Trex Composite Entry Deck With Picture Frame & Lights in Mississauga

The old deck: a wood platform at the end of its life

This small deck sits at the side entrance of a Mississauga home, between the bay window and the door, and gets walked across every day. The original was a plain pressure-treated platform with no fascia, no border and no lighting, and by the time we saw it the boards had gone grey and soft at the edges and the whole thing sat low and rough against the brick. The owners did not want to stain and re-stain a small deck every couple of years. They wanted something that would look finished and stay that way.

Why Trex composite for an entry deck

For a high-traffic entry platform, composite decking is the practical answer: it does not need staining or sealing, it will not splinter, and it holds its colour through the Ontario freeze-thaw cycle. We removed the old deck, built a new pressure-treated frame to the same footprint, and laid Trex composite boards in a light grey that sits well against the pale brick and the cream bay window. The boards are fastened with hidden clips, so the surface is clean with no screw heads.

Contrast picture frame and matching fascia

The detail that makes this deck is the border. A picture frame is a perimeter board that runs around the edge of the field boards, and here it is done in a charcoal Trex board that contrasts with the grey field, so the outline of the deck is drawn in a dark line. The fascia around the outside is composite as well, wrapping the frame so there is no exposed lumber anywhere. It is a small deck, but the border and fascia make it read as a designed piece rather than a platform.

Built-in deck lights

Because this is the everyday entrance, we set low-voltage recessed lights into the fascia on the two open sides. They light the edge of the deck and the path to the door at night without a fixture on the wall, and they run off a small transformer on a timer. The after photo shows the fittings as the round points along the fascia; after dark they mark the step down clearly.

The result

A side-door deck that went from grey and worn to a clean grey-and-charcoal composite platform with lighting, and nothing to stain, ever. The owners sweep it, hose it off in spring, and that is the maintenance.

Composite deck construction in Mississauga

UCO Construction Group builds Trex and other composite decks, entry platforms and full backyard decks across Mississauga, Oakville, Etobicoke, Brampton and the rest of the GTA. If you are done refinishing wood, see our deck construction service and get in touch for a free on-site estimate and material samples.