diff --git a/lib/preferences/preference_definition.rb b/lib/preferences/preference_definition.rb
index b27ae26..a404a8c 100644
--- a/lib/preferences/preference_definition.rb
+++ b/lib/preferences/preference_definition.rb
@@ -2,47 +2,41 @@ module Preferences
   # Represents the definition of a preference for a particular model
   class PreferenceDefinition
     # The data type for the content stored in this preference type
-    attr_reader :type
-    
+    attr_reader :type, :name
+
     def initialize(name, *args) #:nodoc:
       options = args.extract_options!
       options.assert_valid_keys(:default, :group_defaults)
-      
-      @type = args.first ? args.first.to_sym : :boolean
-      
-      @klass = "ActiveRecord::Type::#{@type.to_s.classify}".constantize.new
-      # Create a column that will be responsible for typecasting
-      @column = ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::Column.new(name.to_s, options[:default], @type == :any ? nil : @klass)
+
+      type = args.first ? args.first.to_sym : :boolean
+      type = :string if @type == :any
+
+      @type = ActiveRecord::Type.lookup(type)
+      @name = name
+      @default = options[:default]
 
       @group_defaults = (options[:group_defaults] || {}).inject({}) do |defaults, (group, default)|
         defaults[group.is_a?(Symbol) ? group.to_s : group] = type_cast(default)
         defaults
       end
     end
-    
-    # The name of the preference
-    def name
-      @column.name
-    end
-    
+
     # The default value to use for the preference in case none have been
     # previously defined
     def default_value(group = nil)
-      @group_defaults.include?(group) ? @group_defaults[group] : @column.default
+      @group_defaults.include?(group) ? @group_defaults[group] : @default
     end
-    
+
     # Determines whether column backing this preference stores numberic values
     def number?
-      @column.number?
+      @type.is_a?(ActiveRecord::Type::Integer)
     end
-    
+
     # Typecasts the value based on the type of preference that was defined.
-    # This uses ActiveRecord's typecast functionality so the same rules for
-    # typecasting a model's columns apply here.
     def type_cast(value)
-      @type == :any ? value : @column.type_cast_from_database(value)
+      @type.deserialize(value)
     end
-    
+
     # Typecasts the value to true/false depending on the type of preference
     def query(value)
       if !(value = type_cast(value))