A word of warning about this product. Do not buy from this company! We purchased this product from a dealer and had a reputable contractor install it. After about 6 months we noticed dark spots on some of the planks. I had the contractor look at it and the dealer we bought it from. They thought I could pressure wash it off. I tried this and most of it came off but you could still see stains. It came back again after only a couple of months. The strange thing is that some planks have the stain and some don't. I had the dealer take pictures and send them to Master Mark. After many, many phone calls waiting for a response I told them I wanted to call Master Mark direct. The representative told me they were aware of the problems and they were trying to find a cleaner that would work. I told her I bought the deck as a no maintenance alternative and it was sold to me that way. She said all decks outside need cleaning from time to time. I don't mind spraying the dust and dirt off but a low or no maintenance material should not have to be treated with anything. I was told that after their experiment, which should be finished by the end of February they would have something that would clean and seal it. It would also have to be redone maybe every six months.

I called them again April 10 since I hadn't heard anything. After three phone calls I finally got her and was told the experiment was still ongoing and would be finished the end of April. I feel that they are stalling or hoping I will give up. I told her I didn't want a cleaning suggestion but total replacement of the product. She said that after the test they would determine how to proceed.

I did a search on the web about problems with this material and found many other people that have had the same problem and had the same hassle getting anything done. Some of the posts were dated back to 2002. Our problem is going into its second year with no resolution in sight.

If anyone else has had problems or found a solution to getting compensation from this company I would appreciate hearing about it. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a class action lawsuit against them somewhere.

We live in Southern Oregon and the annual rainfall is about 25 inches in our area, most during the winter months. We have a small Rhino deck with about half of it under roof, it is aboout three years old. The under roof area is free of fungus/mold, but the exposed to weather area grows a black fungus/mold over the board, top and bottom. It takes a large power washer to remove the mold spots and in order for the board to come clean the embossed wood grain gets smoothed away.
This weekend,it took over 5 hours of pressure washing to get a 6' X 25' area almost completely clear of mold. the railing takes forever to clean. The contractor does not use this product anymore.
Based on our experience, I would not suggest any plastic/wood board for decking in an area exposed to weather.
If anyone knows of a product that we could use to replace our failed one..and performs the way all the manufacturers say they do, please let me know.

You may want to have a look at ipe David. It cost a fair amount more to install, but well worth it in my book, it's surprisingly close in /ft cost and is a beautiful product.
You can get railings for it but stainless a cable railing looks top end when ran through the ipe 4x4... talk about respirators though (last post I did) this stuff is like sandpaper on the throat so you really need them and a bear to work with, eats blades and is very dense.
Here is a bit about it:
http://www.ecoproducts.com/Building/build_decking/build_decking_ipe.htm



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We live in North Carolina and bought Rhino Deck in 2003 to say we are disappointed in it is an understatement.

It stains (even a professional cleaning didn't remove it), it breaks, and it swells. None of these is covered under their warranty. The distributor did replace the broken board.

We are in our 70's and cannot afford to replace it - can it be painted? That's the only thing that would cover up the ugly staining - however, it would not correct the swelling. (note standing water in the photo - it reflects the vinyl siding on our house).

Any suggestions appreciated.

Decked

I had two decks professionally installed using Rhino material. The first two years it was beautiful. Then black spots began to appear. We would clean the deck and it would look great for about two - three days and then the black spots would return. Both of the decks are covered in mold. I was informed that the mold is coming from the inside of the decking itself. Theory is unsanitary recycled plastic products were used and this is what is causing the problem. I contacted Master Mark directly and they are to send me a warranty claim form. Will post results. Recommedation - DO NOT PURCHASE RHINO!

I began this thread way back in 2006 and the only thing I got was some cleaner they said I needed to use every few months. Believe me, I understand that decking gets dirty. It is outside after all, but to get black mold looking spots that even a power washer cannot remove entirely? Come on Master Mark you have a defective product. The fact that people over two years later are still having problems attests to the fact that they have poor quality control. Or maybe they figure people will just buy their product and live with it. Well, I'm living with it because I can get no satisfaction. I could hire a lawyer and sue them but it would cost me more than just replacing their crappy product. Maybe that is what their lawyers figure. No one will go to the expense so just keep on selling the inferior material. I wish someone would start a class action suit against them. Of course only the lawyers would win there too. I guess the days of the consumer being protected are gone. So I say Good Luck getting any satisfaction.

Did you get someone from the company to come out and look at your deck? If not, I have a phone number you might try to use if you haven't already.

We live in a rural area but someone from the lumber yard where we bought it came out. They took pictures and said it looked like defective material. They sent the pictures to their sales rep. but after many phone calls on my part and theirs I ended up with a company rep. I think I stated this in my original post but they said they were conducting tests. After a couple more months of not hearing from them I called again and was told I needed to use a cleaner they had developed. They would send me the cleaner to "fix" the problem with mold. I asked if they would not pay for replacement costs and was told the cleaner was the only thing they were obligated to do. If you feel this number will help me by all means send it to me. I am very frustrated with this whole mess and wish I'd never put in this decking. The idea was to have a home that was pretty much labor free. Thanks for your reply.

The customer number is 1-800-535-4838. The local lumber yard which we used gave me this number directly instead of going through a local sales rep. The 800 number gave me another number, 1-320-243-7318. I spoke with Sabrina in warranty. She is send me information. I am to complete it and send pictures. They then schedule an on-site evaluation wtih a representative from the company. At that point, if they agree it is the decking, they replace it and pay for the contractor fees. She was extremely nice and pretty much assured me that it would not be a problem. You may need to call the 800 number first. I'm not sure. Good luck to you and keep me posted as I will you.

It was good to find this site about the problems with Rhino Decking and learn we are not the only ones
experiencing these problems. The mold and fungus growth are disgusting, to the point, we plan to replace it
after 6 years. Lest we forget the volunteer flowers growing between the cracks! Because we did the installation
(I am a carpenter but not by trade), we felt maybe it was something we did but after reading all these comments,
I know it wasn’t us!

We did complain to Master Marks somewhere over the years. They sent us a special liquid cleaner and a broom
for free but the stuff had to be used when the sun was not out and let it sit for 30 minutes or so before using the
brush. Pretty hard to do on a deck which faces south! We found by spraying with a 50/50 solution of clorox
and water, it brightens it a lot but unfortunately, doesn’t stay that way long. We felt we had nothing to lose.
The first 2 years weren’t bad.

We should have realized something wasn’t quite right when the local lumber company quit carrying Rhino
Decking before we were finished completely. We had to travel 1 ½ hours one way to get the few boards we
needed to get the job done.

For whatever reason (faulty product, installation or our using clorox), we are now having a problem with
buckling, the boards bowing, ends curling up and what appears to be rot. Makes it very interesting walking on
it!

In this months’ REMODELNG NEWS, there is an advisory about Louisiana-Pacific Corporation composite
decking purchased after 01/01/05. “Some of the product can prematurely deteriorate and break, posing a risk of
injury to consumers.” It sounds like LP Corp. is more than willing to own up to a faulty product. Now we
would all be happy if Master Marks would do the same.

Please keep everybody posted about the progress with speaking with Sabrina. I plan to copy all this input,
calculate what the Rhino Decking cost us and write them another letter with the hopes of getting some results.
We would love to replace it at their expense, but on second thought, has it improved enough in 6 years to go
through all the work of replacing it with the same composite decking? I don’t think so, with being in our early
60's, replacing our deck every 6 to 8 years is not an option. We can’t imagine they would cover the expense of
another product.