A: To prevent all wood rot problems in the future, you could re-side your entire home with vinyl siding and then replace the deck with composite, wood polymer or vinyl decking material. However, it would probably be easiest (and more economical) to replace the rotten siding with a new wood panel then build a new deck with maintenance-free decking material.

You'll want to do your homework to check out all the new composite, wood polymer and vinyl decking materials. Some brand names to look into are Certainteed, Choice Dek, Ez-Deck, E Wood, Noxwood, Rhino Deck, Timbertech, Trex and Weatherbest. I recommend asking for bids and discussing your project with several different deck building specialists to compare products as well as prices.

If you hire a general contractor to build the deck, he should also be able to replace that rotten siding, too. If you hire a sub-contractor who is licensed for landscaping or deck installation only, he may or may not be able to fix the siding, depending on his skill level and the licensing laws in your area.

To locate a reliable professional to build your deck, visit Home Advisor and enter a service request to be matched with the ideal service professional in your area.

by Kathy Maynard, reprinted courtesy of HomeAdvisor.com