Our homes lower deck is Red Meranti and it has held up pretty poorly compared to what I expected and was led to believe. The end grain was also sealed with the proper sealant. I did everything on this deck by the book... I put a lot of work into it and I will be lucky to see it last 10 - 11 years and still be in a presentable state. Lots of cracks and checking, never again will I use Red Meranti...... In contrast the upper deck is still white cedar and still looking okay at year 18. I meant to do both at the same time but ran out of time and never got back to the cedar decking.. The fact that white cedar has held up better than the Red Meranti is pretty bad... Synthetic decking for us next round...