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[Allegheny]

@SilleeMee  Aluminum decking wasn't a product I looked at. I don't know why.  Perhaps it was because I was adamant about keeping a rustic look to the house.  Now I wish I had because our deck is also 2nd story level it probably wouldn't have distracted from the style.

DH was recently talking about replacing the front porch/steps and railing. I'm on the fence. They are original to the house.  I feel doing so would totally change the appearance and not in a good way.  The porch and steps are roofed over and I don't care if we have to pay someone to restain.  Unlike the deck these only need done about every ten years.

You have really spurred my interest in aluminum decking now.  May-be down the road.  In the next couple of years we will need to replace our windows and that is going to be really expensive.

[SilleeMee]

Well I just learned something new...the Azek brand is not a composite. It's solid PVC and that makes it top of the list for getting really hot in the sun. That will be one brand I will avoid for sure.

[SahmIam]

@SilleeMee  The lighter shade decks look great when they match the trim of the house otherwise, they look kinda of odd. Example: friends of ours have a brick home (darker brick) with black shutters and white trim. They had similar issues to yours so went with a very light shade of deck. It looks unfinished. It doesn't match the rest of the house. Kinda like really light grey shoes with a dark grey suit.

The grey decks look GREAT with blue or white siding. We would have gone with a grey Trex had we put the deck on ourselves; cooler underfoot plus it blends in with the house very well (saw that on someones house and wow!).

Our deck does not become slippery with rain. There is a texture to it that makes it look like wood to the eye but is actually traction built into the composite. Pretty nifty, lol.

[pattypeep]

@SilleeMee We had both of our decks built with trex decking over 15 years ago and they still look brand new. We pressure wash no more than once a year and they look as though they were just installed. More money? Yes, but you can't put a price on the durability and lack of maintenance.

[Lucky Charm]

We just had a deck built last year made of Trex for the floor boards (gray) and railings and 'caps' in white made by Azec (sp?). 

The risers on the stairs are also Azec and the bottom one will scratch --so no weed wacker around it.

Otherwise very durable.  Cleans easily, have had many contractors with drywall, wood shaving dust, etc. and it all cleans up with just the hose.

Can't comment on the 'heat' everyone's speaking of because I don't go barefoot on it.  But I can't say it radiates heat off of it.  Not noticeable.

[SilleeMee]

I think I found THE color! It was a toss up between Trex Rope Swing...

....and Timbertech Whitewash Cedar (new color in their collection) below.

I'm going for the bottom choice because it's so much lighter and I need to consider the heat factor under the sun. 

[Lucky Charm]

I like the gray for our back yard deck.  Very similar to rope swing, maybe it is the color.

I do have a dark brown for the front stairs, I think it was called Saddle.  It just goes with the colors of the front of the house and looks more formal.

[FuzzyFace]

We removed our old, rotting, shaky cedar deck last year and replaced it with Azek. It looks beautiful but there's one thing no one told us (and we didn't think to ask) -- it gets REALLY hot when the temps go up.

Keep a pair of shoes nearby so you won't burn your feet. Otherwise it's great stuff.

[SilleeMee]

Azek is not composite. It's PVC and gets very hot. I learned this while searching for materials to build my new deck. I'm staying with composite because of the heat.