Trex Decking Installation Video

[@professionalinspectionserv4228]

Interesting video that is a way to install. For those doing a deck there are self drilling screws that stop below the surface, then you tap in a plug. Picture framing with another color will make it all look better and professional. Depending on the size of your deck try not to have joints. Picture framing one or two rowes can help there. Make sure if do face instal a screw that it is not in the grove below, may not hold. Thanks for the snapshot.

[@dennismoore5506]

Best video on installing Trex I have seen. Thanks!

[@tmc5877]

Hey Josh, GC here. Good job with the vid man! Too many spend more time than needed to give the tips, process. Subbed, keep the fun coming!

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Thank T Mc! I do like having fun making these videos. I tried to get to the point and cut out all the fluff. Stay tuned!

[@stansorochman2701]

Thanks for posting this. I've watch so many decking videos but this was the best explanation on starting the first board. Appreciate it

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Hey Stan! Because of that reason is why I made this video. Seemed like there wasn’t much detailed explanations out there about it. You are welcome! Stay tuned!

[@SergeantMackers]

@@TheExcellentLaborer I was racking my brain pre-thinking the second row screwing until this video let me know those special clips are also in the bucket with the other hidden fasteners :D Great video!

[@ajmedeiros77]

Great video. Love that my new impact has 4 speeds so I won’t drive screws too far or strip them. And I can put it on high speed to drive huge timber locks etc. great tool

[@garybrady7245]

@ajmedeiros77 which impact are you reppin that's got 4 speeds? Is it a ridgid or?

[@framnerdan]

Thanks Josh. Another great video!

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Thanks Amazing! It’s another Trex video.

[@robertlombard5586]

Great video, was a great help to me when installing my TREX deck!

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Thanks for letting me know Robert! I’m glad I can help you on your project. Stay tuned for more!

[@xlunaticc]

How do you apply pressure to the boards against the fastener when you don’t have a wall to push against and your deck is 10 feet in the air?

[@Joe-oi6eh]

Any way you can, lay a couple boards running across and apply body weight

[@garybrady7245]

Screw a board to the side of the floor joists and pull it towards the plank and hold it and put a crew in the clip while holding it over

[@Paul-q3m7k]

Get a tongue and groove pulling hammer

[@joshfischer2893]

Exactly what I needed help with!…thank u!

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

You are welcome Josh!

[@T.E.P.]

Hey hey!! great vid again. You get straight to the point and explain and demonstrate perfectly.

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Thanks a lot Eric! I tried to do a similar video as a one before but made it more straight to the point. Thanks man.

[@T.E.P.]

@@TheExcellentLaborer it's your dream man ... I'll be here. Keep doin you all day every day. Making me want to start some vids except I'm too lazy. Cheers man! ty!

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

It is a lot of work to make videos. But it’s also rewarding when you have great subscribers like you to keep me motivated. Thanks man!

[@raynaldoserrano3911]

Thanks for the instructional video, I personally appreciate it. I got just one question: Why leave an expansion gap if you’re working with a plastic composite board?

[@86309]

because it expands and contracts a lot.

[@jmbaker3]

Josh…I have an 1800 square foot 30 year old cedar deck. I need to square it back up and redo everything but framing. I need you to come and do it. 😀

[@RKCConstruction-e4z]

I really appreciate your video. This is my first time to deck for my personal project and I was super confused. I have one more question. What is the measurement of the half piece? For example, if you use a full piece for the first one what is the measurement of the next board ??

[@bmcginnis6543]

Good luck finding the square edge Trex board or any other trex for that matter. You can't even order it around here. Most store have a delivery date of October for the regular lipped ones. Looks like I'll have run a wood border around the from edge to over up the lip.

[@willimina362]

Be careful with how you install that wood border so that the boards can contract and expand.. see the Trex installation guide!

[@g3vino]

I just cut the bottom groove off of the starter board and bumped the skirt board up to it since I couldn't find the square trex boards and it looks great.

[@PNW_Sportbike_Life]

The starter clips automatically set the gap. Also, it’s nice to get the color matched hole plugs to hide those screws.

[@saeedakhtar8782]

Nice Job Mr Josh, Thx

[@JeffThompson-f8o]

Nice overview! Could you please clarify the placement of the type of flashing for the wall siding (wood in my case) and the trex floor?

