ssshanno

I've got a covered porch on a 100 year old house that originally was decked with painted T&G 5/4" fir or cedar. When I bought the home, one of the first things I did was pull up the decaying fir, and replace it with some beautiful new quartersawn fir. I did everything by the book to prevent the decay of the deck, including providing good air movement underneath, sealing the cut ends and even painting the undersides of each board, but in our climate (upstate NY in the snow-belt-- 150" of snow per winter), it just didn't last well. After only 10 years, it was ready for replacement.

So the second time around, I decided to go plastic. I did the entire deck, trim skirt, and railings in Azek and it looks great. Everything went together just like it was wood. It's now been through two winters and looks new today. It doesn't scuff, stain, or mildew. It's not slippery, and it doesn't expand or contract enough to even notice, much less start popping boards up like my old wood deck. So, while I'm no fan of "fake" either, I love my plastic deck- and it's not "looks like wood from 20 feet away", it's more like 2' feet way, and on the trim and railings, it looks like wood right up until you start drilling into it.