Comments on: Choosing a deck surface

By: Mike (also from Toronto)

Mike (also from Toronto) — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 19:50:30 +0000

Hi,

We’ve had the LockDry deck for over 3 years now. Couldn’t be happier with it. Because it is metal, it will expand and contract, so it will occasionally make the noises associated with this, however there have never been any leakage problems… as long as you seal between the deck and house properly. In the summer it is cooler than a hardwood. Installation-wise it slopes away from the house so water runs off from the house out. My joints were running perpendicular to the house, so I had to block in between them because the LockDry runs perpendicular as well. No big deal though.
As to why LockDry? A local distributor. Couldn’t find one for the LastDek waterproof product. The look is great, I went with the beige type colour… easy to maintain, doesn’t matter how much snow sits on there (it’s easy to clean off using a plastic shovel). I did the steps (24″ wide platforms really) going off the deck as well.

Mike

By: Park City skier

Park City skier — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 16:22:17 +0000

Eight years ago, we built a 200 sf deck using beige Trex. Today, it looks bad, with traces of water (melting snow) seeping down the vertical sections of the skirt and railings. What’s worse though, is that we use that deck for dinning three times a day, from June through September, and with barbecuing and handling food around, grease stains are frequent and can’t only be removed with sand paper. Forget about power washing or scrubbing with non-abrasive material! Today, as we’re building a new home, we’re considering NextDeck, but we can’t find anyone who’s installed it anywhere in the state of Utah. That’s the only thing holding our decision…

By: Robyn

Robyn — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:55:37 +0000

Yes, we are still very pleased with our choice. Our sub said the metal was hard on his cutting blade, but not difficult to install. We’ve had no problems with leakage. I can’t opine on coolness, because the decking is on the north side of our house and covered by a porch roof, so it gets no sun at all.

I personally like the look very much and am even more pleased by the no-maintenance factor. We have poured concrete as a roof over our root cellar and my husband’s room in the basement, but could not afford concrete to span the porch area between the concrete pads. I was able to match the brown LockDry decking with colored concrete, so our entire wraparound porch looks like Swiss chocolate. Everyone who has seen it thinks it looks great. If you are near central PA, come and see it.

By: Vince

Vince — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 22:19:58 +0000

Mike, Robyn and others that used LockDry.

We are also looking at this product as well as LastDek and have obtained samples of each.

a few questions:

Are you still pleased with your choice?

Is it really cooler than wood or composite?

Any problems with leakage?

How hard to install compared to wood or composite?

Why did you choose LockDry over LastDek or the others?

How do you like the look?

By: Robyn

Robyn — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:49:39 +0000

Hi Mike,

I specified LockDry watertight aluminium decking for our new home because the deck will be located on the north side of the house and will be over a concrete pad for the walk-out basement. I do not want to worry about mold issues or water dripping on us as we enter the basement, and especially about maintenance. The aluminum has good traction and I personally like the way it looks. It should last a very long time and not sag. The higher cost is justified by the lack of maintenance and the fact that the space underneath will not be dripped upon. The sample I ordered arrived very quickly and impressed my builder as well.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:49:05 +0000

I just installed a LockDry deck in Toronto (Canada). After 5 years with an Ipe deck I was kind-of disappointed with it. Basically if you install Ipe, then it will go grey regardless of the sealants you try and put on it, especially in parts of Canada where the winter strip off any type of sealant and re-coating ends up being a twice a year chore. So I first looked at other alternative woods, and not being a fan of composites, never went there. Eventually I chose an aluminum deck partially because it was extremely low maintenance, and also because it made the area under the deck dry.
Price-wise I thought it was extremely comparable. Colours are limited, but what I realized was that the lighter colour afforded by Lockdry actually brought more light into the back of my house. That and it was easy to install. The aluminum is actually warm in the sun, but not hot like the Ipe got sometimes. and in the shade it is cool. We’ll see how it holds during the winter, but I expect come the spring, getting the deck ready will involve just a hose. I won’t take to spend a couple of hours power-washing gunk off it.

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:33:59 +0000

I really don’t have a dog in this fight, but have installed a lot of decking over the years. When reading negative comments on-line do keep in mind that 20 people will take the trouble to complain for every one that is inspired enough to write positively.

Secondly, check the dates on those comments! We are now into the third and fourth and maybe fifth generation of composite decking and many complaints relate to early generation products. Nothing is maintenance-free, but all current composites are waaay less work than wood.

Finally, please think green! Despite claims to the contrary, the vast majority of Ipe is not sustainably harvested, and centuries-old tropical forests are being pillaged for decks that will vanish in twenty years tops!

By: robert

robert — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:29:56 +0000

If you are looking for another alternative for aluminum decking check out Ariddek-Wahoo Decks.

By: Agnes

Agnes — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:36:58 +0000

Barry, I am curious if you installed the LockDry for your decking? I am considering them also. And I will be consulting with them in January to place an order, but before that I was hoping to get some feedback on people who had the product installed.

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:09:12 +0000

Barry: Interesting. Hadn’t heard of that. It looks like good stuff, if you’re into the grain thing. One of the things I noticed right away with the fake decks though is that it seemed like the stuff without the grain always looked better than the stuff with the grain… at least for a modern home. I could see the grainy stuff looking better with a craftsman or more traditional home.