Composite Decking in Dayton, OH

Apex Decks installs capped composite and PVC decking throughout Dayton and the Miami Valley. Trex, TimberTech, Fiberon and Deckorators, over a frame built to the spacing those boards actually need.

Composite solves the problem most homeowners here really have, which is not that the deck fell down but that it went grey and needed sanding every other spring.

The product lines we install

Trex

The name most people know. Enhance is the entry line and does the job on a budget. Transcend and the Lineage colours sit above it with better colour depth and a heat reducing formulation. Trex boards are wood flour based and capped on three or four sides depending on the line.

TimberTech and Azek

TimberTech’s composite lines run close to Trex on price and performance. The difference is Azek, their capped PVC, which has no wood content at all. No wood means nothing for mould to feed on inside the board and a much lighter board. It is the most expensive option we fit and carries the longest warranty.

Fiberon

Concordia and Good Life are the lines we fit most. Fiberon competes on colour realism, and their darker multi tonal boards look convincing next to real wood in a way that the entry tier of any brand does not.

Deckorators

Their mineral based composite is the outlier worth knowing about. It does not absorb water, is dimensionally stable in a way wood flour composites are not, and runs cooler underfoot. It also happens to be the one product line where a dark colour on a south facing Dayton deck is a defensible choice.

How we install it

Frame built to the board’s spec

Before any composite goes down we confirm the joist spacing against the manufacturer’s installation instructions, not against habit. Sixteen inches on centre for a standard perpendicular layout, twelve for a diagonal, twelve for stair treads. Where an existing frame is at 24 inches, we sister in additional joists or tell you the frame needs replacing.

Joist tape on every joist and beam

Butyl tape capping the top edge of every framing member. It seals around each fastener penetration and stops water sitting in the screw hole. On a fifty year PVC deck, the frame becomes the thing that fails first, and tape is the cheapest way to push that out by a decade.

Hidden fasteners

Grooved boards get a hidden clip system that sets a consistent gap and leaves no screw heads in the field of the deck. Face screwing a grooved board is faster and it looks like what it is. Perimeter boards and stair treads get face fastened with colour matched screws where the system requires it.

Correct gapping

Composite moves with temperature. End to end gaps are set from the manufacturer’s table using the temperature on the day of install, which is why a deck laid in February is gapped differently to one laid in August. Boards butted tight in winter will buckle in July.

Picture framing and fascia

A border board around the perimeter hides the cut ends of the field boards and is where a composite deck starts looking finished rather than merely covered. Fascia closes the rim. Both are worth doing and both need blocking in the frame, which has to be planned before the frame is built rather than after.

Composite against the alternatives

Against pressure treated

Treated costs roughly half as much installed. It then needs cleaning and resealing every two to three years to stay looking right, and it will splinter and check regardless. Composite costs more once and then costs almost nothing. The crossover point in total cost of ownership lands somewhere around year ten to twelve at current Dayton material and labour prices.

Against cedar

Cedar is the better looking material on day one and most people prefer real wood grain up close. It is also soft, dents under furniture, greys quickly without maintenance and costs more than treated. Composite wins on longevity, cedar wins on the first summer.

Against capped PVC

PVC is lighter, cooler, fully waterproof and carries the longest warranties. It is also the most expensive and some people find the surface reads as less convincing than a good composite up close. On a rooftop deck, a pool surround or anywhere water sits, PVC is the right answer.

What it costs and what drives the number

The board is roughly a third of the installed cost. The rest is the frame, the footings, the railings, the stairs and the labour, and those do not get cheaper because you chose a premium board. That is why upgrading from an entry composite to a mid tier composite often adds less to the total than people expect, while adding a second stair run or a tall railing adds more.

Railings are the other lever. An aluminium railing system typically runs $70 to $110 per linear foot installed, so a deck with a long perimeter can carry as much railing cost as decking cost. On a low deck under 30 inches we can often skip guards entirely, which is a real saving.

Maintenance, honestly

Wash it twice a year with a composite cleaner and a soft brush. Clear leaves out of the board gaps before winter, because rotting leaf litter sitting in a gap is what causes staining and surface mould. Do not use a pressure washer at close range on the surface cap, and do not use a metal shovel to clear snow, use a plastic one.

That is the whole list. There is no sanding, no sealing and no staining.

Where we install composite decks

We fit composite decks across Dayton, Oakwood, Kettering, Centerville, Beavercreek and Springboro. Composite is the default choice in the Centerville and Springboro subdivisions where HOA review favours a consistent finished look, and it is the usual answer on a walkout deck where an under deck drainage system turns the space below into dry patio.