We have a Fiberon Horizon deck built in Fall 2018. This summer 2022 will be its fourth. Our deck gets morning sun and late afternoon shade. We live in the Colorado foothills at 7600' elevation with big snow loads in winter, strong UV in the summer, and incredible 40- to 50-degree temperature swings in spring and fall. We chose steel framing, which helps the decking to lay nice and flat. When deciding which decking to purchase, I laid out on our existing wood deck a sample of redwood plus about 7 samples of composite and PVC decking from different manufacturers for about 2 weeks. Some definitely got hotter than others, but the Fiberon Horizon was only very slightly hotter than the existing wood deck. If I needed something on my feet to walk on the hot Fiberon decking, I would also have needed it to walk on the hot wood decking. Our deck builder uses Fiberon Horizon because it causes him fewer problems afterward, and time is money. In the end, that is the product we chose in ipe color and with walnut color at the edges of the deck for contrast, clip-type fasteners, and we LOVE it. Easy cleaning and maintenance, no warping or sagging or twisting, no delaminating, no rot, no fading even with the strong UV here in Colorado. Has held up to the snow load and is not noticeably slick when wet. Surprisingly tough and scratch resistant. So far, so good. I would make this choice again. I think it important that the material is stored properly before the build and that the installers know what they are doing.

Curious to know what methods are being used for those that heat composites or PVC to curve them into shape. The Heatcon system is what I see most often but it costs $3000. Trex makes something similar for around the same price. It seems that there should be a simple alternative to heat the boards. Anyone have success with anything like this?

Pick yer poison. Any decking material will get hot in full sun, be it natural(wood) or man made. The heat from wood will not be as intense as from composites because the composites are more dense and contain plastics. Maintenance will be necessary with any wood. The exotics mentioned previously do not need as much maintenance,unless you want to keep the color, in which case those require more maintenance. Cedar is a decent alternative for both. 5/4 decking boards have rounded edges, which cuts down on splinters. Cedar is a light weight wood, less dense and will get less intense heat from full sun. However, untreated cedar turns gray over time. And treating to keep the color is almost yearly maintenance. Composites have been improved as far as color loss. They still need regular cleaning(pressure washing with high pressure is not a good idea). They will get hotter in the sun. Hot enough the kiddies will be at least uncomfortable. So, look at all the possibilities, note the plusses and negatives and see what you need or want.

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