Trex vs. Timbertech: Which Compositae Decking Brand Is Better?

Trex vs. Timbertech: Comparing Compositae Decking Brands

When it comes to wood-alternative decking, one brand instantly comes to mind – Trex®. Since inventing composite decking more than 30 years ago, Trex has led the category in global sales, distribution, and consumer brand awareness. Trex boasts the industry’s strongest distribution network with products sold through more than 6,700 retail outlets across six continents.

Over the years, a number of other brands have emerged with hopes of capturing a piece of the wood-alternative decking category. Of those, TimberTech is the closest competitor to Trex based on sales volume. 

We are often compared with this #2 player, although our brands and product offerings differ in various ways. In this article, we will compare Trex versus TimberTech decking with a focus on clarifying these vast differences, addressing some common misperceptions, and answering the question: Is Trex better than TimberTech?

First Things First: These Are Not Your Parents' Compositae

When entrepreneur Roger Wittenberg invented the composite decking process in the late 1980s, he revolutionised the decking category with a product that offered a durable alternative to pressure-treated lumber. Three decades of innovative changes to the material by the Trex Company have led to improved durability, easier maintenance, and better aesthetics. While wood decking inevitably suffers splinters, warping, and rotting, and requires considerable maintenance, wood-plastic composite decking never has to be stained or sanded and doesn’t rot, warp or twist like wood. Periodic cleanings are far easier than the never-ending sanding and staining required to maintain wood decks.

As the composite decking category evolved, additional colours and grain patterns were introduced that offered increasingly natural aesthetics. Early-generation products – whether from Trex, TimberTech or other brands – were not stain-, scratch-, or mould-resistant and tended to show signs of fading within a few weeks of installation. 

To address these category-wide issues with the early-generation product, Trex revolutionised the category again by engineering a new kind of high-performance decking in 2010 named Trex Transcend® which remains the category’s best-selling decking collection of all time. This innovation introduced a proprietary shellstock formulation - also known as a cap or shell - designed to protect the decking against fading, staining, scratching, and mould while delivering a more natural, wood-like grain aesthetic. This game changer elevated Trex as an innovation leader and Transcend decking as the unmatched product of choice among consumers. Over the years, competitors have responded with products designed to emulate the premium performance and aesthetics of Transcend decking, but nothing has come close to surpassing this product.

Trex remains focused on continuous innovation and bringing additional high-performance offerings to the market. In 2022, the company introduced Trex Transcend® Lineage® decking which features a unique linear embossing pattern, a revolutionary streaking aesthetic, and a revised shellstock designed to keep the decking cooler under the sun*. 

The current Trex decking lineup - Trex Enhance®, Trex Select®, Trex Transcend®, and the recently introduced Trex Transcend® Lineage® - is all made with a proprietary, ultra-durable outer shell. In addition to improved performance, this technology provides enhanced aesthetics, delivering richer, long-lasting colours and natural wood-grain patterns, and also makes for easier maintenance, requiring only an occasional cleaning with soap and water. 

Thanks to technological advancements like these, today’s composites perform significantly better than their early-generation counterparts and outperform and outlast wood by decades.

Trex vs. Timbertech: Company Overviews

Based in Winchester, Va., Trex Company was the first-to-market brand in the composite decking space and is the world’s largest manufacturer of wood-alternative decking and railing, as well as a leader in high-performance, low-maintenance outdoor living products. All Trex decking is made in the USA and sold globally through the industry’s largest network of distributors and retailers. 

TimberTech is a division of The AZEK Company, a Chicago-based company that makes and markets building materials primarily designed to replace wood on the outside of homes. The TimberTech portfolio comprises PVC and composite decking and railing products that are sold across six continents. Many of the brand’s decking offerings are made from fully synthetic polymer material supplemented by a handful of wood-plastic composite options.

Trex vs. Timbertech: Materials (PVC VS. WPC)

All composite decking is not the same. That’s one of the most common misconceptions among consumers when comparing Trex decking vs. TimberTech - or any other composite decking brand for that matter. This error causes tremendous confusion.

Generally speaking, there are two main types of wood-alternative decking - WPC (wood-plastic composite) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride). WPC decking is made from a wood-plastic mix and benefits from the best attributes of both materials. The plastic film (or polyethylene) provides resistance to rot and insects while the wood gives the product density. When it comes to aesthetics, WPC boards are considered by most to be more visually appealing than their PVC counterparts which tend to have a more “plasticky” look and feel.

