Fly ash deck planks
April 27th, 2009 in Blogs
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I know what you’re thinking:
“Oh brother…how much can these guys at Fine Homebuilding tell us about synthetic decking?”
Well, at least one more thing, apparently. But first a recap of what you (should) already know…
Those that read Chris Green’s excellent article, Synthetic Decking Takes Off, learned that the biggest names in synthetic decking -- Trex, WeatherBest (now Fiberon), TimberTech, etc -- use wood as a filler material. These Wood-Plastic Composites (WPCs) are often criticized for moisture problems associated with the wood filler, both in manufacturing and in use.
Chris’ article also taught you about a growing segment of the market, chiefly represented by Eon, Bear Board, Deck Lok, and ProCell (now Azek) devoted to Wood-Free Plastics (WFPs). But the downfall of these WFPs is that they are often more expensive (solid plastic = big bucks), and even a full 2x6 plank can still only span 16” o.c. (in some cases not more than 12” o.c., actually).
Well, the game is changing again. Mike Guertin (who constantly stumbles upon these new products that would otherwise remain hidden in the far reaches of the World Wide Web) told me about a California-based company called LifeTime Composites, which has created a deck plank using a 60/40 combination of fly ash (instead of wood) and polyurethane. The polyurethane is nothing new, but the fly ash--which is a byproduct captured from the chimneys of coal-firing power plants and has been used in other building materials like portland cement for similar purposes--has, as far as I know, never been used for decking.
We haven’t had a chance to play with the LifeTime Lumber deck planks yet, but the company claims the boards can be worked with all the same tools used with conventional decking, and can be fastened with either nails (gasp!) or screws without pre-drilling. It’s available in the standard 5/4x6 planks that can span 16” o.c., but the exciting part is that the 2x6 planks can span 24” o.c. - a feat that is hard to achieve in the world of synthetic decking.
The product is LEED certified by USGBC.
posted in: Blogs, green building, remodeling, water and moisture control, deck, site work, lumber
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