decking or paving or composite decking?

[wethree]

please help me! So we THOUGHT we wanted a nice bit of raised wooden decking to flow 'artfully' outside from our kitchen (which has wood look Amtico) to bring the outside in... as they say. turns out wooden decks rot, harbour rats and require cleaning and maintenance rather often. which doesn't really appeal, if i'm honest.

one chap suggested a composite deck material (faux wood, made mostly of plastic) samples arrived and its really rather nice to look at.. however, online again, reveals other problems with this (surfaces can flake, get mouldy and it can trap moisture in the wooden support frame and make that rot) and so now I'm not sure whether to have a slightly raised patio built instead of a deck, I'm only talking about 6 inches high. does anyone have any experience or feedback to offer me?

I'm talking about an area about 4m x 3m. please help! we've saved up the money to do this and now, after waiting 7 years, we don't actually know what we want done anymore!

[aircooled]

On holiday in the US, I discovered that composite decking melts when a disposable BBQ gets hotter than expected...

[echt]

I've never really "got" the qualms about rats under the decking in the UK. I'm in Melbourne, my house is on stumps, on a hill, so the underside has horizontal planks to stop the rats from getting in. My guess is any self-respecting rat could squeeze itself through the gap and get under the house. They are there, I assume.

Ah, I've discovered the flaw in my reasoning: the vast majority of Aussie houses do not have cellars, so there is no communication between the potentially ratty undercroft, and the house itself.

I'll get me coat.