While both options are entirely suitable for decking applications, their performance and aesthetics are vastly different. Following are some of the key pros and cons of WPC and cellular PVC decking:

WPC (Wood-Plastic Compositae) 

Pros:

• Allow for more natural-looking, non-reflective surface designs and a wider range of colours.
• Often contains recycled wood, plastic, or both, making it a more sustainable and eco-friendly choice.
• Some formulations feel stiffer and more sturdy underfoot.
• Longest track record of performance of any type of wood-alternative decking.

Cons

• Density can make boards heavy.
• Most WPC decking options carry Class B or C fire ratings. (Class A is the most fire-resistant).

PVC (a.k.a. Capped Polymer)

Pros:

• Lightweight and easy to handle on the job site.
• Easier to bend to create curved features.
• Some products can achieve a Class A fire rating

Cons:

• Made from fully synthetic, petroleum-based thermoplastic, making it a less eco-friendly option.
• In certain conditions, boards can be “springy” underfoot, making them feel less sturdy.
• High coefficient of thermal expansion makes gapping during installation critical
  • Some brands, like AZEK, recommend installing shorter lengths to combat this problem, resulting in an increased number of butt joints (where two pieces of material are joined together) that can be unsightly.
  • Some PVC products can be permanently stained or damaged by petroleum-based products like rubber hoses, floor mats, and sunscreen/bug spray.
    
• Generally more expensive than wood-composite decking.

Trex decking collections are all made from a mix of reclaimed wood and recycled plastic film, whereas TimberTech and AZEK market both PVC and wood-plastic composite offerings. To compare Trex to TimberTech using the most “apples-to-apples” approach, this article only compares Trex to TimberTech’s wood-plastic composite offerings.

Trex vs. Timbertech: Product Offerings

Both Trex and TimberTech offer a variety of wood-plastic composite decking options. Trex decking is available in six collections: Enhance® Basics, Enhance® Naturals, Select®, Transcend® Earth Tones, Transcend® Tropicals, and Transcend® Lineage®. This tiered portfolio offers a range of price points with increasing levels of aesthetics and performance. Consumers can choose from more than 20 on-trend colours in an array of styles with realistic wood grain textures.

TimberTech offers two wood-plastic composite collections – TimberTech PRO® and TimberTech EDGE®, distinguished by either a three-sided cap (EDGE) or four-sided wrap (PRO). [See below for more information about capping vs. wrapping.] The PRO collection comes in 15 colour options across three product lines, Legacy, Reserve, and Terrain. The more budget-friendly EDGE lineup is the brand’s smallest collection with three product offerings - Prime, Prime+, and Premier - available in a total of nine different hues.

Trex vs. Timbertech: Wrapping vs. Capping

Both Trex and TimberTech wood-plastic composite decking collections are made with a composite core and an outer layer commonly referred to as a “shell” or “cap.” This surface layer protects the boards from scratching, staining and moisture penetration and also makes the decking easier to clean.

Across the Trex decking lineup, boards are all manufactured with a three-sided shell using a proprietary formulation that produces a natural, wood-like grain pattern and makes it possible to achieve rich, solid finishes as well as dramatic variegated colours. TimberTech promotes an outer layer that encloses all four sides of its deck boards but only offers this feature on its TimberTech PRO lineup. The rest of the TimberTech wood-composite portfolio features a three-sided cap.

So, why does Trex engineer its decking with a three-sided shell? The answer: board performance. When a wood-plastic composite deck board is exposed to moisture, the wood has a natural tendency to absorb water which can lead to swelling. With a four-sided board, that swelling occurs at the end of the board. By leaving the underside of the board unshelled, moisture is allowed to escape and the risk of board swelling is minimised.

Trex’s three-sided application leaves the entire bottom side of the board open, providing more area for moisture to escape while preventing end swell. Some manufacturers that use a four-sided cap will claim that mould can form on the underside of a three-sided design, but the truth is mould is not a structural concern for wood-plastic composite decking due to its plastic content and density.

Trex vs. Timbertech: Sustainabilty

When it comes to sustainable composition and eco-friendliness, Trex is the hands-down leader across the entire composite category. Built on green values, Trex has been a sustainability champion for more than 30 years. The entire portfolio of Trex decking is sustainably made from 95% recycled materials, including a mix of reclaimed industrial wood scrap and polyethylene (POE) plastic film. Each year, Trex upcycles more than 1 billion (with a B!) pounds of reclaimed materials in the production of our decking, making Trex one of North America’s largest recyclers of plastic film. 

