We opted to go with concrete. I didn't stamp it since most other decks/patios I've seen that were stamped collect and hold dirt in the grooves. We also didn't stain it since that option tends to need to be repeated once traffic areas wear through. You also have to keep the surface of the concrete clean from spills and stains during the build. Everywhere something spills is a spot where the stain may not adhere. Instead of all of that we worked with the concrete company and had our concrete colored. They added color dye to the entire batch of concrete and when it was poured it had a nice mellow brown tone. This blended in nicely with the house. Almost all of the synthetic wood decks I've seen have their issues. Some can be simply keeping them cleaned and free from mold, others I've seen suffered from sagging and swelling. All of them require some type of maintenance. We're going on two years and I've done absolutely nothing to our suspended concrete deck, patio, or covered concrete patio below. They are solid and sound. Not sure if you can utilize concrete or not, but look into seeing if your concrete company will add dye, maybe another option for you. FWIW - I would never install a wood deck - way too much maintenance.

judiegal, your husband is wrong on two counts. First, there are square-edged prefinished hardwoods available. There is one problem with the square edge - you can get something often called "sock-catchers" if the subfloor is not perfectly flat. There are many different depths of bevel available nowadays. We had the microbevel in our previous house to avoid "sock-catchers" and it did not collect debris. I could get the floors completely clean with a microfiber dustmop. (My current house has 107yo heart-pine floors, and I am getting all too familiar with catching debris because it has gaps over 1/4" wide between many boards. Maddening.) It peeves the living daylights out of me to hear people refer to engineered hardwood flooring as not "real" wood. It is just as much "real wood" as solid wood. Call solids solids if that's what you mean. We chose an ashwood engineered flooring for our previous house because NH has massive swings in humidity (we did not have central AC - it would have cost well over $12,000 to install) which can create problems with cupping, buckling, or gapping, and were extremely pleased with it. I cannot TELL you how many dealers and installers tried to bully us into site-finished flooring, even though we could not afford to vacate our house for a week plus, and there was no way we could stay and try to work around the construction and finishing (I would have almost surely been very sick from the stain and finish odors, and let's not even talk about trying to keep the cat and dog hair out of the finish.) Here in New England, the attitude of "we've done it this way for 100 years, we're not going to change now" is rampant! We did not have any problems with the floor delaminating from cat barf, spilled beverages, tracked-in snow, that sort of thing, and the aluminum oxide finish was very durable. The manufacturer, Robbins, did NOT recommend putting any additional finish on after installation. They were nailed down, not glued (the installers checked with Robbins to make sure they could be nailed instead of stapled). The reason why johnatemp thinks she can always spot engineered flooring is because CHEAP engineered floors use a rotary-cut veneer, which looks like plywood; better-quality engineereds have sliced and even quartsawn/riftsawn veneer layers. Another frequent myth about solid wood flooring - it cannot be refinished as many times as people are led to believe. You can only sand them down to the level of the tongue, which is usually less than a third of the thickness of the board. Old (50+ years) floorboards can often be flipped and reused if very carefully pulled up, but that is quite rare in modern flooring. Our floors were warranted for three full refinishings; the veneer layer was a third of the thickness of the board. However, you don't need to completely refinish a hardwood floor unless you have deep gouges or want to change the color. These days, if you want to refresh the finish and remove small scratches and scuffs, you just do something called a screen and recoat. It costs a LOT less than a full refinishing, too. Here are a couple of pictures. The floors are, as I said, from Robbins; style is and color is Tigra.

I don't have the square footage costs you asked about but I did quite a bit of research several years ago and had several concerns I'll mention here. I'm in SE Texas where we have high humidy and a lot of rain so that may change your circumstances. I was concerned a composite 2 x 6 board cost three times as much as a treated board, some composite lumber had mold and mildew complaints and required power washing with cleaning chemicals, composite lumber isn't made for structural members under the deck and I figured if I had to stick with treated lumber under the deck, I might as well use it for the deck surface as well. I ultimately chose fiberglass beam construction.

