A Wood Deck Rebuilt in Low-Maintenance Composite
Homeowners in Mason came to us with an aging wood deck that had run its course. Flooring had weathered, lower sections had given out, and the staircase had to come down with everything below it. Plan: rebuild in composite, swap to black aluminum railing, and expand the footprint.
The result is a multi-level deck in warm-toned Trex Enhanced boards, framed by black Georgian railing, with a turned staircase that drops to a landing before continuing to grade.
Demolition and Site Prep
Out came the old flooring, the lower-deck section, and the original staircase. With surfaces gone, we prepared the framing for the new composite and applied joist tape across the top. Joist tape is a self-adhesive flashing membrane that seals joist tops against moisture, the number one enemy of any deck frame.
A 4’x4′ Bump-Out and a Turned Staircase
We added a 4’x4′ bump-out off the main deck to house the new stair access. From there, a staircase descends to a 4’x5′ landing, turns, and continues down a second flight to ground level. The turn breaks up a long, straight run, and the landing gives the descent proportion.
Trex Enhanced Composite Flooring
New flooring is Trex Enhanced, installed with a picture frame border. A picture frame is a perimeter board running perpendicular to the field boards. It caps the cut ends and gives a deck a polished edge.
Field boards were locked down with Trex’s hidden fastener system, which clips boards from the side so no screw heads show.
Trex Enhanced is a capped composite. A polymer shell wraps the core, resisting fading, staining, scratching, and mold, and eliminating the need for annual sanding and staining.
Preferred Georgian Aluminum Railing
Railing is Preferred Georgian in black aluminum, with straight round balusters and a clean rectangular cap. Aluminum does not rust or need repainting and holds its finish through Ohio’s freeze-thaw cycles. Black reads sharply against the lighter floor and the surrounding tree line.
Permits and Blueprints
We pulled all required blueprints and permits, and the finished deck was inspected and signed off as code-compliant.
Why Mason Homeowners Are Switching from Wood to Composite
Wood decks have a finite lifespan in Ohio. Between summer humidity, hard winter freezes, and rain, even a well-maintained wood deck eventually splinters, cups, and grays out. After fifteen years of sanding and re-staining, upkeep starts to rival the cost of a composite rebuild.
Trex Enhanced changes that math. Capped boards, hidden fasteners, joist tape, and aluminum railing add up to a deck that outlasts wood and looks freshly built every spring without a paintbrush.