Cedar, Trex or pressure treated pine in Georgia humidity

What each material costs you in maintenance over ten Georgia summers.

Pressure treated pine is the cheapest way to build a deck and the most expensive one to own. It moves, it checks, and it wants sealing on a schedule most people do not keep.

Cedar is the best looking of the three on day one. It weathers to grey if you let it and holds its colour if you maintain it. In Georgia humidity that maintenance is a real commitment, not a weekend once a decade.

Trex and similar composites cost the most up front and ask for almost nothing afterwards. If you plan to keep the house, that trade usually pays back.

We have built all three. Which one is right depends on how you want to spend your Saturdays.