Trex Deck Calculator

There's no single best Trex line — there's a best for your priority. For premium hardwood looks: Transcend (Tropicals collection — Spiced Rum, Tiki Torch, Lava Rock). For the coolest dark colors: Transcend Lineage (Rainier, Carmel, Biscayne, Jasper) — Trex's newest heat-mitigation cap runs 20-30°F cooler than legacy darks. For mid-budget with full warranty: Select. For value with premium aesthetics: Enhance Naturals (scalloped, lightweight, beachy palette). For the absolute cheapest Trex: Enhance Basics. The line auto-compare in the results panel shows your exact deck priced across all four — flip in one click.

$50-110 per square foot installed, depending on Trex line, pattern, and region. A 16×20 (320 sq ft) Trex Enhance Basics deck with railing and 4 stairs lands around $17,500 nationally; the same deck in Trex Transcend with a Tropicals color lands around $24,000; in Trex Transcend Lineage with a Signature aluminum railing and a picture-frame pattern, $32,000+. Materials are 35-45% of installed cost; labor is the rest. Northeast and West Coast markets add 20-30% on top of national-median labor.

Trex Universal Hidden Fastener is Trex's hidden-clip system for grooved boards. Each box contains 90 clips and covers ~50 sq ft at 16″ joist on-center spacing. The clip nests into the board's edge groove and screws into the joist — leaves a clean, screw-free surface. The calculator computes the exact clip count from your board count × joist crossings, then derives box count + loose remainder. Box price is $89; loose clips are $1.20 each. Most pros buy boxes; loose are for fixing partial-coverage edges.

Three things. Price: Transcend is ~$5.40/lf retail, Enhance Basics is ~$3.30/lf, Enhance Naturals splits the difference at ~$3.95/lf. Color depth: Transcend has 13 colors across Tropicals, Earth Tones, and the new Lineage heat-mitigation collection — full hardwood-look depth with multi-tonal streaks. Enhance has 5-6 colors, monotone palette, scalloped board (lighter weight, slightly hollow under foot). Warranty: both are 25-year structural + 25-year fade & stain. For premium aesthetic, pick Transcend. For value with brand recognition, pick Enhance Naturals.

Only if your deck is more than 8 feet (96″) above grade and you want a dry under-deck patio. RainEscape is a full-deck joist-tape and collector-trough system that turns the underside of your deck into a covered space. Materials are $3.50/sqft, installed is $6.80/sqft. On a 320 sq ft deck, that's ~$2,200 in additional install cost — but it can convert ~250 sq ft of unused space into usable patio. For low decks, the calculator flags it as 'not recommended' because the system needs vertical drop for water to run off.

Yes for evening use, no for pure budget builds. Trex DeckLighting LED kits are ~$1,200-2,000 for a typical 16×20 deck with railing — post-cap LEDs ($39 each), step lights ($33 each), 100W transformer ($119), and low-voltage wiring. The post-cap units mount inside Trex Signature/Transcend/Select/Enhance railing posts, so they only work if you're buying a Trex railing system. Step lights are recessed riser fixtures — one per stair tread. Add ~3-6 hours of install labor on top.

Three channels. (1) Home Depot — stocks Enhance, some Select, and a portion of the Transcend palette. Best for in-stock pickup. (2) Lowe's — similar coverage, sometimes better Transcend stocking depth. (3) Trex Pro Platinum dealers (trex.com/find-installer) — full Transcend palette including Lineage, plus Trex Signature railing. Pro dealers also handle special-order colors and longer delivery windows. The calculator's materials list links each Trex line item to a marketplace search; use the line-by-line breakdown when calling for a quote.

After you set dimensions, pattern, fastener, and stair count, the calculator prices the same deck across all four Trex lines — Transcend, Select, Enhance Naturals, Enhance Basics — using each line's per-linear-foot retail price. Tap any to switch the calculator to that line; the color picker resets to the first color in the new line's palette. This is the fastest way to see what jumping from a value line to a flagship actually costs on your specific deck.

Yes. A Trex Lava Rock or Spiced Rum board in direct full sun on a 90°F day measures 160-175°F at the surface — uncomfortable barefoot, harder on the cap layer over time. The new Trex Transcend Lineage collection (Rainier, Carmel, Biscayne, Jasper) uses a heat-mitigation cap that runs 20-30°F cooler at the same color depth. Earth Tones (Island Mist, Toasted Sand, Gravel Path) stay coolest of all Trex options. The calculator marks each color with a heat-rating icon — Flame for hot, Snowflake for cool.

Register at trex.com/owners/warranty/register within 30 days of install. You'll need the serial numbers stamped on each board (the contractor should hand these over) and the install date. Trex covers structural integrity for 25 years and fade/stain for 25 years (lifetime for some Lineage colors — check the specific line's warranty page). The warranty is fully transferable, so it survives a home sale. The calculator's PDF export includes the warranty registration URL pre-populated.

Yes, but it's harder than pressure-treated. TUHF clip systems are sequential — the clip locks the previous board to the joist, so you can't easily double-back or replace mid-deck without backing up. Plan ~1.5 hr/sqft for first-time DIY composite, ~1.0 hr/sqft for an experienced carpenter. Trex provides install manuals at trex.com/install — read them before buying. DIY savings vs a Trex Pro contractor are typically 50-60% of the labor portion.

Landscape repair (re-sodding, replacing trampled plants, drainage regrading) — budget $500-2,500 separately. Electrical sub-panel work for DeckLighting if you don't have a 15A 120V circuit nearby. HOA architectural review fees beyond the building permit. Sales tax (varies by state). Trex Pro Platinum membership-only colors that require special order with extended lead times. Long-distance shipping if you're outside a Trex stocking-warehouse radius.

Same rules as any composite deck. IRC 2021 R105 requires a permit for any deck above 30″ off grade, attached to the house, or larger than 200 sq ft. Permit fees range $140 (suburban Midwest) to $320+ (Boston/NYC suburban). The calculator computes permit fee as max(regional baseline, 1.2% of project value). HOAs often require architectural-review approval — check before signing a Trex Pro contract.

Yes. Use the action bar — Save PDF generates a clean printable document with the full Trex BoM (line, color, board count, TUHF box count, RainEscape coverage, DeckLighting kit count), Print uses your browser's print-to-PDF, and Copy Link gives you a shareable URL with all your inputs preserved. Great for getting Trex Pro quotes or sharing with a spouse. The PDF includes Trex's warranty registration URL and the Trex Pro installer locator.