Weather-Resistant Decking Materials

Get tips on using AZEK for the underside of your deck so that you can install canned lighting and/or ceiling fans to go over your patio below. It's a synthetic material, so it won't rot and it doesn't need to…

LESLIE: Janet in Illinois is working on a decking project. How can we help you with that?

JANET: We have ordered the material for the flooring of the deck and it’s going to be waterproof and where we have a patio beneath it. And we would like to finish the underneath side so that we can do some canned lighting or – and/or some ceiling fans. And wondered what the best product would be to finish the underneath side.

LESLIE: To sort of waterproof it, block it from any sort of water, be it rain or snow, getting to that lower underside.

JANET: Well, the top product is going to do that. So we just want to finish it so it’ll look nicer than just having the wood showing from the framework.

TOM: OK. Will this be exposed to the weather from the sides, though? I understand you’re putting a roof over the top but will there be sides on this or is it possible for wind and rain to blow in?

JANET: It will be possible for wind and rain to blow in so, yeah, we would want that.

TOM: So you do need a good-quality product that’s going to seal and protect the wood.

So in that case, Leslie, I guess I would go with solid-color stain, a deck stain.

LESLIE: Yeah. But I think you’re looking for a material, first, to put on the ceiling, correct? Other than wood.

JANET: Right. Yes.

TOM: Oh, for the ceiling? The underside of the ceiling?

JANET: Yes.

TOM: How about AZEK?

JANET: AZEK?

TOM: Yeah, A-Z-E-K. Yeah, AZEK is an extruded PVC product that’s available in many different finishes. It’s synthetic, so it doesn’t rot and it doesn’t need paint.

JANET: OK.

TOM: So if you go to A-Z-E-K.com and look at a lot of the sheet products …

LESLIE: Yeah. I bet there’s a beadboard or something that would look like a shingling or a paneling for the ceiling.

TOM: Right.

JANET: OK.

LESLIE: That could be very lovely.

TOM: Right. But the deck surface is also going to need some protection. So that – for that surface, I would use a solid-color stain.

JANET: Alright. Sounds wonderful.

TOM: Alright. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling