If you can afford cedar, use it. It takes more work to maintain than composite. I am not certain as to it's environmental footprint as opposed to composite.

If you currently have wood on your deck, your joist will have to be reconfigured to be closer together. Composite is surprisingly flexible!

The low maintenance of composite seemed a good consideration for us as we are getting on and are looking to reduce the maintenance.

We had Trex put in just a couple of months ago. I like the material so far, but we had, and still do have, some ongoing problems with the installation and the contractor who turned out to be untrustworthy and has left us with,basically, an unfinished job.

One thing that I do not like about the composite is the quality of the matching finishing trim of the railings. While the deck boards are fine, much of the trim material is a thin and cheap feeling plastic.

Have you priced cedar? It is quite expensive. I just could not face the maintenance issue of it, at my age. If you have the funds to buy it and the energy, time and money to maintain it, it makes a quality deck.

I installed a azek deck with timbertech railing 6 summers ago, I live in western WA, probably very different than TX. Its a north facing deck that does not get to much sun, the part that does tends to get hot in direct sun and has faded recently. I have been very satisfied about the maintenance part however, just hose it off. Come to think about it Sofaspud is 100% right on. composite decks have some drawbacks hot,slippery when wet, prone to fading. I am very satisfied with the timbertech railing, it shows no sign of weathering yet, and is a superior product compared to traditional wood railing. Decks are problematic, I have had a bunch of them, this while having issues, is the best so far.

Reread your post, the heat thing is real, probably should consider a different product now that I think about it.

Composite decking is a very heavy product compared to wood. We have been trialing some composite material as a fence at a house in Hawaii. So far the only problem we have encountered is that where the fence sits on the ground, when it rains, the fence is left with a white watermark residue at the bottom. (Possibly some sort of mineral leaching out of the soil.) Using concrete might be a more long term, cost effective and lower maintenance alternative near your pool than a deck.

Hello!

Thanks for considering AZEK decks! You can learn more about our decks here: https://azek.com/products/decking

We stand by our decks with 30-year & lifetime warranties, and feel that our moisture resistant capping will keep your deck looking beautiful for as long as you own your home! As far as the Texas heat, check out this heat test a builder did, where our TimberTech Whitewash Cedar competed head-to-head with wood!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlijcM6lKre/?taken-by=norcal_craftsman

https://timbertech.com/store/catalog-and-samples/whitewash-cedar---4-in-sample

Hope that helps!

AZEK

Our Deck company love to use composite over wood. Composite is more expensive than wood but will last a lifetime. We want our customers to go the composite direction but it's not possible sometimes. It really on your preference and how much you want to maintain your deck.

@Jo - here is Coastline, Hickory, and white railings. When it comes to how the accents on the deck would be treated, you would need to decide with a contractor which design is best for you, thanks!

Hello Jo, I was unable to find photos with that combination, but it sounds like it will match very well. Thanks for using our products!