After my house was burned down in Oct 2008, I was required to use a product that met California WUI fire standards to replace my deck. This meant I had no choice in products, and my contractor replaced my redwood deck with an ELK fire treated deck.
Within two months, I first noticed odd discoloration of the boards; some large greasy looking spots that seemed to ooze up out of the boards, and numerous small black dots. In addition, even rain water left stains on the material.
I filed a complaint, and they denied it with a cursory, snotty, from telling me it needed to be washed (even though it had only been installed for a couple of months, and I had not even used it). After the contractor cleaned it in accordance with their instructions, they changed their story and claimed the discoloration was due to mold caused by the distributor storing the material wrong.
After a year, numerous new defects emerged. First, one 16ft board buckled, creating numerous "s" curves. The contractor came out and nailed it down. At the same time, the contractor reattached the fascia that had already come loose.
In the past few months, numerous other boards have also expanded or contracted, causing the s curves, all across the deck, and numerous 1 inch gaps between the boards.
Now other boards are starting to disintegrate; with craters developing in the face of the boards and the expansion has caused the fascia to detach. In addition, the rails and posts are breaking down--covering your hand in dust when you touch them.
