Hello Jessica, sorry for the delay! Here is an example of Silver Maple and white Radiance railings. We love this combo! Thanks for considering us!

Thanks Millworkman, maybe I should have given more info, but while I'm pretty close to the water, I'm still several rows of houses (400 feet) back, and then there's a 100 foot drop to the Sound, so I think I should be ok as far as the salt? I did see older posts from 8 years or so ago from people who had and who were planning on getting LockDry decking, so there has to be someone experienced out there, I'm thinking.

If the boards run perpendicular to the house, I don't know why there is a ledger, there should be joists running parallel to the house. I guess they bolted one of the joists to the house through the siding. There is a few ways this can be flashed without ripping the boards off. 1. cut the siding and slip the flashing under the siding and about 1 1/2" on top of the boards and slip jay channel matching the siding to cover the edge. This way all the water that runs along the siding will clear bolted ledger/joist. This would be the easiest way is accepted by the buyer. 2. Snap the line along the wall about 3" out and cut the deck boards. Use Z-Flashing over the ledger, slip another joist from the top and add a decking board parallel to the house. It will give you sort of a border along the house. You end up with something like this.

Ryanne, looking forward to seeing your photos. I really like the wood grain options Knotwood has to offer. They look very beautify and realistic in photos. How are they in real life? Also, I'm interested in hearing what it's like to walk on. Can you tell you're walking on metal (like walking on a bleacher)? Patricia, no doubt the appearance of a nice hardwood like Ipe is hard to beat. But like most things, it's a trade-off. You need to retreat Ipe every year or two to keep it from graying. Also, if you want to maintain a dry area under the deck (which I do) then you need install some sort of membrane system under it to catch the water, which adds to the cost and maintenance. With Aluminum you trade off some of the ascetics for an easier to install, easier to maintain, water proof decking. It just depends on your needs and what you value.