Building an attached pergola. What is the correct way to ensure I get the two outter posts square to the house and that the entire pergola is square? Also -- what's the easiest method to ensure I get the posts at the correct height? I plan on digging the hole to the depth that I need (versus trying to cut the 8x8 post to the exact height). Thanks

I am getting ready to put a new surface material and new railing systems on my existing 600 sq. foot. deck. I've read huge amounts of promotional material from all the manufacturers/suppliers of decking, be it composite, wood, even aluminum. I've plowed through tons of "customer reviews" of many of these materials. Every material has its detractors, it seems. This one scratches too easily, that one is prone to black mold, the other one changes color, that other other one has no warranty, blah, blah, blah. It is almost impossible to choose what's best for my application using just those sources. Does anyone know of any place on the net where there is a fairly comprehensive, rigorous test of a variety of materials by an independent testing operation? I am not a member of Consumer Reports, but I understand from reading some contractor comments that they have done some comparisons but arrived at Trex as a top performer. Based on the contractor comments, this result was challenged as Trex has its own set of problems with scratching, fading, mold, etc. Any other side by side tests around? Please note that my post doesn't seek your personal experience with any particular material, just a suggestion where I might find some good testing of a variety of materials.