Veranda composite post sleeves fit easily
 

I'm installing a Veranda composite rail system on my deck. I installed new 4x4 PT posts and bolted them to the rim joist. But now I find that the post sleeves don't fit over the posts easily. The sleeves I did get on I had to hammer on, and broke 2 sleeves in the process. That does not seem right to me at all. Is it common that the sleeves don't go easily over the posts? We've had a lot of rain lately, so the posts have gotten wet. Would that cause the posts to swell so the sleeves won't fit, or do I have to remove the posts and plane them all? I'm surprised this is happening, because there's nothing in the instructions that mentioned planing the posts to accept the sleeves.

It has to be from the swelling… I did the same exact thing on my deck.. I actually had to shim a little bit to keep them tight… they should be loose.. STOP hammering… if I do my math correctly, that cost you $40 bucks.. let the wood dry out, then finish it up, Do not plane, this will cause it to be to loose after the wood drys out..… patience my friend…

I had the same issue with mine and none of my posts were ever in the rain. They were dry. Some fit easily and some I had to pound on. I think the issue was that some were a bit bowed. The way I did it though was to mark where I wanted it to stop then put the sleeve on and held the sleeve while I pounded the wood on something solid to force it on. Luckily none broke. When I got it closer to my line, I turned it over and kept hitting it with a hammer to coax it to my pencil line. Once they were on, there was no moving them.

Where do you get these sleeves?
 

Where do you get these sleeves?
I can't find them anywhere.

I got mine at Home Depot. The Veranda brand fit very snug. I also bought two YardSmart sleeves (same thing) at Home Depot to use to construct my gate. They were about half the cost of the Veranda. They seemed to be a bit thinner material and the posts slid in with room to spare (in fact around 3/16" slop).

I ended up getting another 6 foot line of railing to make my gate. I just finished it today and put a MagnaLatch latch and self-closing hinges on it. It looks good. I had to put a turnbuckle support on the gate to keep it from sagging. But that worked very well. Here is a pic of my gate. Just need to finish the stair railing and my deck's done.

Could the wood post ever degrade or rot from within the sleeve due to humidity? Or is the sleeve "breathable" like Gore-tex?
Otherwise you might have to provide some kind of drain hole at the base.
How long do you think these things last?

Trex decking & some other composites have fallen apart in a year
Hopefully this stuff is better, I'll stick with just PT

The vinyl sleeves are open on the bottom (completely) and you put a cap on the top so you shouldn't get any water in it.

As far as Trex decking falling apart in a year, I would think that it was probably due to poor installation techniques (not spacing properly, in contact with the ground or water continuously). Otherwise they should be maintenance free. That's why I chose composite. I didn't want the kids to get splinters running barefoot around the pool, either.

If the posts are bowed, you may be able to cut kerfs into the bowed side to allow it to bend straight again when it goes into the sleeve. I wouldn't cut too deep, though, so you don't lose the support that it's supposed to provide to begin with. Or you may be able to trim just enough off the edges, say with a band saw, to allow it to slide into the sleeve. Best done before it is installed, though.

No - it was faulty material
Do a search on the site for the Trex thread
Very long....

They call composite low maintenance as you are supposed to clean it

Reading over some of the negative reports, my sense is that the original composite mfrs were over-ambitious in rolling out the entire product line. They should have focused on applications where composite offered a superior solution such as these sleeves. My own application is retrofitting these sleeves over existing posts on a balcony where replacing the existing posts (the ideal solution) would require dismantling the balcony wall. The railing is decorative only and if the sleeves fall apart in 10-15 yrs I can just unscrew the railings and install new sleeves. I would be hesitant to use composite in the broad applications these complaints are arising from. Even for the railings in my application I will likely go with plastic to achieve a contrasting colour combination.