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Most decks are made of pressure treated pine. Good quality treated pine will last forty years or so before there is any substantial decay. However, discoloration and splintering can begin after only a few months. For this reason, most people take on a regular cycle of maintenance. Failure to do so won't cause your deck to rot, but your deck will most certainly become discolored and the surface will become rough and prone to splinters.
There are new decking material options. Several companies make new decking materials that don't splinter and don't require painting or sealing. Most are made of plastic or a blend of wood and plastic. While widespread experience with the products is just now occurring, results look very promising. Even though they are initially more expensive than the traditional wood products, they offer large savings over time due to reduced maintenance costs.
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The eastern part of the commonwealth (its official designation), including the Cape Cod peninsula and the islands lying off it to the south—the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket—is a low coastal plain. In this area short, swift rivers such as the Merrimack have long supplied industry with power, and an indented coastline provides many good natural harbors, with Boston a major U.S. port. In the interior rise uplands separated by the rich Connecticut River valley, and farther west lies the Berkshire valley, surrounded by the Berkshire Hills, part of the Taconic Mts. The western streams feed both the Hudson and the Housatonic rivers. The state has a mean altitude of c.500 ft (150 m), and Mt. Greylock in the Berkshires is the highest point (3,491 ft/1,064 m). The climate is variable.
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