The plywood deck (or corrugated metal deck) would not be visible. Temporary side boards would be used for the pour. The deck would have concrete poured onto it and would be concealed on the bottom by our ceiling material. EIFS will be applied to the facade of the deck.

Our new build screened porch has a cement foundation that is about 1 1/2 ft or so high so we are able to walk out into it from the dining area without having any steps down. Ours is 11 X 14 ft. The wood used is cedar that has been stained. The door to the outside opens to an 8 X 16 ft grilling area.

Yes, sorry for not having a picture initially... Here is a picture of the layout. The deck as you can see is VERY narrow. There is about 20 feet from the deck to where the fence will be. I've thought about doing narrow planter boxes for railings, maybe filling with some sort of grass that grows tall... I'd love your ideas! Thank you!

We debated the same issue last year. We chose pavers that will be installed grade level. The cost was lower than the Trex, cooler to the touch and less fading. I know people say composite needs no upkeep and never fades, but I am not so sure about that. The difficult part to the pavers is that steps are necessary since a raised paver was unaffordable. One guy did suggest laying paver tile over the existing deck joists/beams but I did not trust this idea either. And sure enough, once we removed the deck floor boards and joists, we found rotting and splitting footings. It would have been the proverbial lipstick on a pig type of thing. Make sure your deck footings and beams are truly sound before laying paver tile over the existing deck.