Cincinnati, OH and Greater Cincinnati
Composite Decking in Cincinnati, OH
Capped composite and PVC decking fitted over a frame built for it. No sealing, no staining, and a surface that is still the same colour in ten years.
- Footings below the frost line
- Permits and inspections handled
- Written scope before we start
Cincinnati Custom Decks installs capped composite and PVC decking across Cincinnati and Greater Cincinnati. Trex, TimberTech, Fiberon and Deckorators, over a frame built to the centres those boards actually call for rather than the centres the crew is used to.
Composite answers the problem most homeowners here genuinely face. Not that the old deck fell down, but that it went grey and wanted sanding every second spring until one year nobody got to it.
The product lines we install
Trex
Trex is the name homeowners ask about first. Enhance sits at the budget end and covers the basics well. Transcend and the Lineage palette step up with richer colour and a formulation aimed at reducing heat build up. The boards are made from wood flour and are capped on three or four faces depending on the line.
TimberTech and Azek
The TimberTech composite ranges occupy much the same price and performance ground as Trex. What separates the company is Azek, its capped PVC, which contains no wood at all. With nothing organic inside, there is nothing for mould to consume, and the board is lighter to carry and cut. It is the dearest material we fit and it backs the longest warranty we can offer.
Fiberon
Concordia and Good Life are the Fiberon ranges we install most. Their strength is colour realism, because the darker multi tonal boards imitate genuine timber far more closely than any entry tier from the rival brands. On an older property where a cool grey would look out of place, Fiberon is usually the first sample we set down.
Deckorators
Deckorators builds its surface from minerals rather than wood flour, which makes it the odd one out. It refuses water, holds its dimensions where other composites swell and shrink, and stays cooler underfoot. It is also the only range where a dark colour on a Cincinnati south facing deck is a choice you can defend rather than one you regret by mid July.
How we install it
Frame built to the board’s own spec
Before the first board is laid we measure the joist centres and compare them with the instructions supplied by the manufacturer, not with what we did on the last job. Standard perpendicular runs need sixteen inches on centre, diagonal runs need twelve, and every stair tread needs twelve no matter what. Where a frame already sits at 24 inches we add sistered joists, or we say plainly that it has to be removed.
Joist tape on every joist and beam
Each framing member receives a strip of butyl tape across its top edge. The tape seals around every fastener penetration and stops water entering the screw hole. Once a fifty year surface is fixed on top, the frame becomes the weak point, and taping is the least expensive way to add a further decade to it.
Hidden fasteners
Boards that arrive grooved accept a clip system that holds a uniform gap and leaves the field clear of screw heads. Driving screws straight through the face of a grooved board is quicker and it shows, which is the whole problem. Where the system requires it, perimeter boards and stair treads are face fixed with screws colour matched to the board.
Gapping set on the day
The material expands and contracts with temperature, so end gaps come from the manufacturer’s chart using the reading taken on the day of installation. A deck fitted in February therefore carries different gaps from one fitted in August. Butt the boards tightly on a cold morning and they will lift and buckle by July.
Picture framing and fascia
Running a border board around the outside conceals the cut ends of the field boards and is the moment a composite deck stops looking like a covered surface and starts looking finished. Fascia closes the rim below it. Both details need blocking fitted inside the frame, so they must be decided before the frame goes up, not afterwards.
Composite against the alternatives
Against pressure treated
Treated comes in at about half the installed cost. It then needs cleaning and resealing every two to three years to stay presentable, and it will still splinter and check. Composite costs more on day one and very little thereafter. At present Cincinnati prices the point where the two cross in total cost of ownership arrives somewhere between year ten and year twelve.
Against cedar
Cedar looks better in the first summer and most homeowners prefer real grain up close. It is also soft, it dents under furniture, it greys quickly when left alone and it costs more than treated. Composite takes the decade, cedar takes the first season, and on an older house cedar sometimes wins outright because composite would look out of keeping.
Against capped PVC
PVC is lighter, cooler, completely waterproof and carries the longest warranty of any product we fit. It is also the most expensive, and at close range some people find the surface slightly less convincing than a quality composite. Around a pool, on a roof deck or wherever water genuinely sits, PVC is the correct answer.
What it costs, and what actually drives the number
The board itself accounts for roughly a third of what you pay installed. The remainder goes to the frame, the footings, the railings, the stairs and the labour, and none of those become cheaper because you chose a premium surface.
