Filing a Warranty Claim for Manufactured Decking
"Dunn Lumber's 25-year-long partnership with Trex decking tells you all you need to know about their product: It's high quality and made to last."
Every great outdoor living space starts with a good plan and a solid foundation—which is what our decking series is all about. In this series, we sit down with our good friend Kevin Kunka of Trex Company to cover some of the ins and outs of executing a successful decking project. Trex is the world’s largest manufacturer of wood-alternative decking products and a veteran in the outdoor living industry. Over the years, the Trex name has become synonymous with quality manufactured decking.
One of the great things about working with a quality manufacturer is they typically offer a warranty for their products. While the goal is to never have to pull it out of the filing cabinet, a solid product warranty provides peace of mind and reassures you of the manufacturer’s confidence in their product.
In today’s conversation with Kevin, we talk about how to use your manufactured decking warranty—from registering a product to filing a claim. Watch our discussion above or read the highlights below.
Registering your Trex deck warranty
Kevin recommends registering your warranty as soon as your deck is installed. Contractors often do this upon purchase, but it’s also easy to do online or by phone. Your registration packet will include warranty information, a letter from Trex’s CEO, and a cleaning guide.
You can register your Trex warranty up to five years after the purchase date. If you end up selling the property, the warranty is transferable to the next owner.
Filing a warranty claim
Trex makes one of the best manufactured decking products in the industry, but no decking product can avoid the occasional manufacturing snafu. If you need to file a warranty claim, Trex makes it easy: Simply submit a form on their website. You’ll be able to briefly explain the issue and attach photos.
When it comes to photographing a warranty claim, think through how you can best tell a visual story. Take pictures of the issue in question in various conditions (i.e., wet and dry) and from different angles to help your claim representative get a full picture of the problem.
What does a Trex deck warranty cover?
Trex stands behind the language in their written warranties, whether due to manufacturing defects or structural damage from termites or decay. For example, if your deck boards fade beyond allowable tolerances, Trex’s warranty will replace the product under a standard 25-year warranty (in most circumstances). Additionally, Trex provides a seven-year limited warranty on Trex DeckLighting™ systems.
As with most decking manufacturers, labor is not covered by the product warranty—meaning you will receive replacement material but no financial support for the labor to remove and re-install. As we’ve underlined in past episodes, following installation best practices, consulting the product manual, and hiring the right team for the job are imperative steps to avoid out-of-warranty issues.
How precise are product specifications on manufactured decking?
While manufactured decking isn’t built to the same level of precision as airline parts, Trex manages quality control with extreme care. Products are consistently inspected for color, height, width, and corner radius quality, and processes are constantly improved upon to increase precision.
The people behind Trex decking value high-quality products and trusted guidance, which is why Dunn Lumber has been standing behind Trex products for more than two decades. To learn more about Trex, head to their website, and be sure to check out the rest of our decking series with Kevin.
