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[SahmIam]

@SilleeMee We have Trex. The woman I bought the house from had in installed 5 years ago; I've been in the house 4 years this July. My house prior had a basic wood deck. My thoughts:

* Trex gets hot. VERY hot. I have an outdoor carpet on the side of the deck where the furniture is located (this is treated like another room of the house during the summer so furniture, end tables, lamps, plants, etc). The other side is more the atrium with flowering trees, cafe table and chairs, lots of flowers- there is one small rug right where you step off the deck and into the house. Without that carpet, no one could walk on it in bare feet; on the wood deck, we could.

* It's very common to get a composite deck and railing/caps but use wood for the side rails (what looks like a fence around your deck and one side of the stairs going down) as well as the beams to hold the deck up (especially if the deck is up high and needs a stair case going down to the ground). It's much cheaper to do this and looks nice so many do that. The ex-owner did that. PAIN IN THE BUTT to maintain. You have to stain the wood every year. You have to hand sand the wood. You have to be VERY careful NOT to touch the composite areas because you will damage them and it's costly to repair. If I were going to do it, I would get ALL Trex/composite; not a hybrid.

* Maintenance varies depending on the composite you go with. Our deck instructions (very glad it came with those), tells us that if hot coals from a grill spill, the deck will NOT burn. Same with a candle. To me, this is a great safety feature and worth looking into especially if you grill, have a small fire pit, etc. I don't power-wash it (directions say not to), I sweep it daily and wash it down with the garden hose nozzle on the strongest setting it has. That's it.

* Make sure you like the color as it will not fade/weather like real wood. I have a weather redwood that is the perfect color (I think) for a deck. It's the shade a real redwood deck takes on after years of being sanded, stained, polished and then allowed to weather naturally. My in-laws have one, spent a fortune for the wood but oh, it's beautiful. 

IMHO, you get what you pay for when it comes to a composite deck.

[SilleeMee]

Thanks for all the comments! 

Just from reading your comments here I've gathered that the heat and slippery-when-wet factors are things to seriously consider. I live in Colorado, at high elevation, so the sun is intensely hot...way more so than most people realize. I also have all four seasons to contend with...snow, ice and rain will affect the deck surface. My deck is partially shaded by a large deciduous tree so during the winter the deck will be in direct sun which is okay by me. It's the summer months when it gets shaded. The deck is on the second story where it gets pounded by precipitation of all sorts including hail. We have very high winds so an awning is out of the question. Permanent deck covering is the only option but not at this time.

So here's what I'm thinking...buy the lightest shade possible, even though I love the look of dark, exotic wood, it is not practical here. People I know who have chosen a dark color decks here have regrets. Also I will look into buying decking that has a textured surface so it offers more traction when wet. Sound good?

ETA - Color choices are very limited when looking for the lighter shades. Trex and Azek have nice lighter shades. Other brands are too dark.

I like Rope Swing for this brand:

I like Ivory for this brand Azek:

[Lilysmom]

@SilleeMee, I live in a windy spot as well.  I have a 21’ X 12’ awning.  Mine has a wind sensor.  When the wind picks up, it automatically retracts.  Mine is 12 years old and is God sent.  Wouldn’t be without it.  LM

[SeaMaiden]

We rebuilt our two back decks( upper and lower)  last year. I looked into composite and after much research decided on staying with real cedar wood.  There were many customer complaints with the composite  and  other issues.  Plus it was much more expensive.  Yes, wood has upkeep....but, what doesn't. My  wood decks look beautiful!

[SilleeMee]

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@Lilysmom wrote:

@SilleeMee, I live in a windy spot as well.  I have a 21’ X 12’ awning.  Mine has a wind sensor.  When the wind picks up, it automatically retracts.  Mine is 12 years old and is God sent.  Wouldn’t be without it.  LM

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@Lilysmom I'm glad you are happy with your awning with a wind sensor! How nice!  I've looked at the ones Sunsetter makes and they are very nice. What concerns me here is that we have occasional and sudden gusts of wind that come out of nowhere.  I'm afraid if one big gust hits my house with an awning it might not have enough time to retract. But I sure would like to have one otherwise.

[riley1]

@SilleeMee - Regarding your color choices: See if you can get samples of each color and put them outside and check on them as the day goes on. Depending on the light of the day or a cloudy day, colors change - what you like in the morning, you may dislike in the afternoon.

Just a thought - Riley1

[SilleeMee]

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@riley1 wrote:

@SilleeMee - Regarding your color choices: See if you can get samples of each color and put them outside and check on them as the day goes on. Depending on the light of the day or a cloudy day, colors change - what you like in the morning, you may dislike in the afternoon.

Just a thought - Riley1

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Thanks for your suggestion @riley1. I've done that already. Color choices of the lightest shades are so limited in every brand that it seems I don't have much to choose from. I will just have to get the lightest shade available regardless of whether or not I really like it. I'm concerned about the Colorado sun factor and how very hot it gets around here. If I had my way then I would go for a color I love...like a dark exotic...but that is not going to happen.

[wagirl]

Is composite the same as Trex? We've had our for over 10 years and it is fine, however, ours is a smooth surface so it's very slick in the wet. I would get a texture surface. and I'm not sure if it can be pressure washed as ours is moldy/slimy from being so wet here in western WA. Doesn't fade either ;still the  grey color it was when new. 

[Allegheny]

@SilleeMee

We used Azek in the ivory color.  I chose that color because it complimented the taupe color of our cedar home and I liked the textured finish.  We did a combo for our railing system.  The balusters are powdered coated aluminum in bronze and the posts and top/bottom rails are wood which we stained/painted to match the body color of the house.  

Azek will require a good cleaning yearly.  Dirt gets embedded in the textured grain.  Even after power washing we can tell the difference between boards that are more protected from the elements.  And it will dull after years of cleaning and exposure.  We experience four seasons also.

It does get hot when exposed to direct sun.  You will not be able to walk on it without shoes.

I am sorry to tell you, ours does stain and removing those stains are difficult.  I can only speak about the Azek product.  In fact while it was being installed one of the guys had something on the bottom of his work shoe.  Whatever it was left an imprint.  I called the company about their guarantee but never got a reply.  We had it installed about five years ago so perhaps the product is different now.

It was hard for me to give up my wood deck, but my husband insisted.  Believe me, I searched the internet for alternative surfaces, ie stone tile.  I had to keep aware of weight since our deck is elevated.

We will be replacing the rail system soon going with total powdered coated aluminum with only a wood rail on top, no wood posts or bottom rail.  The wood posts and rails on our current system needs restained and it is a real "bear" working around the aluminum balusters.

[SilleeMee]

@Allegheny,

I looked at the alternatives to wood also and since my deck is up on the second story I'd have to limit my choice of materials according to weight. I looked at aluminum decking and omg it's so expensive! It has many color options and heat dissipates from it so fast that it hardly even gets hot. But the cost is over my budget...too bad because that would be my ultimate choice if I could afford it.