That is why moving up from an entry composite to a mid tier one rarely adds as much to the total as homeowners fear, while a second stair run or a taller railing adds more than they expect.
Railings are the other major variable. An aluminium guard system usually lands between $76 and $118 per linear foot fitted, so a deck with a long perimeter can end up carrying the same cost in railing as in decking. Where a deck finishes below 30 inches we frequently omit the guards entirely, which is a genuine saving rather than a rounding adjustment.
Maintenance, honestly
Twice a year, wash the surface with a composite cleaner and a soft brush. Before winter arrives, clear the gaps between boards, because wet leaf litter sitting in a gap is what leaves stains and surface growth. Do not hold a pressure washer close to the surface cap, and use a plastic snow shovel rather than a metal one.
That is the whole list. Nothing needs sanding, sealing or staining.
Where we install composite decks
We fit composite decks across Cincinnati, Mason, West Chester, Anderson Township, Blue Ash and Loveland.
Composite is the expected finish in the newer Mason and West Chester subdivisions, where review favours a surface that will not weather into a dispute, and it is the usual answer on an Anderson Township walkout where an under deck drainage system turns the space below into dry patio.
Deck cost in Cincinnati, OH
Pick the project, enter the size and finish, then read the installed band our estimators work from before a single call is made.
Why homeowners pick Cincinnati Custom Decks
Footings below the frost line
The Ohio River valley swings above and below freezing all winter. Every post we set lands on a poured footing below the local frost depth, which is what keeps a deck level through a decade of heave and thaw.
Permits and inspections handled
We work out which department your address answers to, pull the permit, meet the inspector and hand you the signed card. An unpermitted deck becomes your problem the day you sell the house.
Written scope before we start
Materials, framing spec, hardware, timeline and price in writing before anybody swings a hammer. No verbal change orders.
Composite Decking questions we get asked
Is composite decking worth the extra over pressure treated?
On a twenty year view in this climate, usually yes. A treated deck wants cleaning and resealing every two to three years, and at Cincinnati labour rates that is a real recurring bill. Most people skip it, which is precisely why treated decks look tired by year eight. Composite costs roughly 60 to 90 percent more once and then asks for a wash down twice a year. If you expect to move inside five years the arithmetic is genuinely less clear, and we will say so.
Does composite decking get hot in the sun?
Yes, and the colour matters far more than the brand. A dark board on a south or west facing deck in July gets hot enough to be unpleasant barefoot. Lighter greys and tans run noticeably cooler. The Deckorators mineral based boards and the TimberTech Azek PVC lines are engineered to stay cooler than standard composite. On the open unshaded lots around Mason this is the decision people most often wish they had taken differently, so we raise it before you pick a colour.
What joist spacing does composite need?
Most capped composite wants joists at 16 inches on centre for a perpendicular layout and 12 inches for a 45 degree diagonal. Some products and every stair tread want 12 inches regardless. Framing at 24 inches and laying composite over it gives you a deck that bounces and a void board warranty, and it is far and away the most common fault we find on decks somebody else built.
Can composite go over my existing frame?
Sometimes, and we get underneath before answering. We check joist spacing, joist condition, beam sizing, post bases and the ledger connection. A frame built at 24 inch spacing needs joists sistered in, and a nailed ledger needs correcting before anything new goes on top. Putting a fifty year surface on a frame with eight years left in it is money thrown away, and that is worth hearing before you order boards.
Does composite grow mould?
It can, on the shaded underside and in the board gaps, and a damp Cincinnati spring is exactly the condition for it. It is surface growth on organic debris rather than rot inside the board. A wash with a composite cleaner twice a year handles it. Leaving leaf litter in the gaps over winter causes the worst of it, which is why it turns up most under the heavy canopy in Blue Ash and Anderson Township.
If a board fades or fails, does the warranty actually cover replacing it?
Two warranties are in play and the manufacturers treat them separately, so read both. The material warranty covers the board itself and on some brands it is prorated after the first several years, which means a claim in year fifteen can return a fraction of a board rather than a full replacement. Labour to pull the old board and fit a new one is a separate line that many manufacturers exclude unless the installer holds factory certification and registered the job at the time of install. We hold that certification and file the registration for every composite job we build, then register the warranty in your name at handover and give you the paperwork, so any claim is already on file.