Trex Decking explained: Good, Better, Best, and Beyond
Good: Trex Enhance Naturals & Enhanced Basics
The enhanced composite boards are the entry level of its decking and include a protective shell that guards against the weather as well as wear and tear from years of use. Enhance basics has 4 colors clam shell, tide pool, beach dune, and saddle. mean while enhance naturals has 6 colorways foggy wharf, rocky harbor, toasted sand, coastal bluff, cinnamon cove, and honey groove.
Enhance Basics serves as an upgrade from a traditional wooden deck while still mimicking the look of a classic cedar or redwood deck. On the other hand the enhance naturals offer more exotic colorings like the very glossy foggy wharf. In 2024 foggy wharf was a very popular choice for color in decks we at Cutter Construction built.
Tide Pool enhance basic and Honey Grove enhance natural are new colors for 2025 which come that feature cutting edge heat mitigating technology which until now were only available in the higher end Transcend Lineage material. Take a look below!
Better: Trex Select
Trex select has a textured wood-grain look in contrast to both the enhanced and transcend trex boards, it resembles tree rings while the other boards have straight line wood grain look this gives it a resemblance to a stained wooden deck without the hassle of having to go back and stain the deck yearly for the look, it’s called maitenance free after all.
Trex Select has 2 color options pebble gray and saddle. Select also comes with the longer 35 year warranty from trex compared to the Enhance’s 25 year warranty.
Best: Trex Transcend
Transcend is Trex’s highest quality decking, in addition to its stain and fade resistance like all trex decking it is significantly more scratch resistant. This makes it the perfect choice for a high energy household with young kids or pets. It also takes its warranty to the next level with a 50 year warranty against fading and staining.
It also comes with 6 color options like enhance naturals. The colors are Island Mist, Tiki Torch, Havana Gold, Spiced Rum, Lava Rock, and Rope Swing. In 2024 Spiced rum was a very popular choice for decks we built here at Cutter.
Best of the Best: Trex Transcend Lineage
Lineage is the elite of the elite for Trex’s products, it boasts the same 50 year manufacturers warranty and exceptional durability as the normal Transcend line as well as some of its own unique qualities. One of those we mentioned back when we covered the enhanced line, heat-mitigating technology. Every Lineage board has heat-mitigating technology that keeps any deck built with them comfortable making it an ideal pick for a deck that will be getting a lot of direct sunlight during our lovely Iowa summers.
Lineage also boasts the most color out of any Trex decking line with 7 total. They are Island Mist, Biscayne, Rainier, Hatteras, Jasper, Carmel, and Salt Flat. Salt Flat and Hatteras are new additions just added for 2025.
Ideal Use Cases
Enhance Basics & Naturals: A homeowner looking to save on cost that does not mind some cosmetic blemishes in a few years, lower traffic decks ideally like one in a household without pets or children.
Select: A homeowner that enjoys the look of a stained wood deck but wants all the benefits of maintenance free materials. Since the color options are limited to only two it is not the most customizable option but makes a great upgrade over a stained wooden deck while keeping the same look, a great starting point for a Trex conversion on an existing deck.
Transcend: With it’s 50 year warranty, wide range of colors, and robust scratch resistance Transcend is best for the homes of large families or regular party hosts.
Transcend Lineage: A homeowner who would would stand to benefit from the heat mitigation as well as the rest of Transcend’s other benefits like the extraordinary scratch resistance. If you are someone that can see yourself out grilling or chatting even on the hottest days of summer then you are who Lineage was made for.
Takeaways
If you are thinking about getting a deck built or resurfaced by us here at Cutter Construction be sure to check out our physical samples as well so you can get a in person look at the different colors and textures each Trex decking material has to offer in addition to their benefits.
If you would like to learn even more about a specific material for your deck you can do more research on Trex’s own website or give us a call at 319-348-3255 and see if we can help you get one step closer to building that dream deck. Take a look at some of our work on our main decks page.
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