[@patrickleckrone2308]

Josh, I have a general porch building question. I will be building a new porch on to an old house. Approx 10 x14 wide. The porch will have a roof. When it comes to the porch post, is it better to use long post that will support the deck and the roof or build the deck than put the porch post on top of the deck? What are the pros and cons of each method? Cheers Pat

[@garybrady7245]

Use long posts if you can but you can do it either way

[@stefan_from_hope_bc]

I decided not to use the starter clips, one of reasons was that it gives one side of the board a slight lift as part of the clip sits under the board. Is that indeed a concern?

[@richardb7093]

So, the gap between boards are already determined by the clip design?

[@sgibby8817]

Just watched both of your installation videos on this and must say good job. My question though is what made you not tape the joist? I plan on installing trex on my deck and everything I’ve read and every one I know that’s done it has said to tape the joist

[@robertmyers6859]

GREAT VIDEO

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Thank you Robert!

[@ALBALESTRA]

I know you recommended 24” on center for the deck. If I’m doing a trex wall would you recommend the same spacing for support ribs to anchor to?

[@theamerican4609]

Would have been nice if you showed how to install the starter clips.

[@bradduff5898]

Great informative video, I’m installing this stuff currently this week, and this stuff SUCKS so much. Lol. But thanks for the pointers 👍🏻, but I’ll never do this stuff again. It goes soooo slow

[@girls42528]

Great video. Do you have one of adding the steps to the decking?

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

I have not made that video yet but I will be here in the next month or so. Stay tuned!

[@cmckier1]

Great video. Thanks! Question: if i did not get a rounded edge board for the end, can i just not overhang the grooved end board and slide up my fachia up over the grooved board to hide it? How would that look? Thanks again.

[@cmckier1]

Any answere for this question?

[@djponca]

Question - I thought the posts for the railing needed to be put in place prior to the decking going down. Will the rail be as sturdy if done afterwards?

[@hannahdickerson5274]

What can you do if you don't have the square edge boards for the front? And what happens if the joists aren't 16" or 12" apart?

[@varunshenoy532]

Nice video, do I need any special saw to cut the trex composite decking, also will be great if showed how to cut around the post

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

I install the post on top of the trex. But if you have to cut around it just use a standard jigsaw. It should work fine. Good luck with your project!

[@varunshenoy532]

@@TheExcellentLaborer thank you, will share the picture of finished product 👍

[@endo6306]

Hi Josh, if I’m butting the flooring against an existing siding wall do I leave an 1/4” spacing? ( J chanei is allready installed ). Screws would be visible?

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Hey David! After the J channel is installed it will cover the screws. I hope that helps!

[@FullDrawOutdoors]

@@TheExcellentLaborer I dont think you read his comment right, the wall is already sided. So I believe in this case the screws will just be visible like the other end of the deck.

[@sammyjimenez3252]

Hey Josh Great Job. Does it matter if you started at the house & ended away from the house?

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Hey Sammy! Yes it does. When you get to the end of the deck you will have a ripped piece to finish more than likely. That gives you a unappealing cosmetic finish. Unless you measured it out ahead of time and rip the first piece you started with and then you can finish with a full piece. Hope that helps!

[@kennethgriffo5381]

Josh: I blew it and didn't drill a pilot hole for one of my composite screws. Now it is stripped and the head sits above the surface of the board. I'd like to remove it and replace it with one that is flush with the Trex, but when I tried to remove it with vice grips it actually stripped off the plastic and created a circle around the hole. Any advice for removing a composite deck screw without destroying the wood grain pattern in the small area surrounding the screw hole?

[@ThanksWyatt]

Use a drill and tighten the screw in the head of the drill like it’s a bit. Then reverse it out of the board.

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Trex Decking supplies: www.amazon.com/shop/theexcellentlaborer?listId=5331YJTUWEUW&ref=inf_list_own_theexcellentlaborer

[@Oneguygarage]

Great video. Do you have videos of replacing an old deck with Trex? Thanks

[@garybrady7245]

Should work the same way other than doing the demo

[@bilbobaggins5962]

thank you sir! now i have a 600sq ft deck to do

[@hossman333]

Thanks so much Josh!!

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

You are welcome. I’m glad I can help!

[@mattwallace164]

What do you use on the short ends if it doesn't butt up against the house to make it look finished? ?

[@louislachapelle3157]

Thank’s for the tips 😀

[@jlew6803]

Dude i LOVE your channel. Very!.. informative!! Very professional. What kind of railing system did you use.. do you have a video on it?!

[@yankeesfan2726]

My joists are about 19 OC, can I screw a 2x4 on each one to lessen the gap for composite?

