and Venture.
• Trex: Enhance, Select, Transcend and Signature.
• TimberTech: AZEK, PRO and EDGE.

Within each brand the lines generally step up in finish and in price. The brand matters less than which line you choose, so compare lines, not logos.

Step 1: See the color in your own light

These four decks are in the Lehigh Valley and show how much a color changes from one yard to the next. Across our published projects, the colors we install most are Deckorators Venture Sandbar (19 projects), Summit Boulder (15), Venture Saltwater (8) and Summit Glacier (6). Popularity is a starting point, not a recommendation: a color that looks right on a shaded backyard deck can look different on a full-sun one.

A showroom sample under store lighting tells you little about a deck in afternoon sun. Take two or three sample boards outside, lay them on the existing deck, and look at them in morning light, midday and evening. Check them wet, since a rain shower changes how a color reads. We bring samples to every in-home consultation for exactly this reason.

Step 2: Ask how hot the color runs

Darker boards absorb more heat in direct sun, in every brand. If the deck gets all-day sun and you walk on it barefoot, choose a lighter color or plan for shade. This is a color decision more than a brand decision.

Step 3: Compare the warranties line by line

Every manufacturer publishes a limited warranty on its boards, and the terms differ by line. Read what the warranty covers: fading, staining, structural defects. Then ask your builder for the labor warranty in writing, because the manufacturer covers the board and not the installation. Upgryd's headline is a 25-year limited labor warranty, and the exact labor term for the line you choose is written into your proposal before you sign.

Step 4: Match the railing to the decking

Most of our installs pair white vinyl railing with black aluminum balusters, or Deckorators aluminum Rapid Rail in black. Choose the decking and railing together, since the combination is what you see from the yard. We install Deckorators and RDI Finyl Line railing.

Step 5: Decide on upkeep and budget together

All three brands are low-maintenance next to wood: washing, no sealing or staining. The difference in price between lines buys finish, color depth and surface detail. Ask for your proposal priced with two lines side by side so you can see what the step up costs on your square footage.

Step 6: Check who installs it

A composite board is only as good as the frame and the installation. Gap spacing, fastening, and the structure under the boards matter as much as the brand. Every Upgryd deck is framed with #1 grade pressure-treated lumber, flashed with butyl tape at the ledger, and finished with a picture frame around the perimeter, whichever brand you choose.

How we recommend

For most projects we recommend Deckorators, which is why it makes up most of our installs. We offer Trex and TimberTech when you ask for them or when their color palette and price point fit your project better. Whichever you pick, the labor warranty term for that choice is explained in your consultation and written into your proposal.

To see the lines in person, book a free in-home consultation. You can also read about new deck construction, deck resurfacing, and our warranty.