Our manufacturing process is also as eco-friendly as our final product. No harmful chemicals are used in the making of Trex decking, and most factory scrap and plastic packaging are recycled back into the production line.

TimberTech also uses recycled materials in its decking products, but the amount is about half that of Trex. The brand’s website reports a total of 500 million pounds of plastic waste and wood scrap diverted from landfills in 2021 and a total of 80% recycled content in its wood-plastic composite decking products vs Trex’s 95%. The company’s PVC decking, however, uses just 50% recycled content and PVC contains vinyl chloride. 

Trex vs. Timbertech: Performance

Among the main reasons consumers opt for composite decking is its durability, low maintenance requirements, and consistent, long-lasting aesthetics. Trex and TimberTech deliver all these attributes with some products performing better than others.

Scratch Resistance

Unlike a wood deck, composite decking is engineered to resist scratching, scuffing, and marring. This is one of the primary purposes of the protective outer layer on both Trex and TimberTech decking. The scratch resistance of the wood-plastic composite offerings from both brands is impressive. When comparing Trex vs. TimberTech scratch resistance, however, it is important to keep in mind that performance in this area will vary across product offerings and price points.

Fading & Staining

Today’s high-performance composites are engineered to resist fading and staining. The outer shell plays a key role in defending against stains caused by spills and dropped food, as well as the impact of direct sunlight or other outdoor elements over time. Both Trex and TimberTech products perform well in these areas.

Heat Retention

Heat is a hot topic in the composite decking industry. The reality is any surface exposed to the sun for long periods of time is going to get hot, and composite decking is no different. While both Trex (in the Transcend product line) and TimberTech (in the AZEK product line) make boards with heat-mitigating technology in the shell, even these products will get hot and extended contact between exposed skin and the deck surface should be avoided on hot, sunny days. 

From a performance standpoint, heat can also impact the perceived stiffness of some types of wood-alternative decking. Because of the wood content in the core, wood-plastic composite deck boards will remain consistent in all temperatures, but extreme heat can cause “capped polymer” (PVC) boards, like TimberTech AZEK, to feel “springy” and give the perception of increased deflection underfoot.

Mould & Mildew

Like heat, mould, and mildew are a reality for any product exposed to outdoor elements. This is true whether using composite decking or wood. In the case of composite decking, however, a little care and cleaning are all that’s needed to keep boards looking like new for decades. Thanks to the ultra-durable shell on Trex deck boards and the protective cap on TimberTech, mould, and mildew can be easily washed off with soap, water, and a scrub brush or power washer.

Trex vs. Timbertech: Installation

When it comes to installation, which is easier, Trex or TimberTech? Working with composite decking is easier than working with wood in many aspects due to the consistency of the boards. No need to inspect every board before buying or worry about working around the knots, dings or warping that come with natural lumber. Trex and TimberTech both offer multiple profiles, including scalloped, grooved, and solid boards, along with colour-matched fascia for finishing. The brands also offer a variety of fastening options, including hidden fasteners that deliver a smooth, hardware-free surface.

An experienced DIYer can certainly tackle a composite deck build or can leave the labour to a professional. Trex and TimberTech both work with highly trained contractors and offer tools on their websites to connect homeowners with local professionals. If you plan to do the work yourself, be sure to do your homework. Deck builds require planning and preparation and incorrect installation can result in safety risks and void manufacturer warranties. Trex Academy offers a wealth of information regarding important considerations along with expert insights and step-by-step guidance for building a deck with Trex composite. Decks.com is another robust resource.

Trex vs. Timbertech: Warranties

When it comes to warranties, Trex and TimberTech back their products with solid assurances related to performance, fading, and staining. Both brands offer 25-year limited warranties on their entry-level products, while Trex offers longer warranties on the “better” and “best” offerings, including a 50-year limited residential warranty on top-of-the-line Transcend and Lineage® decking collections. For Transcend, Transcend Lineage®, and Select decking, Trex also backs the work of our TrexPro designated installers with a TrexPro Labour Warranty, which adds another layer of protection and peace of mind.

So, what is better - Trex or TimberTech? Ultimately, the choice comes down to what works best for the homeowner’s home, lifestyle, and budget – but, at the end of the day, we’ve been the category leader for 30 years for a reason!