Love the suggested rugs. Diane, we just built a composite deck and the manufacturer says to only use natural fiber rugs (ie. Jute...). Not many options there. Did you get a synthetic rug and did you have any issues? Also curious - what brand of decking material? Thanks in advance.

Cedar is a very good choice for rot protection, the heartwood in particular is the best part of this wood. It also looks beautiful if you are looking for a natural wood look. The downside to cedar is the softness and ability to scratch. It is not a good choice if you have dogs. It also requires sealer every 2 years or so. Ipe is a very good choice because of its hardwood nature and rot resistance. It has a very tight grain structure making it one of the hardest natural woods used for decks. One drawback is, it doesn't have that natural wood look. Here is a picture of our railings on a small cedar deck. This is our trade show booth. Andrew

Without seeing the grain pattern it looks to me to either be Trex in Saddle Brown or Possibly TimberTech Brown Oak. If you can access the bottom of the existing boards you should be able to narrow it down. Timber Tech typically has ridges in the bottom, Trex will not. There is also a brand that is hallow in the middle but i am not 100% on the name TruOrganics maybe? Im not familiar with that brand however.

Based on where you are, I'd guess you'd only have to oil the ipe once a year to keep the color. Honestly, the bigger maintenance headache by far will be cleaning the sap, pine needles, etc., which you'll have to do no matter what material you use. Composite decking is certainly not maintenance-free: https://thecraftsmanblog.com/the-problems-with-composite-decking/ You do have to be careful choosing a good ipe supplier with reputable sources. But as long as you have that, real wood decking is actually better for the environment: https://blog.advantagelumber.com/2014/01/02/the-environment-and-your-decking/ But composite decking may not be as eco-friendly as you think: http://www.compositedeckingreviews.org/blog/2014/01/composite-decking-is-not-eco-friendly/ You definitely need to watch out when it comes to composite decking. Some projects turn out fine. Others...not so much. Composite manufacturers have a history of making bold claims that don't hold up in the real world, then finding creative ways to dodge their warranties.