At ecollo the search for the truth is never ending and both sides of the story is always valuable. In the past I wrote an article about composite decking that was based off a few sources that were quite negative on the product. Since then I talked to a representative from a company that manufactures and sells the product and got a pile of new information.

Universal Forest Products is one of the largest suppliers of lumber products in North America. They provide several products including wood alternatives to construction markets and DIY home centers. Recently they were awarded the Forest Stewardship Council’s Chain of Custody certification which means they’re manufacturing plants only use lumber from well managed forests around the world. Remember, wood is renewable as long as the forests it comes from are managed properly. As for composite decking or wood alternative decking UFP is one of the major suppliers to Home Depot providing the Veranda line of decking.

Here is quick recap of the composite decking world. The first products were developed back in the 80’s and one of the first big companies was Trex. Widespread use and commercial viability didn’t come until the 90’s and along the way there were problems with early versions of the product, for instance, which ever color you started with they all faded to grey over time. Since then the products have been refined and problems have been ironed out to the point today where you have a very durable and long lasting product.

Most composite decking products are manufactured using wood dust waste left over from other lumber products plus High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) which by the way is a #2 recyclable plastic. So, when using wood alternative products you are getting your environmental value out of the fact that industry by-products are used to build it plus your product is going to last a long time and will not need emission emitting stains or paints to protect it.

As far as maintenance goes there is some involved and this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that owns a home. Everything around the house needs general maintenance and upkeep to prolong it’s life from roofing to siding to landscaping, and composite decking is no exception. It’s true, they don’t need stains or waterproofing but they can absorb stains if you spill something and don’t clean it within a reasonable time period. There are products on the market that can remove older stains. As for mold, this is rarely a problem with the product but the location. Let’s face it, mold grows on just about any surface if it’s wet, shady and doesn’t ever get a chance to dry out. When composite decking is replaced it’s usually the result of aesthetics not structural integrity, the home has changed hands and the new owner has different ideas.

All in all I’d say things are looking up for composites, I’m definitely going to check out these products for my own deck project next summer.

» Universal Forest Products

If you’ve got a back yard you probably have a deck of some sort and decks mean wood or do they? My deck is about 25 years old and is starting to rot out in certain spots so I have been looking at different options for repair or replacement. Composite decking is one of the choices I’ve seen more often lately and would appear to be a green option. The reason I thought of it as a Green choice is because it uses less wood products, it’s actually made of vinyl and leftover wood pulp and is supposed to be maintenance free. After some research it may not be as green a choice as I originally thought.

Here are a few reasons why composite decking might be considered un-green.

Low Maintenance?
The talk is that composite decking is maintenance free, well this is apparently not true. Over time, maybe as little time as a few years, composite decking can get very scratched up and start to look older than it’s actual age. There are products out there that will return some of the original look but these require a paint brush but that sounds like maintenance to me.

Will it look good forever
The boards are made of leftover pulp from trees that aren’t considered wet tolerant, such as pine. That means that any little bits of wood fiber exposed to the weather will be affected by the weather. Mold can be a major problem. Again there are products to prevent or repair this problem but once again that’s maintenance.

Cleaning or repair products
These products used for cleaning or repairing the composite are chemical based which is pretty much the opposite of green I’d say.

How Long Do They Really Last
Should an owner of composite decking decide that it doesn’t look good anymore and discard it then this product would last a long time in a landfill.

Based on this online research I’ve decided against this product but I would still like to talk to someone at a lumber yard to see how many complaints they’ve had. As it sits I’m still looking for alternatives for my deck repairs.

» Garden Structure