Trex vs. Fiberon vs. TimberTech

There are two kinds of shoppers: hunters and gatherers. 

Hunters know what they want. They go straight to that item, grab it fast, and get out, quick. Gatherers browse, look, and wait to see what catches their eye. They take in all the possibilities. But what happens if you’re in a situation where hunting and gathering aren’t the right approaches?

If you’ve narrowed your options down to a set number– say, three– then hunting’s too direct, and gathering’s too scattershot. You need information that helps you determine which of the three is right for you. That’s especially the case when the three brands in question are all solid.

If you’re trying to pick between Trex, Fiberon, or TimberTech for your new composite deck, that’s the situation you’re in. Each option can last for years, but what really matters is which option suits your particular needs. 

Full disclosure, we work with all three kinds of materials at KP Contracting. Frankly, we love working with all three types of material. Whichever best suits your needs, we’ll be happy to use it to realize your vision. And by the end of this post, you’ll know which of these three you want, whether you’re a hunter or gatherer.

Trex vs. Fiberon vs. TimberTech

Trex, Fiberon and TimberTech all make composite decking. What’s composite decking “composed” of? Wood fibers, recycled plastic, and glues and additives to hold it together. 

Here are the stages of making a composite decking board:

The “capped” refers to the plastic used to cap the board. This coating, or capping, reduces mold, moisture, and some scratching damage. 

Trex, Fiberon and TimberTech all have higher up-front costs than regular, pressure-treated lumber. On the other hand, all three require less maintenance and upkeep than regular lumber, which lowers the long-range cost. All three composite brands also offer warranties. All three companies offer multiple lines of composite decking: Trex offers five types of boards, Fiberon six, and TimberTech six. 

We’ve compared the three brands based on several categories below, with an extra section for slip resistance. Safety first.

Trex

Price

Building a deck with Trex composite averages $75 per square foot in Southern Maryland, after you add in all the materials needed (screws, rails, stairs). Trex offers five styles of board: Enhance, Select, Transcend, Lineage, and Signature. Boards in the first three options run from $5-12 per square foot. That price increases for the Lineage and Signature models, with a single 12-foot board coming in at $96.36. Unlike Fiberon and TimberTech, Trex does not make pvc decking. 

Capping

Trex boards are only capped (coated in plastic) on three sides. This means Trex boards are less mold and mildew-resistant than their Fiberon and Timber Tech counterparts, with more of the board open to the elements. Trex’s capping also looks less like real wood than Fiberon’s or TimberTech’s. 

Scratch resistant

Trex is scratch-resistant, but not scratch-proof. That scratch resistance differs pretty drastically between Enhance (their cheapest model) and Transcend (their mid-tier model). In this homemade scratch test, Decks by E3 demonstrates how much deeper a nail scratches Enhance:

Warranty

Trex offers a 50-year warranty on Transcend, a 35-year warranty on Select, and a 25-year warranty on Enhance. Trex has a warranty against staining and fading. Trex’s warranty against fade resistance is measured differently than Fiberon’s. Trex’s warranty measures fading in CIE units, which are better at measuring differences in yellow and dark shades. Thus, if your deck’s a yellow or dark color, and appearance matters, Trex might be a better option.

Scratching isn’t included in that, however, nor is heat damage. 

Fiberon

Price

Building a deck with Fiberon composite averages $75 per square foot in Southern Maryland, with labor and materials included. Fiberon also makes decking out of solid PVC, the same material used in plastic pipes. PVC decking is tougher and more mold and mildew resistant than wood-based composite. One 12-foot board of Fiberon’s high-end Promenade PVC decking is $92.40. One 12-footer of the more economical Good Life composite decking is $45.60. According to one source I found, Fiberon’s cheaper Good Life line has the same chemical composition as their more expensive varieties.

Capping

 Sanctuary, Good Life, and Paramount  are capped on three sides. Concordia and Promenade  are capped on four sides. Four-sided capping makes the boards even more mold and mildew-resistant. 

