What Material Should I Use to Replace My Rotting Deck and Siding?

Q: I need to replace both a redwood deck and a rotten exterior wood panel. What is the most durable material to use for both projects?

A: To prevent all wood rot problems in the future, you could re-side your entire home with vinyl siding and then replace the deck with composite, wood polymer or vinyl decking material.

However, it would probably be easiest (and more economical) to replace the rotten siding with a new wood panel then build a new deck with maintenance-free decking material.

Check out all the new composite, wood polymer and vinyl decking materials. Some brand names to look into are Certainteed, Choice Dek, Ez-Deck, E Wood, Noxwood, Rhino Deck, Timbertech, Trex and Weatherbest.

Ask for bids and discuss your project with several different deck building specialists to compare products as well as prices.

Kathy Maynard has been matching homeowners with home improvement contractors since 1990 and has written scores of articles advising homeowners how to find, hire and work with reputable service professionals. She also authors Weekend Warrior, a weekly home improvement column in The Sacramento Bee.