HidFast and AZEK Deck

We hear this comment over and over, "How can you install AZEK Deck without it being a grooved board"? Some deck manufacturers make you think you need a grooved deck board because they also produce a hidden clip to go with their decking lines. AZEK Deck is an entirely different story. Last year, we saw the emergence of Cortex fasteners from Fastenmaster. Cortex is a countersinking screw and plug system. No pre-drilling is required, just grab your impact gun and start plugging. Cortex has just released plugs for the new AZEK Colors (Redland Rose, Acacia, Morado, Sedona and Tahoe). At that time Cortex was a great system, not very labor intensive but a bit tedious on large jobs. Now Cortex is the secondary fastener to all of our AZEK Deck jobs we sell. Our go to fastener is HIDFast. HIDfast is the fastest, easiest way to get a fastener free surface for a lasting, beautiful appearance. Patented, worry-free, stainless steel fasteners are collated for easy handling and quick loading. Patent pending pneumatic tool delivers precise, consistent, effortless, installation. Cortex compliments the HIDFast tool perfectly. HIDFast is not convenient coming into the house because of the size of the tool. So your last 2 or 3 boards and your steps need Cortex.

We made a decision in house that composite deck boards are not the future, and neither is any deckboard with composite resins within it (ala Trex Transcends). We went out and increased our loyalty to AZEK Building Products and now only stock AZEK Deck. PVC is here to stay, its scratch and stain resistant, some brillant colors are available (with new options in the future) and its priced competively in the marketplace.

Why AZEK as opposed to Trex or Timbertech. AZEK is the leader in PVC deck segment and they acquired the company who developed this segment, Procell in 2007. Both Timbertech and Trex hurried to versions of their PVC lines to the market and they initially fell flat on their faces. Trex PVC deck never took off and Timbertech's had some serious issues with their "first generation" PVC in 2008. Trex instead has concentrated on creating their own segment in the market with their Transcends line. Personally I don't get it. It has a funky look, it reminds me of an old pressure treated or cedar deck with grain raising and a coat of solid stain on it. I also don't believe in anything that isn't 100% encapsulated, Trex has left their underside open and only cap three sides. Look at the inside of this Transcends product and it looks filled with all the "buyback" material from the past couple of years, the same product many consumers had issues with. That previous comment is unsubstantiated but it makes me wander what they did with all the material that they bought back from distributors two years ago.

Hopefully this was a good read for you all. We are 110% committed to the AZEK product line and put the Niece Lumber name behind it. If you ever have questions regarding decking materials, shoot me an email, mcurrie@niecelumber.com