Scratch resistance

Fiberon is scratch-resistant, but not scratch proof. According to Fiberon’s FAQ, the Horizon and ProTect Advantage are their most scratch-resistant lines. 

Warranty 

Fiberon offers lifetime structural warranties on its higher-end products (Promenade, Paramount, Concordia Symmetry, Concordia Horizon). For those same products, stain and fade-resistance warranties only (only…) run to 50 years. Fiberon measures fading in Hunter units, which are “more sensitive in measuring blueness.” If you’re looking at a beach house-friendly shade like Moonlit Cove (available in Promenade), Fiberon might be the brand to pick.

Fiberon’s Sanctuary and Good Life Escapes offerings have 40 and 30 year warranties for both structural and stain/fade resistance, respectively. Their remaining models offer 25-year warranties.

Heads up, Fiberon’s warranties are prorated:

TimberTech

Price

TimberTech offers four pvc decking options: Vintage, Landmark, Harvest, and Porch. These pvc options are the ones that used to be called Azek. They offer six composite options: Legacy, Reserve, Terrain, Prime+, Prime and Premier. Those were previously called TimberTech PRO.

Building a deck with TimberTech composite averages $9-10 per square foot. TimberTech, like Fiberon, makes decking out of solid PVC, the same material used in plastic pipes. One 12-foot board of TimberTech’s high-end Vintage PVC line is $90.49. One 12-footer of the less costly Premier composite decking is $62.39. 

Capping 

TimberTech offers 4-sided capping on the Vintage and Landmark series in their PVC offerings, and 4-sided capping in the Legacy, Reserve and Terrain in their composite product line. 

Scratch resistance

Resistant is the key word, as scratches are inevitable on any deck. TimberTown’s youtube channel did a four-way scratch test on oiled cedar, Brazilian Ipe, TimberTech (composite), and Azek (PVC piping). Scratches were noticeable on the TimberTech, but on the pvc decking, a heat gun was able to remove most of the scratch’s appearance:

Warranty 

TimberTech’s PVC decking offers a 50-year stain and fade warranty, and a lifetime product warranty. For the composite decking, Legacy, Reserve, and Terrain all have 30-year warranties, while Prime+, Prime and Premier all have 25-year warranties. 

After year 10, however, warranties on both products are reduced each year by the following amounts:

If you’re looking to stay in your home for more than eleven years, and the likelihood of damage is high due to kids, pets, or weather, TimberTech might not be as strong an option. 

Composite Decking Slip Resistance

I wanted to include this video of a homemade slip resistance test that covers one offering from each brand:

Spoiler alert, Trex and TimberTech come out on top. OSHA’s minimum for coefficient of friction (COF) ratings is at least 0.5. The higher that COF, the more slip-resistant a deck is. In general, PVC decking has better slip resistance. 

To compare Fiberon and Trex, Decks Toronto did a side-by-side comparison of slipperiness. Their findings: 

Contractor and content-maker extraordinaire, Decks By E3, provided the Canadian OSHA’s results for several composite brands’ COF (same measurement, different body measuring): 

Another heads up: if you want a fire pit, you’ll need another layer between it, and your composite material. This helpful visual from deckprotect.net demonstrates why:

Trex vs. Fiberon vs. TimberTech: which suits you?

Each of these three brands can be a great choice. It’s your individual needs that determine which suits you. If you’re a mold-phobe, or someone who doesn’t like to clean up, then a 4-edge capped deck like TimberTech Legacy or Fiberon Promenade, might be a good option. If you’ve got young children or older parents, a pvc decking material’s higher COF rating is probably something you’ll want. 

If you know which brand suits you, and you’re thinking of which contractor to pick, we’ve got some tips for how to make sure you find the right person. We’d love for it to be us, but we realize your best choice for a contractor, like a decking material, revolves around you. If you think we’d be a good fit, reach out to us at (240) 266-5900, or here.