Hey guys,

I just had Home Depot out to look at putting an 7' x 18' deck up
against part of my above ground pool (in New Hampshire).

They talk about how their decks aren't built in the traditional
fashion, how they are all free standing decks with no load placed on
the ledger board, how their posts are 3 2x6s fastened together in the
factory, not 4x4s, how it they are designed like a bridge where all
loads are distributed through the structure instead of the typical
shearing load placed on the ledger board on my traditional decks, yada
yada yada.

I'm an engineer... and yes, most of their ideas and methods do seem
ultra beefy and very solid. It makes a lot of sense, and it has to,
since they have a lifetime guarantee to support.

My question is... the thing is extremely pricey. We haven't gotten
other quotes, but I guarantee they'll be less than this deck assuming
a traditional build.

I just wanted to see if anyone out there has had one of these decks
put in and what they can tell me about them. Is it worth the extra
cost?... is it all a lot of hype?... are traditional builds really
that much worse?

Thanks,

G