From the homeowner:
The winter of 2008 dumped a freak 21″ snowfall on my back deck (everywhere else too)–and when it all melted, I noticed the deck not only dropped 6″ (not good considering parts of it are seventeen feet above the ground), but it also liberated itself from the house.
[The contractor] informed me this deck made his top five MOST ROTTEN DECKS. Why? All of the structural beams were HOLLOW because of carpenter ants.
I researched fake wood (not me), concrete, concrete pavers and slate as I was convinced that a wood deck in the world’s largest temperate rain forest was a poor choice.
After more research, I discovered a brand new product called Silca Grate from StoneDeks Systems. Made from ABS, this stuff is fantastic.
Next, I was exploring concrete pavers at the local Home Depot and discovered a pallet of 6″x12″ slate (petrified mud if you need to know) pavers from Turkey. I was able to order five pallets and the cost was $2/sq.ft.