[@jlgresidentialconstruction8488]

Great video

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Thank you for that!

[@pistolpete5356]

Great explanations. Where is the ledger flashing??

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

The flashing is behind the ledger board

[@lynale990]

if the contractor didnot use the same nail/fasteners, didnt install as per mfr's requirement, will it void the warranty?

[@willimina362]

Yes it will! I am just finding this out myself that the contractor did not install per trex installation guidelines and the the warranty is voided due to that.

[@leesimpson5343]

So how do you stagger the end of the boards with out wasting too much materiel or do you just end them all at the manufactured length with one "seam" at the same place?

[@dougschmidt5132]

no absolutely not. You need that random look and try not to create a joint pattern every 2 courses like this guy did in his video. It takes a little more thinking and use the cuttoff as a starter on next row. Only drawback sometimes it creates an additional joint in a single course.

[@heathermcknight3068]

Do you have a video where you do it with facia boards at the end? If your using a facia board do you still use a square edge as your first board?

[@garybrady7245]

You need to put a full board in the opposite direction do it all the way around the perimeter to create a picture like frame. But don't install it yet and let your deck boards go wild (what we call just letting the deck board end anywhere past your desired location and then when done installing deck boards get on top of them and chalk a line and make sure you set your depth of circular saw and cut them babies off nice and straight and then put your frame on. You can thank me later

[@kylekinniburgh3158]

How much overhang do you leave with first board to allow for white trim board

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

If the trim board is half inch, you would over hang about an inch to allow for the trim board and then half inch over hanging that. Hope that helps!

[@frederickcuriel5854]

Nice video, what do you do if you end up with a short distance for the last board? Say maybe 2 inches or less!

[@leahguimaraes4734]

Hi. How do you finish the end of the trek boards? Like on the sides? Im putting a trek groove boards and the end looks weird.

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

You actually use square edged material on the sides so you don’t see the exposed cuts. Does that make sense?

[@TheTrexCo]

Trex recommends using Square Edge Deck Boards for finishing edges and Stair Treads. These boards have a finished edge with no groove cut into them, and they are available in any color that you choose. I hope this information is helpful, please do not hesitate to contact Trex directly if you should have further questions or concerns.

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

@@TheTrexCo Thank you so much for helping out the viewers!

[@diggingmystyle]

I chose to do picture framing, which literally increases the difficulty by 10x. I guess I just like to torment myself.

[@jmbaker3]

How do they you like the Trex compared to other manufacturers?

[@mojodrum3215]

Thanks Josh! How are you getting the deck screws to sit flush on the deck surface without a screw depth setter?

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

I just tightened the screw until the head is flush with trex top. i pre-drilled the holes first. The composite decking screws I used work well. I hope that helps!

[@garybrady7245]

You have to feather your trigger you get used to it sooner or later

[@PaulB-yo9uw]

How would you suggest doing a "picture frame" using a different color trex?

[@garybrady7245]

You have to add more joists so your frame has something to rest on. So on all the outside perimeter boards you need to skip 3 inches and then put another joist in just on the outside so you'll need 3 extra joists

[@pratapgupta6650]

Very good 👍

[@SquintsinaPlane]

How do you hide the clips ?

[@rafaelrcordova171]

How much does it shrink are the gaps crazy

[@alastairgreen6783]

I'm replacing an existing deck. Should I be concerned about the deck screws staying place if they go into existing holes?

[@darishmael3887]

Make new holes, don't use existing holes.

[@brunoramos755]

I got the rigid Drill , my impact is gone , will the drill get it done ? Really cool videos by the way ! Take care 👊🏼

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Yea a drill will work fine. Thanks for the comment. Good luck on your project!

[@diggingmystyle]

I'm having difficulty with the screws breaking. It is demoralizing to have to undo 30 screws just to get to the broken one and then have to put the 30 screws back.

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

I did have a few screws break myself. I just learned not to over tighten them. Using my impact driver it was difficult at times. And the more dried out your lumber is the harder it is to put screws in without breaking them.

[@titirititiri6360]

Try not using impact

[@diggingmystyle]

@@titirititiri6360 that was my mistake early on but the screws still broke after I set it to the lowest power setting. The screws are simply poorly made considering the cost.

[@titirititiri6360]

@@diggingmystyle oh man, that’s not good, I’m about to use them on the fixture frame on my deck

[@titirititiri6360]

Did you pilot drill? 2 1/2”?

