Fibron Decking

Joe Wood

Has anyone used it? I hear they're coming out (or already out) with a product that looks like ipe.

Does anyone have a link for it? Can't find their website anywhere.

bob the builder

http://www.pvainteractive.com/Fiberon/home/home.asp

its called Fiberon tropics. Looks good, but I feel uncomfortable testing out new products....

Bob

Joe Wood

Does look good, but I hear you about using new products.

hey, thanks for the link Bob.

marinellijr

I use composite for 95% of the decks I build. I've used LP, Fiberon, and just finished up one using tropics. I was a little heitant to use it at first being a new product. But all in all it's no different then any other composite. The customer was extremely please with the finished product.

Joe Wood

Marinellijr, how did you fasten the Tropics decking?

Also, do you have any reservations about it getting scratched?

ecooke21

I like using composite decking.. It cuts like butter..

Greg Di

Joe,

Contact Fiberon and they will send you a sample board. It looks nice, but I was told it was about $4 per linear foot by me (NJ) which puts it at the upper end of the spectrum where most people aren't willing to go. It looks like Trex Brasilia only more like IPE.

Greg

sypjoe

beautiful product...shows scratches and marks due to the darkness

deckman22

Fiberon, Weatherbest, Oasis, & Premier all are made the same way using "strandex technology". They all look pretty much the same other than the simulated wood grain which is put on with an embossing system. The boards are scratched when they are hot out of the extruder. The new Fiberon does look nice, but it will scratch up easily. Use your thumbnail to rake across a sample in front of the customer just so they know what they are getting into if they want to use it. If they have large dogs that will be on the deck I would advice against using it as their claws will tear it up in no time.

A better product especially in your area Joe, would be Ameradeck. It has the same fire rating as ipe & is very resistant to scratching. It also expands & contracts less than any composite I've worked with & I've used a lot of different composites. The rep for your area is a guy named Bob, call him @ 602-432-8313 for info regarding a local supplier if you're interested. I dealt with him when I worked @ AWDS so I know he's top notch.

Al

Deckmaster

Your information is inaccurate. For a list of manufacturers using Strandex simply go to their site where they list them under Licensees. None of the brands you list are listed.

Mike(VA)

Fiberon Tropics are not new, they have been out for several years. I have used their Tropics line on many decks and yes, there is a scratching problem. it is most noticable when you first install the product since it is covered with a waxy substance to allow for easier handling at the factory. This coating does go away after a while, but showing a customer how it scratches is not beneficial.

The other problem with Tropics is that it does fade. Not badly, but it does although the look stays the same. Fiberon is one of the few producers who don't imprint the surface but rather the grain effect is more deeply positioned in the boards. Trex, on the other hand, only surfaces treats its patterns on there Designer line.

Fiberon has a new line out of cellular pvc called Horizons. That I haven't used yet, but as with all pvc products, no one has yet been able to effectively produce a board that looks like wood as does the Tropics line. Darker colors in pvc tend to assist in structural degredation faster that lighter colors.

As for the fastening, don't face nail or screw unless necessary. Fiberon products, like most composites, tend to mushroom easily. Use any suitable hidden fastener and pay the extra for the pre-grooved boards.

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SLSTech

No - it was posted in 2006 / 7, most companies do move forward

How about an intro in the appropriate area & please browse safely

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casey344

Here is what we use:

Guardian wood composite - $2.05 / linear foot

Azek PVC decking - $2.69 / linear foot

a new one we may try

Tamco Elements composite - $1.64 / linear foot

Tamco also makes Evergrain - $2.45 / linear foot
- we have used Evergrain for about 4 years now, good stuff

We have been selling more AZEK than anything ... limited color pallet but many advantages over composite. Alot of our stuff floats and the PVC is allot lighter. The carpenters love it because of the lighter weight too.

We use Fastenmaster Trapease 2-3/4" color match screws with trim head.

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Casey

neolitic

Let me introduce you
to a feature we have here.
At the top left hand corner,
above the poster's name,
is the date of the post.
Here is another feature
http://www.contractortalk.com/f44/

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Put your location in your profile!
(Sorry....it seems there really are dumb questions)

John Hyatt

Hey Joe Mon!! how you doing over there ?? its pretty thin in the okc far as work goes. J.

parkers5150

used it here in san diego. easily scratched but more importantly the "tropics" (dark version") gets extremely hot due to the dark color and smooth finish. I was installing it during a heat wave and had to roll up around one pm each day cuz the stuff was unbearable to work with. this i think is an important bit of information that i always pass on to perspective clients that have infants and or small children

casey344

Dark colors, just like wood stained with a dark stain are inherently hotter. We installed a chocolate colored composite this past August and I could feel the heat through my steel toe sandals. HO wanted it to match her house even after been cautioned to maybe consider a beige.

I used a laser thermometer on grey Evergrain composite and then 15 minutes and another dock later (I travel by boat) shot the thermometer on a grey Azek PVC dock and the PVC was 8 degrees cooler.

IMO the heat factor must be big reason why the PVC manufacturers have stayed away from dark colors.

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Casey

hailey

Wow !! $4/lf
Now there's a tough sell !!

I like the price Casey is getting on Azek...just pennies more than we charge.

Greg Di

Your "O" is wrong.

It's much more difficult to manufacturer a dark PVC consistently than a lighter color from what I have been told. It's also got something to do with the cost of making dark PVC, well, dark.

My saying to customers is that ANYTHING gets hot when it's hot out, so use common sense. If it's 105º degrees out and the sun is beating on a wood deck. It'll be too hot to walk on barefoot comfortably. Same with synthetics.

Luckily, where I build, most people aren't walking around barefoot, so it's moot.

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casey344

Without question the darker colors would be hotter.

Azek is a mono extrusion product and its difficult to get the blend to be a consistent color when extruded. Same as blowing up a balloon, as you blow it up it gets lighter and lighter.

Some of the cheaper PVC products are co-extruded. ie: capped with a different material on the outside. Veka is one manufacturer.

Only scary thing is the likelihood of the two materials expanding and contracting at different rates then separating.

Azek is working on a couple darker color options. They are testing different cap stocks trying to find one that will expand/contract at the same rate. They hope to have something to market this year.

Another new thing for 2009 is variegated grains ... different colors within the grain to make it stand out and look more realistic. Our rep said he saw a grey deck board with a green variegated grain that looked like washed out redwood.

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Casey