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> Seems like a perfect use for the material.

Provided they don’t get too much sun, because those dense plastic planks get much hotter than wood (I’ve measured 65C on mine). A deck is not much good if you can’t stand on it.

Also they’re expensive and don’t look very good.

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I think some of the Trex looks pretty good, they're definitely not all the same. If you do go this route then you will need an outdoor rug on the planks if it gets direct sun though. They're just way too hot otherwise, as you've stated. But throw a nice outdoor rug down and it's problems solved.

Which is also why it’s critical that they be installed with a gap between the boards (Kreg makes a useful set of spacers and drill jig to hide the screws). Otherwise expansion will destroy the deck.

Oh, mine have spaces and all (the very-expensive, not-optional mounting clips create the requisite spacing). They're just hot. Google "composite deck heat" etc will find lots of people complaining about it.

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