Why Build an Environmentally Friendly Deck with composite materials

Spring is just around the corner and with it comes visions of the great outdoors. Now is the time to plan and build a deck that will extend living spaces to the outdoors and create an environmentally friendly and easy to care for space to entertain friends and family.
Adding any deck can make your home feel brand new, and you can take advantage of previously unused outdoor spaces.
I know when you say environmentally friendly you are saying different things to different people. Environmentally friendly to one means using natural renewable products like Cedar wood, to another it means using products that utilize recycled materials. Whichever way you’re thinking leans, we agree we are not talking about vinyl materials or woods that have been chemically treated with preservatives.
I personally like the natural wood decks that have natural preservatives in them like Western Red Cedar but there are a number of composite deck materials on the market today that are starting to give the natural woods a run for their money.
These composite materials have several advantages over the natural woods not least of which is the low maintenance factor. They are usually made with recycled hardwood bound together with recycled plastic. Some of them look like wood and you often can work with them as you would with a natural wood product, though some do need to be treated slightly different.
Here are some reasons for building with a low maintenance composite material.
1. Its good for the environment. Using a composite product made from recycled hardwood and plastic keeps material out of the land fills, is again recyclable, and lasts for years.
2. Low maintenance decking products eliminate the annual need for staining or painting. They only need the occasional sweep or spray with a garden hose without all the maintenance and hassle of traditional wood materials. That way you can then spend time enjoying your deck rather than working to maintain it year after year.
3. Newer composite decking surfaces will not crack or splinter like natural wood decks so they are even safer with no worries about injuries caused by these natural wood materials problems.
4. Composite decking resists stains (though some composite products can stain) and spills wipe up easily.
5. Composite products are less expensive then a natural Cedar wood deck though they are more money then the chemically treated materials but they will look great and last a lot longer and are worth the investment.
6. A deck can decrease the expanse of lawn and thus reduce the need to fertilize which is not good for the environment and the need to water which is both getting costly and also hard on the environment.
7. With fuel prices rising and travel becoming more expensive why not take a vacation in your own backyard. A deck can create an outdoor living space that makes being in the yard feel like a retreat everyday.
Now is the time to take an environmentally responsible step by creating a great outdoor entertaining space which includes a permanent home for your BBQ next to your patio table and comfortable deck chairs. While you are at it why not get some new wood outdoor patio furniture to complete your deck from “Teaks n more” or “Outdoor Cedars” our two outdoor and patio furniture stores. Some content and thoughts courtesy of ARA content
environmentally friendly "by the yard"