<p>We found that our old wood steps were actually slipperier than our new Trex steps. The wood would get impregnated with wet, sort of slimy stuff and were very dangerous. The Trex is textured, and does not soak in the moisture.</p>
<p>We have an Evergrain double-decker porch on our Victorian rowhouse and love it. The floor is a gray, driftwood color, and we added a painted wood railing (cream) with nice finials and painted the trim medium sage green. Otherwise it’s all composite. I haven’t noticed that it’s slippery. </p>
<p>The maintenance difference is like night and day, but be aware that there is maintenance. Ours has the wood-grain effect, so there’s a slight texture (maybe that’s why it’s not slippery). Dirt and pollen gather in the grain, so about once every two weeks I turn the regular hose sprayer on full-force and blast it off. The manufacturer’s brochure says to do a heavy-duty wash once a year. We use a power-washer attachment that meets the manufacturer’s pressure recommendation. All of this is not a big deal when you think of what you have to do with a wooden porch that’s in the shade and gets slimy.</p>
<p>As MOWC says, I am concerned about the upper porch degrading, because it gets full sun. We don’t use it, though, so there’s no stress on the boards. It’s there because we’re in a historic district, and it really does belong on the house. Other people who aren’t sun-averse might like to spend time out there!</p>
<p>trex. you will hardly have to do anything to it</p>
<p>Wood has been used to build porches for a long, long time. A wooden porch can be very durable. However, the wood species, the design, and the installation techniques all matter. You’ll see wooden porch balusters that are attached at the top by stapling down through the top rail, and at the bottom by toenailing down into the bottom rail. This provides entry points for moisture. The builder may putty over the holes, but eventually as the wood expands and contracts, the putty loosens, water gets in, and the wood rots. A better way is to drive screws up through the underside of the bottom rail, and down through a subrail that is completely covered by the handrail. This way, no penetrations are exposed. In addition, the bottom rail should be angled to shed water down and away from both sides of the balusters. </p>
<p>Plastic has its own issues (thermal expansion and contraction, deterioration from UV exposure.) Either wood or plastic can be done right or done wrong. Plastic may be the more forgiving choice these days (especially if you aren’t installing in a very hot, sunny location).</p>
<p>Right, this is a shaded porch. It gets little sun. My H has been replacing the wood boards by nailing them from the top. Probably not the best approach. That fantasy that people have about a big wraparound porch? Ugh.</p>
<p>We replaced ours with trex-like material about 8 years ago. Hubby went into Home Depot to look, and someone ordered the custom material and never went and picked it up. It was for a deck much larger than ours, but we bought the entire order at a huge discount. So go check the big box stores and see if there are any deals to be had.</p>
<p>One of the things I hated about the wood deck was the splinters! It’s so nice to have the soft material under your feet and be able to walk on it barefoot.</p>