What Trex is
In the early 1990s, Trex developed the world's first composite decking board in the United States — WPC, a bond of wood fibre and plastic. That idea grew into the world's largest manufacturer of composite decking; the boards are now installed in around 40 countries and across every climate zone.
The core is 95 per cent recycled material. The wood content comes exclusively from reclaimed hardwood, predominantly oak, combined with recycled polyethylene film. No tree is felled for Trex.
This is where composite differs from composite. The market is full of composite boards of wildly varying quality. What sets Trex apart is not the recycled content alone, but the construction.
How a Trex board is built
Early composite boards were homogeneous — the same material inside and out. That meant they absorbed water, discoloured and stained. Trex instead uses a solid core with a shell permanently bonded to it. The shell carries no load; it protects, against fading, staining, scratching, mould and moisture.
How far that shell reaches is what separates the ranges:
- Three-sided capping — top and both edges. Sufficient on raised, well-ventilated decks. On low or shaded installations, the open underside is the vulnerable point.
- Four-sided capping — including the underside. The board is then sealed all round, which qualifies it for ground-level builds, pool surrounds and permanently damp locations.
The five ranges
Trex tiers its portfolio into five lines. All are made from 95 per cent recycled material; they differ in capping, surface, colour depth and additional technology.
| Range | Capping | Character | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enhance | three-sided | Entry level. Scalloped underside profile, making it lighter to transport and install. | Cost-conscious projects, raised decks |
| Select | three-sided | Richer palette and more pronounced grain than Enhance, wire-brushed finish. | When looks matter but the budget is limited |
| Transcend | four-sided | The line that built the brand. Deepest colour palette, highest scratch resistance. | Heavily used surfaces, pool surrounds |
| Transcend Lineage | four-sided | Everything Transcend offers, plus heat-mitigating technology. | South-facing decks, barefoot areas |
| Signature | four-sided | Mineral-based composite, technically a category of its own. Highly realistic timber look. | Prestige projects with the highest demands |
Transcend Lineage comes in the common dimensions 25 × 140 mm. The Grooved version for hidden fastening is available in 3.66 m, 4.88 m and 6.10 m; the Square version for face fastening in 4.88 m. Lengths over six metres are available for large projects.
What is certified
For a surface that will later be publicly accessible, test data counts for more than brochure copy:
- Slip resistance: Trex Transcend achieves a 27/C rating — the highest assessment group under EN 15534-1. That is why the boards are approved for sloped pool surrounds and public swimming pools.
- Reaction to fire: classification Dfl-s2 to EN 13501-1.
- Test institute: the quality of Trex Transcend was verified by EPH — Entwicklungs- und Prüflabor Holztechnologie in Dresden.
- Warranty: depending on range and use, against warping, rotting, fading and staining. Terms run from 10 years commercial to 50 years residential. We confirm which commitment applies to which range before you order.
Substructure
The boards are only half the deck. A board with a 50-year warranty sitting on a spruce substructure is a planning error — the part you cannot see fails first.
Trex is therefore paired with the UKAL aluminium substructure. Aluminium does not rot, barely moves, and brings the life of the substructure up to the level of the deck surface. For ground-level builds, roof terraces and anywhere the structure becomes inaccessible after installation, we consider it the only sensible option.
Installation and care
Trex is worked like timber: cut, saw and drill with ordinary tools. No special equipment, no training. Anyone who can lay timber decking can lay Trex.
The boards do not warp, rot, crack or splinter, and they resist mould. Even extended storage on site leaves the material dimensionally stable — a practical advantage over timber, which starts moving there already.
On maintenance, the comparison with timber ends for good: no sanding, no oiling, no sealing, no special composite products. Occasional cleaning with warm water and mild soap is enough.
Curved boards
One capability almost nobody knows about: Trex boards can be curved to order. They are heated in a dedicated machine and formed to shape — this is done in Germany. That makes sweeping deck edges, circular platforms and pool surrounds possible where straight boards would only work with visible joints.
Limits — what we say as well
- Trex gets slippery too under rain, ice or snow, like every outdoor surface. Rock salt or calcium chloride helps with ice and snow.
- Trex gets hot too. Lineage is cooler by design than most composite boards in comparable colours, but on hot, sunny days this surface also reaches high temperatures. Prolonged skin contact should be avoided with small children. Dark tones heat up more than light ones.
- Not natural timber. Anyone after the living character of real wood will not find it in a composite, however well the grain is reproduced.
- Cannot be sanded. The shell is precisely what protects the board. Deep damage cannot be sanded out as with timber; the board is replaced.
- Plastic content. For all the recycling credentials, it remains a composite. Anyone committed to pure natural materials should choose durable timber.
Trex or timber?
We sell both, so we have no interest in pushing you either way. The decision comes down to three questions:
- How much maintenance is realistic? A timber deck needs regular attention to hold its colour. If that is not going to happen, Trex is the better fit.
- Does greying bother you? With timber, the silver-grey patina is a state, not damage — but you have to want it. Trex holds its colour.
- Who uses the surface? Splinter-free and with certified slip resistance are hard arguments around children, barefoot use and water.
Conversely: for the rustic, living look, for repairability by sanding and for a pure natural material, there is no substitute — that is what our decking timber is for.
Why buy from us
Our base is in Arnhem, right on the border. For Trex that is no coincidence but the very reason we carry the range: on the Dutch side, supply of Trex has been thin. That is the gap we want to close — with short routes in both directions, into North Rhine-Westphalia as much as into the Netherlands.
On top of that comes something money cannot buy: we have known the German importer personally for years. That means short lines for lengths over six metres and for curved boards — precisely where things go beyond standard processing.
Tell us what you have in mind — area, orientation, use, desired look. We will recommend a range and cost out decking and substructure together.