Name:   Summer Lover - Subject:   Composite wood for pier Date:   8/24/2023 1:10:25 PM

Sorry about being late to the party, but my $200 ($.02 adjusted for Brandon's inflation).

After replacing 5/4 treated decking boards more times than I wanted, when we had Sunrise Docks add a boat lift and rebuild our peir in 2020, we went with MoistureShield Vantage and are very pleased.  We recently had a deck added to our house and used the same material on it and a new set of steps to the porch.  

Cons: Yes, it is much hotter than wood, but we just throw a couple of buckets of water over it if we are going to be on the peir.  Cost is higher, but if you factor in having to start replacing boards after a year - purchased from Russell and Home Despot - I feel it is cost effective.  Joist spacing is 16" O.C. max, but that is not a big deal.

Pros: It is stable.  Put it down and you don't have to worry about shrinkage from all sides.  I had treated decking shrink so much that the ends of 16' boards were almost totally off the rim joist in less than a year.  There is no "top" or "bottom" on the Vantage, so if you have some 45^o cuts, you can flip the board and lose no material.   

MoistureShield does have a CoolDeck version that is supposed to help with thee heat, but we did not go that route.  Perhaps it would be the best way to go.