Before buying Earthwood, I'd do the fork scratch test on a sample piece. Earthwood looked lovely and didn't drink in spilled oils from food the way regular Trex and TT did, leaving ghastly blotches. We considered it until we did the fork scratch test. Remember, moving furniture across it will make much deeper scratches.

Gracie,

I just laid down the Timbertech Eartwood in the Teak Color. (not done yet) I really like the color. Yes, we do have scratches, but they will blend in after a couple of weeks. I'm real happy with the color and appereance. I included a couple of photos. Enjoy. Let me know if you have any more questions.

hi thanks! it looks great. will you be using the fascia board? If you are, how will you be attaching it? the previous post by lanemc did not show any screw holes. i'm wondering how to have it installed so they don't show. i just saw one that had a gazillion screw holes all over the fascia boards. i don't want to do that for my deck.

Thanks for the kind words. I will be using a fascia board. I like the decking overlapping the edge of the framing. I'm going to secure the fascis board by installing screws on the backside of the rim joist. You need to make sure your screws are of the proper length or they could protude out of the front of the fascia board. Good luck.

Wow, that photo is nice. I'm considering Fiberon Tropics (Jatoba color) for a deck we're having built. What about white railing as a contrast instead of trying to match? Or, a coffee color railing to match the dark tones in the decking? That would be dramatic. As far as scratches go, I don't plan on scraping fork ends or keys across the deck. Maybe there will be scratches from moving furniture, kids forgetting to take their cleats off, bears running across the deck in the Winter or space aliens coming down with pitchforks to wreak havoc on the composite---but before we get carried away with this, wood scratches easily too. I did the key test on Fiberon, Pro Cell and IPE samples. The Fiberon and IPE were relatively easy to scratch and the Pro Cell PVC decking was harder to mark up. I say go with what you like and let the scratches blend in. Maybe the wood can be refinished, but who is going to sand and refinish every time a scratch occurs? Many composites can be stained for that matter. Go with what you like.

hey angelom i haven't seen the fiberon tropics product. I will have to see who carries it in my area. i checked the website and it looks similar to the timbertech. did you consider the timbertech at all? what about the fiberon do you like? as far as the railing goes, white would not go well with my home, it is a "sand" color with bone trim. so i am leaning towards either pvc type rail in almond(bone) or maybe black metal railings with something else for the post...??

We are using the fiberon/veranda tropics mahogany and so far so good but it isn't fully installed - it is cut but our deck is only 4x4 feet - I wanted a fancy picture frame design on the deck and stairs so my husband is figuring it out. Their railings are very nice (we took it out of the package) but very $$$. Luckily we only needed one railing.

I don't think you can repair the fiberon as that was our concern but I liked the color, which is why we picked it. It does scratch easily.

They will send you free samples of their decking and railing if you call and ask - their customer service reps are very nice and helpful.

The contractor I'm leaning toward seems to like working with the Fiberon. I haven't seen Timbertech actual samples but the photos sure look nice. If I go with Fiberon, I'm torn between the Tropics Jatoba and the "Pro" series brown. I have a feeling the tropics will mark more easily---or at least the marks will be more obvious. On the standard Fiberon, I think scratches would sort of blend into the woodgrain in most cases. I think that if deep scratches on composite bother you, you can probably carefully apply matching shoe polish (surgically try to get it just on the scratch) and blend it in a little. Try this on the samples---seems to do the trick. Anyway, if my contractor offers the Tropics for the same price, I might go with it, but if it's a cost increase, I'll probably stay with the brown Fiberon. I have to confirm with him that it's the Pro series and not the entry level stuff he's quoting. I understand about the white railing not matching your house. In my case, I'm strongly considering having a composite deck but with painted wood spindles and composite handrail (to match the deck). My experience is that the horizontal surfaces exposed to the sun are the most vulnerable. This will keep the cost down for me and i think I'll be happy with it if the contractor makes it look as nice as he promises. I'm having an adjoining screened porch built at the same time. That one will have tongue and groove wood floor stained with Sikkens and the same rail as I have on the outside deck, whatever that ends up being. I sort of like the look of natural, unfinished wood, darker stained wood/composite and white mixed together. I just have to find a tasteful and cost effective way of blending everything.