Thread: modwood problems

I have had the misfortune of using the hollow product around my pool. In all about $ 6000.00 worth of material. I happily paid the extra compared to hardwood or treated pine due to the guarantee. It was installed by a professional builder and there specs at the time were follow to the T. After about 2 years it started to crack, split, bow and expand. So much so that the 4mm gap between each board is non existent and water pools every where. At first modwood replaced a few lengths at a time without much fuss with the solid lenghts because they no longer produce the hollows. (now I know why) The poroblem is fitting the new lenghts. Because the existing hollows are so swollen that new lenghts wont fit and then there is the colour difference. So after another 12 months I was starting to realise that this hollow product was not doing what the manufacturer was promising. It is evident now that the whole deck needs to be replaced. Here begans my next problem. Mr moddwood doesnt like that idea and is now trying to blame the installation process saying the gap should of been 6 mm and the screws were drilled to deep. (All the screw heads are now at least 5mm below the surface due to swelling) not placement. Modwood has relunctantly offered a replacement deal whichI will end up having to fork out another $1000 but there is a discrepancy about the amount of material. They say 40 square metres I say 80 square metres so it could be $2000 and my poor builder will be out of pocket because he will not be reimbursed for the labour to pull it all up and replace it. The boss of modwood is coming out next week to inspect it for himself I will let you know the outcome.

Refer him to this thread and see if he becomes honest

I have used a large quantity of it with absolutely no problems. If the hollow type is no longer available I would think that the boards would be verrrryyy heavy. All the gaps are still exactly as I laid them and we have no cracking at all. I have another to build and was just today tossing up whether to use it again or not. The only real issue I have is we live near a coal mine and the dust gets right into the material which is a pain as the only way to get it out is a high pressure washer. As for the splitting They warn you not to use fasteners near the board ends and i was very particular in not screwing below the surface. We used a depth stop countersink and stainless screws and have been very pleased with the result as there are over a thousand screws in the deck. I was really pleased with the purchase as Modwood cut it all to length for me and we had very little waste but I believe they do not do that any more. I have had some mould spotting problems and they have been less than helpful with that and this type of problem is generic with Modwood type products. The biggest issue I feel is the high surface temperatures in the summer, I have measured over 60 degrees C. BTW I have no connection with the company at all.

I did mention that it was installed by a licensed builder and the specs at the time were followed to the T. I state "specs at the time" because the spec sheet on the web site has changed since the product first came out. I assume to accomadate for the now obselete hollows. I still have a large quantity of the removed pieces if anyone is interested in pics. because they did crack, swell ,warp, split, and fade . ANYWAYS. After some negotiating they will supply replacement lenghts for an addition fee. (the differnece in price between the hollows and solids) Not to happy about paying more money to replace a faulty product but the legal alternative would of cost more.

i installed some for a charity job the company i worked for was doing at the childrens hospital...was installed on the "click" type system they have, bit of stuffing around but went down well

only problem was it got a couple scratches, and once it's scratched theres no coming back

Have used modwood for fencing and am happy with it. Looks great and there were no issues with installation.

Further to my post above. I wandered down to my previous supplier and he said they won't touch Modwood any longer due to warranty issues. I then made more enquiries and it turns out that the hollow product was dropped due to builders not reading the installation instructions, or so they say. Modwood had to be installed on 400 centres not the industry standard of 450 centres. I reckon that 400 was stretching it as the boards will flex a small amount at that and I was going to use 350 next time but there may not be a next time in light of this.

i think a hollow profile deck is not going to work there is to much flex in the board, modwoods soild board seems very stiff and heavy, an other product is innowood which is hollow, i am trying to change this job so i can use modwood.

modwood seems to have a lot of differnt instructions for installation they need to stop changing every 5 mins so it is standrad across all decks.

Originally Posted by Gaza

i think a hollow profile deck is not going to work there is to much flex in the board,

I don't think it flexes much more than a pine deck if it is installed at 400 ctrs. This small point of reading the instructions seems to have escaped those using it. I was just going to use 350 to eliminate it altogether. As a day to day proposition I never notice flex at all so it might be a problem which might seem contradictory I know but I guess you become used to the feel of what you walk on.

Has anyone heard of or had other problems with modwood.
I installed a large deck about 5 years ago in a commercial location. Recently a customer put his foot through the deck ( no real injury ) and I was called in under warranty. The deck has completely failed. Boards have shrunk, ends split, but worse is wherever the sun was on the boards they have become soft.
Because it was the first time I had used the product I was very careful to follow the instructions to the letter.
The only difference was as it was a repair job I screwed an extra joist on to the side of the existing joist to make the 400 centers but still screwed at 450 centers to make the screw lines even. Now modwood say its my fault the deck is failing.
Any help would be appreciated as I get the feeling that this is not the first time modwood has run away from their warranty responsablities.
Cheers

Hmm...

I am about to order 35m2. What should I do??

The Modwood site says the they should be installed on 400mm centres for commercial applications.

The fact that is scratches so easily put us off.

We are going for Forest Red Decking instead & it works out cheaper but it will need recoating every couple of years.

I don't know Wongo. My experience has been very good with it apart from local environmental problems (coal dust) and I use a high pressure washer to get it clean. Others have had nothing but trouble and I don't know why. Mine was put down using SS screws and we took a great deal of trouble to get right. Every whole was Pre Drilled and CS in one operation to exactly the right depth, you get pretty good after the first hundred and after the first thousand you can do it in your sleep. I like that it is so easy to cut and bend, it stays straight and is so easy to set up the gaps and they never move. We just used some 5mm thick pieces of angle iron about 50mm long, dropped them on the previous board and pushed the new against them. There was no need to pinch any into position like pine or hardwood just lay it down and start screwing.

On the other hand we start hearing stories like above and there have been several threads and you have to wonder. I think the savior to mine might be it is on the cool side of the house for most of the day. In summer on a hot day I have measured surface temps of over 60 degress C when the sun is on it. As Pat will tell you I walk around barefoot all the time and it is nearly impossible to walk on for me and my feet are tough. I reckon it is the fact that it gets so hot and expands linearly so much that is a major problem. Also putting screws in without pre-drilling or countersinking could be leading to problems of cracking out at the ends, I reckon nailing would be an issue as well. Some of mine have minor cracks but you have to look hard to see them. Another issue is Modwood specify a certain end to end gap on the boards to overcome the expansion problem and I wonder if this is being ignored. Mine have closed right up on those gaps and I am wondering if I should not run a saw through them to open them up.

As to your question, I dunno. Pine is not worth having, hardwood can be a real disaster to lay and nothing is perfect. If it were me I might speak to them and clarify why people are having problems from the companies POV, make sure I get the install right and if it stuffs up then you should be covered. How many people get warranty on a pine or hardwood deck, none. At least they offer a warranty, there is none on timber.

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

The fact that is scratches so easily put us off.

I worried about that also Cliff but it does not become an issue. I would never use it in a hot climate like up your way, the surface temps would be too high.

There are photos around of similar products in the US being bent into position by blowing hot air through the hollow cavities of the boards and making fancy geometric shapes, have a look at some of the nutty stuff that the Yanks do with similar products. Trex Photo Gallery - Deck Ideas - Discovery Your Design