Trex can be slippery when wet. Generally speaking PVC decking has better traction when wet than composite decking. I have a list a decking traction rating at decksbye3.com/best-composite-decking-brands/slip-resistance-traction/ if you want to see which is the best and how different brands compare with each other.
Since publishing this video NewTechWood has reached out to me and provided more data that I will need to evaluate. Providing a fuller picture of how well NewTechwood holds up. Also, they have promised me that they are working on changing their official warranty at least in Canada. We will need to wait and see what that looks like.
I appreciate your comparison video and research. I was planning on siding the front of my house with Newtechwood siding, and also use their decking for a large new deck. Unfortunately, the only place near me in the states that any of it can be purchased is Home Depot. There is no such thing as customer service at the Home Depot near me, and they don't even know they sell it...so the only answers you can get from them are things you can find on their website. I did reach out to Newtechwood a while ago, and they were very happy to send me an entire box of samples free of charge. That was a plus. I read their entire installation guide multiple times (for the siding). I did reach out to them with some questions, and the guy from the company put me in contact with a regional salesman near me. I was told by the company that I could order directly from the regional guy...however, he said no. He did give me the name of a lumber yard near me that is a distributor. That was news to them when I called. I ultimately decided for the high cost (for the siding) and lack of straight answers, and a very limited choice of trim pieces, that I was better off to go with another company. My biggest question, which seemed simple to me, was if I had the composite siding on the front of the house and regular vinyl siding on the sides...how to I finish that corner? None of their trim pieces work for transitioning from their siding to normal vinyl siding. The piece that was suggested to me to use, since I had a sample of it, I was immediately able to see that it wasn't going to work. My house is a ranch house and the current siding is a little over 9 ft to the soffit. I was also perplexed at why their trim pieces only come in 8 ft lengths. I was also leery that when I asked another question, I was told "Oh, well we are in the process of re-writing the installation manual, so that is going to change" When I asked the company for assistance in figuring out what I need for the deck...I was told to ask my contractor. My contractor has never used NewTechWood decking before so he felt like I should have gotten better assistance from someone with knowledge of NewTechWood. My contractor did like that the NewTechWood is encapsulated on all sides, but he thinks it's just too new of a product and would rather if I just went with his tried and true Trex decking. After watching your comparison video, the biggest red flag for me was about the lawsuits and disputes needing to be settled in China!! I am hoping whichever one I finally pick will never have issues, but I need the peace of mind that if there is a problem, someone in the States can handle it! Thank you for pointing that out! So, at this point, it all boils down to color. I have my NewTechWood sample in the color I liked the most, and I am going to the supply place where my contractor buys everything today to compare the color to Trex. If Trex has a similar color, I am saying goodbye to NewTechWood completely. It saddens me, because I really wanted to like it and use it! The lack of RU-vid presence by contractors or DIYers and not just the company videos also is discouraging. That's why I was so excited to see yours! Maybe it will be the wave of the future, but I don't feel it is for right now. Not for me anyway.
That was quite a run around just trying to use NewTechWood. I was exhausted just reading your story. I agree the product holds potential, with the wide variety of colours but the support behind it is not there yet. After publishing NewTechWood Canada contacted me to let me know they where working on creating a Canadian Warranty possibly they are doing the same in the US. But yes Trex, TimberTech Axel or Fiberon the three big players have much better customer support. Trex has been through the wringer in court but have worked through it and improved there decking. A brand you can trust.
@@decksbye3269 ultimately I canned the idea of using their siding, due to the lack of answers. It saved me thousands of dollars, and I feel like I dodged one bullet anyway! However, for the decking, I was unable to find a color with the other companies you mentioned that compared, so once my contractor got the local lumber yard on board, I was able to order my composite decking from them. It looks nice. Time will tell if I made the right decision. Wish me luck!!
I'm installing a NewTechWood deck and it was about that same price as Trex but looks a whole lot better. I am experiencing issues with some components. The end caps for the boards do not align properly and I had to modify them all to get them to look right. My second issue is the railing system, it is a bear to install. The mounting template they provide isn't centered and resulted in less than ideal first section, I'm now just setting it up manually without the template. Drilling the pilot holes for the brackets is horrid and the screws they provide are Phillips head and unpleasant to get set. It does look good though.
The good news is there are third party test results available and you can ask your local NewTechWood Rep for these if they aren't on a particular country's website. With the warranty, more good news is the country you live in, their NewTechWood office handles warranty issues so nobody has to go to China. The third good news is this is also an American company, family owned, who built their own purpose built factory in China because it is cheaper to manufacture a good quality product there than in Texas :)
Where do you get one of those sample decking books? That would be fantastic if every decking manufacturer provided those, heck, I'd be happy to pay for it!
NewTechWood sends free samples of their products on their website. I ordered a sample of their grass, but I bet they have the book available as a sample as well.
Claudio, sorry I don't know the factory in China. I usually just order by decking from a local retailer like TimberTown. But that's not going to help you.
Did you get any information or have you done any testing around the traction difference between NewTechWood and Trex? We're about to use NTW on or front porch, and I want to make sure the front steps aren't a fall hazard.
Sorry but I don’t have any third party testing of Traction of NewTechWood. Trex is a little more slippery than pressure treated wood but not sure about NTW.
@@jeffschork8145 Thanks for your post! We actually just finished decking our new front porch in this stuff, and I haven't noticed any traction issues at all either.
@@decksbye3269 It’s my first choice but isn’t always possible these days. I grew up in a “Buy American” UAW household as my mother worked at a plant that manufactured all the hoses and belts for American made automobiles. You’ll still see Dayco products but they’re all manufactured elsewhere now to my knowledge.