[@josephlaffey7093]

Josh great video. I am about to do this and was wondering about the first board. Thanks for making it clear. Would you use plugs to hide that first and last row of screws? I thought I saw a video of the plugs for TREX

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Thank you Joseph! You can buy the plug kit but are usually don’t use those. The decking screws are so low profile you’ll hardly notice them. But if you don’t like the appearance you can do the flow kit later. That helps!

[@garybrady7245]

Yeah really the plugs are just for looks. They'll probably just get kicked out anyway. Go with a close color screw and be done with it t it's all gonna swell a few years down the road anyway. And yes it does expand and contract and swell and shrink if it don't it's going to believe it. Usually after about 2-3 years the screws will disappear like magic lol

[@francoisbourdages2906]

Merci . Très bien expliqué. Thank you.

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

You are welcome!

[@edmanha4653]

Echo blower

[@edmanha4653]

Echoa

[@capoeiraachebrasilcalgary]

nice bro

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Thanks

[@sergiogarza1603]

What happens if you go further than 16" on center? Mine are currently set at 18" on center

[@rebeccajohnson1368]

I heard the boards will wave like sea water

[@joeyvandenoutenaar591]

What about a round T-Rex floor I have a project next Wensday 30m2 all tip are welcome. Greets from holland

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

Hey Joey! I honestly have never heard of T-Rex floor. I assume it’s like trex?

[@lourod1962]

Can this be placed over a concrete patio?

[@TheExcellentLaborer]

It sure could!

[@lourod1962]

@@TheExcellentLaborer could you make a video showing how to do it? Thank you. 😃

[@hazeltorres1108]

I didnt understand if every clip needs to be put on every stud. He mentioned that the screws for the end boards are every 24inches

[@waynem3833]

Why don' t you use a clip at the end of the board instead of the deck screws?

[@captrad824]

So you have to use the screws in the boards with the hidden fasteners

[@captrad824]

Do not so, typo

[@amayajoel2227]

Hey Josh! Hire me... I want to learn more about construction... ✌🏼

[@blameitonben]

Do you need to put a waterproof barrier between the trex decking and the joists? I saw that in another video but you didn't use it.

[@delinquense]

Would have been nice to see a picture frame type of installation just to learn about the other challenges that one would face.

[@mtrodrig84]

I really don't get it: what's the appeal to a 'clean look' using the fasteners if you still have to use screws on the edges? As an OCD person, this totally nullifies the point of a 'clean look'. I mean . . . it's like showing up to a wedding in formal attire from head-to-ankles, but wearing tennis shoes. If it's easier/cheaper to just use the screws, why wouldn't I just do that?

[@ZydruNasty]

The screws on the edges will be hidden once the J-Channel is intalled for the siding. That's why he puts them as close to the edge as possible

[@titirititiri6360]

@@ZydruNasty there are 2 screws per rafter, the j trim only covers one of the screws

[@FullDrawOutdoors]

So the make a plug kit to hide the screws if you choose to do so.

[@lynale990]

My project's dilemma: The decking board running parallel to the end / siding of the house. The last row was in before they put in the last row of cement board siding, which now makes it difficult to push the last/bottom siding board in. They have no idea what to do underneath the front decking row.

[@paulhedges9451]

Have had Trex installed in the UK. Terrible experience by firm that have clearly never don this work before. Won't shame them there as I'm still waiting (4 months) for them to rectify the rubbish they'v e done and I've, s(tupidly in good faith), paid for. Can name them later

[@joshuawilson1989]

I've installed trex and everyone I've installed did not want that gap...

[@robertarguello1115]

Hello Josh, In regards to your deck project, because you did not provide a concrete stub-wall -from wall to wall- to support the patio framing & because you chose to only use two 4x4 or 6x6 posts instead, the patio ends up providing a perfect safe location for rodents, snakes, and other pests. ... Live and Learn!

[@charleschi843]

The amount of visible dust on that deck is a good reminder to not buy that color. The lighter and blended grain patterns do not show as much dust.

[@dougschmidt5132]

thats the beauty of this product. Once construction is complete just hose off and enjoy that rich color. If you have some OCD issue than yes get your light color and less maintenance.

[@charleschi843]

@@dougschmidt5132 It's true, most of that dust was from the construction. I bought Trex Rocky Harbor and my OCD brain rests very well at night. 🙂

[@alexisotoolemaddox6001]

please help me

[@jennyday4378]

看起漂亮、用起來、腳感覺沒有木頭的好、還有感覺會滑