I am having a deck built over a full exposure, about 600 sq. ft, roughly 40x16, with some clipped corners and a staircase. I have some questions.. I can go with cedar, composite, or ipe, and I've been weighing the pros/cons of each.. I'm trying to figure out how much maintenance each requires.. It's being built on the north side of a
2-story Wisconsin house, so it'll get plenty of snow and rain, large seasonal temperature changes, etc.The composite is NO maintenance, but it looks kinda cheesy IMO, so unless they can find a really good looking sample for me, I'm not going for it.. I've seen about 6 composite samples, I'm sure there's many more out there. Any recommendations on a really good looking composite?
I hear cedar is cheap but requires a 'lot' of maintenance. What exactly is a 'lot'? Will I be spending an afternoon, or a full weekend, or even longer sealing it up? Once a year, or every few? I think cedar is out, ipe looks better, and if I have to spend the time on maintenance anyway, might as well look primo.....
I think ipe is my #1 pick so far, unless I hear horror stories... If I go with ipe, same q's, how often do you need to seal it? How much does sealant cost, and how long does it take to apply?
My main question on Ipe/cedar - If I leave it unsealed, it will turn silver/grey. If it does, can I stain/seal it and get the original color back again? How long does it take for a new deck to turn silver/grey?
Thanks for any opinions/feedback,