Composite deck with hog-wire railing and cedar stairs — Vancouver, WA project

The walking surface is composite: dark, grooved boards that shed water and hold their color without the staining a wood deck asks for every few summers. They run over a cedar frame, with the rim and fascia boards in cedar and the fastener line kept straight along every course.

The railing is the detail that defines this deck. Cedar posts carry a wide cedar cap rail, and black hog-wire panels framed in cedar fill the bays between them — the view across the yard stays open, and the cedar matches the fence line and the patio cover the deck sits beside.

A cedar staircase with a cedar handrail runs from the deck down to the concrete walk, with composite treads to match the deck surface. Everything is cut tight and left to weather naturally alongside the existing cedar.