Plastic LumberPlastic lumber has been available for a number of years now. It is steadily gaining acceptance as a viable option for construction projects in both residential and commercial applications. It is gaining popularity for decks, fences, out-door furniture and playground applications. It has a number of advantages: • It does not rot or split. • It comes in a variety of colours that are already fixed into the material, thus not requiring stain or paint. This in itself is a good environmental advantage. • It is usually made from recycled plastics, reducing the impact on land-fill sites. • It reduces the number of trees that are cut down to produce lumber for decks, fences, and out-door furniture and play-ground equipment. . • It requires no maintenance, such as restaining repainting or replacement of rotting sections. • It does not delaminate • It does not become infested by ants or other insects • Finally, when you are finished with it you can send it to be recycled into new products. Some manufacturers offer up to 50 year warrantees. There are extra considerations when using it as a building material for decks, because of expansion and contraction due to response to temperature changes. It needs to be secured to a floating framework that is on top of the support framework of the deck. It must have the ability to expand or contract according to temperature or there will be complications. It can’t be used as a structural material. It can be used as decking or railing or fencing material provided it has the structural support of solid wood. It can even be used as trim around windows, doors etc.
It is slightly more expensive than cedar but will last 2 or 3 atimes as long and does not need paint or finish so in the longrun it is significantly cheaper.
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plastic lumber
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