ChoiceDek Consumer Reviews

SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS -- We had a deck constructed with ChoiceDek materials a few years ago. It looked great at first, but became covered with mold spots. We followed the manufacturer's recommended cleaning method, which worked for about a year, but then the spots returned. When discussing this with the manufacturer we were told that this commonly occurs and is not covered by warranty. I wish we had known this before choosing ChoiceDek.

OTTAWA -- My husband and I are from Canada. We purchased ChoiceDek Composite from Lowe's to build a 14 x 24 ft deck thinking it would be low maintenance but little did we know. As other customers have stated, green mildew and large black spots covered our deck each year. We tried cleaning the planks with the pressure washer but to no avail. Discouraged, we contacted Lowe's who suggested to use a product specifically meant for this type of composite. After hours of work every year in the spring trying to get rid of those dirty planks, it keeps coming back a few weeks after.

I have read that this problem is not covered under the warranty and the reasons they give to some customers who live in North Carolina for instance is that their climate is very humid. What a joke of an answer. I live in Ottawa (Canada) and I have friends that purchased composite decking from another company and never encountered such problems. Their deck is pressure washed in the spring without any cleaning product and their deck is beautiful.

ChoiceDek does not wish to acknowledge their poor product. My husband and I are sick and tired of the long hours spent cleaning, brushing, pressure washing each plank to no avail. Regular wood planks would have been less time consuming notwithstanding the incurred cost of composite. I will add that even the planks in our enclosed gazebo which are protected from wind, rain and snow have large black spots that are recurring each year. All in all, consumers who read this, please be advised to stay away from ChoiceDek composite. You will regret it.

NORTH CAROLINA -- Two years ago my husband and I installed a so called maintenance free ChoiceDek in two location in our back yard. Within a year black spots began to appear on the decks. Since we had recently had a new roof put on our home we suspected that a petroleum "drip" from the new roof might be to blame. We returned to Lowe's building supply department and asked what could be causing the problem and they said yes it was probably the new roof and we would have to power wash the deck and all would be well. We did and it did look much better but within six months the black spots were back. After a second power washing it looked better again but it was beginning to feather up.

Back to Lowe's to hear that many customers had come in with such an issue and now there was a booklet about what to do (I was given no literature when we purchased several thousand dollars worth of decking material). They found one for me and I went home and read it and came to the ChoiceDek website and realized I was not alone. ChoiceDek claims that the black spots are mold and because we live in North Carolina, we get mold. I was also told that I would have to scrub the deck with oxalic acid about every six months because of shade and humidity. One deck is in the shade and the other one in the sun and both get black spots.

Has anyone picked off a small piece of the black spot and taken it to a lab to have it analyzed? I believe that it is a residual from the formulation process and not mold. I am going to pursue this task unless someone tells me it has already been done and a result of testing tells us that the black spots are indeed mold.

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA -- I purchased a 10 year old condo in a well-kept condo subdivision. I have been very pleased in general, however the ChoiceDek deck is sagging, has splotches of black mildew, and areas of green mold/moss. When purchased, this was to be a no upkeep quality product (My next door neighbor had it installed for his mother, and expected that it would give good service.).

Today I sprayed it with a deck wash product, scrubbed it, sprayed more. It is obvious that it is going to take multiple attempts to clean it. However, I believe I will not be able to get to all the black and green moss/mold/mildew that has been embedded in the surface. The product needs more drainage holes in the bottom rail and needs better support of the railings.

Today while cleaning the railings, the post tops popped off (great glue), and I could see the name of the manufacturer on one of the remaining stickers. So I went to the website. Of course, it states that a new owner must notify them within 90 days. What if it's midwinter? What if the new owner has no idea what will be entailed? A very unfair warranty for a "no maintenance product". Surely, this is a very misrepresented product!! I am curious whether they are still selling these decks through Lowe's or any other outlet in Winston-Salem or Greensboro.