So let's talk the about the difference between an engineered hardwood and a vinyl plank. And there are more than just the difference between the two flooring options. There are many differences within each type of flooring. For example: engineered hardwood flooring can come in different thickness overall and vinyl planks can come in different plank styles (glue down, WPC and SPC). Let's break this down for you guys a little further. Engineered hardwood is an incredible option for an authentic with longevity in mind. Typically is worth less than it's hardwood counterpart (hardwood) but in some instances, depending on the wood species, a high end engineered hardwood veneer could be worth more than a low grade hardwood such as your North American (domestic) species. Engineered hardwood is more often on the 7/16" side of thickness and that is your more price friendly thickness. You can special order a thicker 3/4" board, but that will come at a heftier price because it's added layers. The added layers create a more stable plank that expands and contracts at a lower rate than it's 7/16" counterpart. Engineered hardwoods always should and for the most part come prefinished with an aluminum oxide coat. This very coat is your barrier against everyday beatings from walking traffic and dropped items. This coat is very tough but no floor or finish is indestructible. You will have dents and scratches pop up over the years. Depending on the company, you can buy "refinish kits". Although, technically you cannot refinish aluminum oxide, the kits just help you hide the scratches until you decide to do a professional refinish to your floor. Lastly, let's talk about refinishing your hardwood floor. Please have a professional do it! And it is very expensive to do this job. Depending on your floor size it can cost well over $3,000 USD. At this rate, you are in the market for a high level LVP. Which brings me into the luxury vinyl plank spectrum. As you all are aware, LVP's are dominating the flooring market and they should be. They do a very, VERY good job at imitating a hardwood or stone surface and multiply the longevity all the while. Vinyl has come a long way in the last couple of decades let alone the last few years as far as planks are concerned. There are plenty of options and so, so many different brands all wanting you business. Luxury vinyl planks can be divided into two different categories in the market right now: glue down or floating. The first generation of vinyl planks are your glue downs. They are still very popular and serve as one of the friendliest DIY repair floors. You simply heat the old damaged plank, peel it and put a new one down. The floating aspect of planks gets a little more complicated as you can have a WPC (wood polymer composite), SPC (stone polymer composite) or a loose lay style. And you can look those up to see the complete difference in each to see what's your most needed. I'll lightly go over each to explain what they are. While all three styles are virtually waterproof, you really can't go wrong with any and will have a good product in each one. WPC's are a click based plank which does not require an underlayment, hence being labeled a "floating" floor. The foaming agent in the core of the plank helps with sound absorption and makes the plank a little more friendly to stand on. It's a thicker overall plank and you should think about how the trims will be affected. SPC's are a click based plank which also does not require an underlayment which helps reduce the installation cost. The core is limestone based and makes it very rigid and tough. It's extremely dent resistant but for the most part is lower in wear layer for some reason. You can however find plenty of SPC's with a higher wear layer, nearing 28-30 mil, but it will cost you more because you will have a high dent and scratch resistance. And finally you have your loose lay planks which are the ultimate form (as of now) in easy maintenance and installation. They do not require an underlayment, do not use a click system and don't need any adhesive (although some installers recommend gluing the perimeter). They have a friction backing which let you lay the plank adhesive free without any movement on its end. The plank itself is waterproof and pretty dent resistant. While engineered hardwood does cost more and is less maintenance friendly, it does add value to your home with the hardwood veneer. The ability to refinish gives you a long floor life but the cost of a refinish is a setback in itself. Luxury vinyl planks are a low cost and long lasting floor option but adds little to no value to your home. The endless options of styles and colors gives you endless customization to your home at a far less price. Either option can last a while but at this time vinyl planks are a better option for any household with multiple members, both human and furry alike. I hope this little bit of information helps in the short and long run. Just a flooring dude.