The big box store's free class ruined my deck project

Went to that Saturday workshop at the Home Depot in Tacoma thinking I'd learn composite decking basics, but the demo guy rushed through EVERYTHING in 40 minutes and skipped post tension anchoring. I followed his shortcuts and now my deck boards are cupping after 3 months of rain. Anyone else get burned by those free store clinics, or is it just me?

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oliver_morgan23d ago

Man, that sucks. But here's the thing nobody's talking about, maybe the real issue is the deck boards themselves, not the free class. Those big box stores sometimes stock cheaper composite lines that are more prone to cupping if you don't let them acclimate to your yard before you screw them down. I mean, the demo guy totally dropped the ball on the anchoring part, but even a perfect install can't fix boards that were already holding moisture from sitting in their warehouse. Might be worth checking the warranty on the material itself, see if you can get a replacement claim going based on manufacturing defects. And for what it's worth, those Saturday clinics are basically just sales pitches, they're never gonna teach you the real tricks.