Just finishing building the railings for our new deck. I went with Cedar for the entire deck for the following reason:
With composite, I would need to wash with mold cleaning detergents once or twice a year and hose down afterwards. Probably 1 day work each time. With Cedar with SuperDeck stain product, I will have to wash once a year, then every 2-3 years, wash and use a brightener, then restain. Overall, 1-2 days work on average per year (SuperDeck does not require sanding prior to reapplication), with perhaps 1-2 days to reapply stain every 2-3 yrs.
Cedar remains cooler even in very warm temps, whereas composites usually get very hot to walk on when hot summer days arrive.
Cedar has that beautiful smell after each rain, that gives it that special something. Plus the natural wood feel and texture is great.
Plus, I can customer design my railing (can customer route designs/edges/patterns, etc) with cedar material.
Of course, Composite does have some nice points, but many people consider it maintenance free. It isn't. No deck material is. It does require a wash with mold inhibitors/cleaners to prevent black spotting under humid conditions, you can't refinish it if you do stain it with BBQ grease, wine, etc. The newer PVC decking does resist this better, but most composites on the market do not.
I've always liked the natural wood look smell, and feel better than plastic/composite, etc. But just my 2cents.
