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I had ChoiceDek "HARVEST BROWN" decking installed on a new deck on May 29, 2014.
I then placed a door mat by the patio entrance, a deck carpet, and a propane grill on the deck
Within LESS THEN 30 DAYS the deck had faded so much that I can see the EXACT IMPRINT left in a darker hue where each item was placed. Remember this is in 30 days.
I live in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia which has moderate weather.
I contacted my builder and he has brought this to LOWES attention where he purchased the material and said they are looking into it.
He also told me he has had another problem with this same material from ChoiceDek that he just installed and at this point he will not use it on any other contracts.
I am hoping that ChoiceDek or LOWES will at least refund the cost of the material.
In the meantime I have to remove everything from the deck and hope the imprints will fade in time to match the remaining deck.
I will try to post some photos as soon as I figure out the method.
Google got me this, alone with many more...
"Some manufacturers are very up-front about color fading. ChoiceDek and Trex are among those manufacturers who will show you post-fading colors so you can see what you deck will really look like after a few months. "
It's buyer be informed! If only you'd done your homework...
*i think there's something in there also about rubber-backed mats, rugs, etc; tends to turn the stuff black. Trapped moisture makes the wood mildew/mold.
I had Choicedek decking installed in 2014. Within a few months not only had it faded substantially, but some of the decking boards developed black discolorations and made the deck look dirty. I used Spray 'n' Forget as recommended by the manufacturer, but it did nothing. I scrubbed some areas and now those areas are even more faded but still discolored. The 'maintenance free' deck is now a constant eye sore. I would not recommend this decking material to my worst enemy. I don't know how the other composite decking material perform, but whatever you do, do not get Choicedek.
It works the same as installing a painted metal roof or vinyl siding. It is in direct sunlight, and will fade over time. The goal is to allow it to fade evenly so it's important to keep things off the surface so that everything fades together.
What we would do when we installed a metal roof, was to ask the homeowner to find a place to keep 1-2 extra pieces of roofing exposed to direct sunlight so that it would fade at the same rate as the roof. Then... if a piece of metal got damaged, we were able to replace it with a piece that matched what was on the house.
Discolorations (different than fading) could come from the type of material that is covering the surface, or from any chemicals allowed to sit on the surface for any period of time. It could be leeching into the composite material.
I never said you can't ever put anything on it... but you should give it some time to fade before you put anything on it. That, or live with the fact that you're going to see dark spots where something has sat.
I'm assuming you're a builder by your name. You've never seen metal roofing or vinyl siding fade in sunlight? There's no way around it.
The discolorations developed without anything being placed on the surface. Only the planks from the first batch I ordered have the discolorations. The planks from the second order do not. The planks are defective and this only shows up a few weeks after installation. The fading is not the big problem, the discoloration is.
I have had discoloration problems with BEACH HOUSE GRAY boards. The boards from the store had a different color from the ones that were ordered online and delivered. I have used Trex, Veranda, and Azek and so far ChoiceDek doesn't make the cut.
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