I'm hoping this post may help those that are in my boat. I had a 6.5 year old deck - PT lumber/decking that started to look terrible (shocker) and had to do something this year. I went around and around on what to do, a lot of course depended on how much money I wanted to sink into it. I got a sample of just about every type of hardwood, and over a dozen composites sent and lined them up on the deck. I even considered putting back down new PT decking as the cheapest solution. I read A LOT of posts on this forum, learned a bunch. Changed my mind probably 10 times - even while I was ripping up the old decking.

So here is what I think for what it is worth:

1) If you are on a tight budget and may only live in the house another 5 years or so, you can go with PT but get it from a lumber yard and not a big-box store. Put down good stain though again not from the big-box. 2) If money is no object and/or you know you are going to live there a long time, go with Ipe - I felt that is unquestionably the best option. 3) Some of the high-end composites are surprisingly just as expensive or more than hardwoods. 4) I was in the middle budget wise, so it was between some of the mid-level composites vs. a less expensive hardwood such as Tigerwood, Cumaru, or Garapa.

Bottom line - since ALL decking requires maintenance, I decided that after doing all this work myself and spending money regardless of material, in the end I wanted something I felt actually looked great. I don't question some of the advantages of the composites if you get a good one, however in terms of looks they just can't compare to South American lumber. I felt every composite looks, well, including even the expensive ones.

After staining some samples of all the hardwoods, I went with Cumaru since it looked very similar to Ipe but was more affordable. I'll tell you right now after all the work so far, I am so glad I didn't get cheap PT decking or a composite. I actually like doing this type of project myself, and working with the wood was more work than the other choices, yes, but you get the hang of it quickly. After a cleaning and one coat of TWP 116 (thanks to this forum) I couldn't be happier. My only question right now is if I put the 2nd one on right away or wait a few months like others have...