It’s no secret the labor shortages that afflict construction haven’t spared decking contractors. An aging workforce and difficulty in attracting young pros puts even more strain on a trade that serves a growing residential marketplace.

What’s a contractor to do? How do you offer on-trend decking features, maintain margins and simplify, simplify, simplify?

Innovation can help. Consider cable and glass rails, for example.

Enhancing deck views with a stylish cable or frameless glass railing system is a compelling upgrade for many owners. What’s more, the ability to offer a specialty railing system can be a powerful differentiator at bid time. Yet, up to now, a cable rail system has also meant exceedingly lengthy material takeoffs as well as challenging installation requirements.

Steven Phillips understands and believes there’s a solution.

Phillips is a product manager for Trex Company, the leading manufacturer of wood alternative decking, railing and other outdoor living products. He’s part of a team that recently introduced a series of deck construction innovations, including a new cable and glass railing system, that reinvents the deck construction playbook.

Next-Gen Decking Innovation

“Some contractors shy away from cable rail for a variety of reasons,” Phillips says. “Anybody that’s new to cable should definitely give this system a look,” explaining how the new contractor-friendly system simplifies cable tension management and eliminates cable swaging and crimping. “The number of SKUs (stock keeping unit) in a traditional cable rail system might top 80 items or more. This entire program is only 11 SKUs. You can write it on the back of a notepad,” reports Phillips.

The next-gen cable and frameless glass railing system is just one of several advancements now available to contractors looking to improve homeowner satisfaction while streamlining construction workflow. Here’s a look at what is available now at lumberyards and supply centers from Trex:

  • Fasteners. If you build composite decks, you know this has been a product area with little in the way of innovation. That has changed in a big way. “This has been a labor of love of mine for the last couple of years,” Phillips admits. New fastener additions mark a turning point in installation speed, precision and simplicity. Phillips suggests long-time deck contractors look at a picture of the new plugs. “They’ll instantly recognize the benefits,” he says.
  • Boards. Composite board technology, namely the new Trex Transcend Lineage line of products, now pushes new boundaries in aesthetics, performance and comfort. “Coming out of COVID, people’s tastes changed,” observes Phillips. “They went from preferring darker, bolder colors to more subtle, elegant tones.” This aesthetic more authentically captures graining nuance while retaining the resistance to stains, scratches, mold, rot, warping, cracking and splintering that made composites a go-to alternative for many owners.
  • Railing Posts. The all new X-Series Post deploys a modular design that allows any post to serve in the end, line or corner position when installing cable or frameless glass railing. And Trex Signature railing offers posts with brackets that are pre-mounted. “It helps save time,” explains Phillips.

“If you have workers on your crew that are rookies, these and other developments should be welcome news,” the deck product leader says. As for what’s next, Phillips says Trex isn’t standing still. “We’re working on a lot of products. Stay tuned. There’s a bunch more coming.”

Learn more about how recent innovations in composite deck construction simplify workflow and installation.