Every great outdoor living space starts with a good plan and a solid foundation—which is what our decking series is all about. In this series, we sit down with our good friend Kevin Kunka of Trex Company to cover some of the ins and outs of executing a successful decking project. Trex is the world’s largest manufacturer of wood-alternative decking products and a veteran in the outdoor living industry. Over the years, the Trex name has become synonymous with quality manufactured decking.
While Trex offers a comprehensive collection of decking products designed to work together, it’s not uncommon to see decks being constructed using products from multiple manufacturers. This can lead to unintended consequences and even costly issues later on.
In this episode of our decking series, Kevin explains why it’s wise to stick with the same brand when embarking on an outdoor living project. Watch our discussion above or read on for the highlights.
Avoid future challenges
When it comes to decking products, fasteners from one brand are often mismatched with decking boards from a different brand. While the products could potentially work together, using items from different brands can leave you without recourse if issues come up down the road. For example, should there be an issue of compatibility, the maker of the deck board will likely say, "You should have used our fastener." However, the representative from the fastener company might claim that the deck board was at fault. These types of scenarios can result in a stalemate when it comes to honoring warranties or fixing the problem.
Access streamlined service and warranties
Sticking with the same brand of decking materials helps ensure you’ll get more comprehensive service and warranty coverage, all from one manufacturer. If you have any questions or issues about the materials, then you just have one brand’s customer service to deal with instead of tracking down multiple contacts. Choosing all your deck materials from the same family of products also helps keep the warranty process easier, especially when purchasing from an established, trusted brand. By using one family of products throughout your space, you get more consistent factory support while also being able to rest assured that your materials were designed to work together.
For more manufactured decking best practices, check out our recent posts on pre-planning and layout best practices, fastening options, and how to handle filing warranty claims.
