January, 2009

Part I: All-Plastic Decking

By John Wagner

The decking market is expected to grow by about 20% annually to become a 3.6-billion-lineal-foot industry by 2011, according to Cleveland-based Freedonia Group, which track these trends.

This offers dealers a clear opportunity: You can sell good-margin, low-maintenance products to receptive customers, who are willing to pay for premium products that they will proudly display in high-profile areas of their homes.

Industry trend watchers see decking as a unique breakout category, with its own breed of specialty decking contractors, much as we see with roofing or foundation work. Though decking is still a product that most general contractors offer, you are seeing an increased number of specialty deck-only operations, and there is a great opportunity for dealers to cater to them.

Decking in the broadest sense of the word now includes four categories of products: All-plastic decking, Wood, Composites, and—and increasingly uncommon—aluminum. This month, let’s look at all-plastic decking products.

Different from “composite decking,” which contains plastic and fiber, all-plastic decking products break down into sub categories. The products differentiate themselves from one another by the source and type of plastic, and sometimes by the plastic’s recyclability.

The most popular choices of deck plastics break out into five categories.

1) Common HDPE (#2, milk jugs)

2) Recycled high-density polyethylene plastic (ReHDPE)

3) Polypropylene (think Tupperware)

4) Solid polyvinyl chloride a.k.a. PVC

5) Cellular PVC (polyvinyl chloride with a foaming agent).

(It important to know the difference between the types of plastic, because they are also used in composite decking.)

With so many kinds of plastic, manufacturers of all-plastic decks will point out differences in the plastics they use, especially where the plastics come from. Marketers of decking will take great pride in features like “virgin plastic,” or a high percentage of “post consumer resins” (PCR), and even “100% recyclable.” Also, since plastic decking can be manufactured through extrusion (that is, product that is pushed through a mold), even the speed of extrusion can be a selling factor, because a product that is extruded too quickly is considered poorer quality.

Two Common Plastics

Whether you are dealing with all-plastic decking or composites, HDPE is the most commonly used product. It performs very well in most situations, and expands only along its length, like vinyl siding. Plus, it does not swell, as many lumber products will. Manufacturers argue that it retains color well. Plus, the all-plastic product is entirely recyclable.

Another product, all-plastic PVC decking generally provides better fade-, stain-, mold- and scratch-resistance than many composite decking products. But PVC decking has been getting slammed for the toxicity of the manufacturing process, which can release mercury and dioxin. However, there is a “green” case to be made for PVC’s performance and durability, and it goes like this: If you use PVC, you are less likely to harvest, manufacture, and ship replacement products, which therefore makes PVC is a viable alternative to wood.

Another kind of PVC decking is cellular PVC decking and it has gotten a great deal of attention lately. Cellular PVC decking is manufactured though a foaming extrusion process. The foam creates air bubbles within the deck board, and the resulting product is a product that is about half as dense as PVC. As the material cools, it forms a hard skin that is highly stable and non-absorbent. In fact, it can’t even be painted. Cellular PVC weighs about the same as softwood, and it can be formed with wood grain textures.

Check in with this column next month for the second of a four-part series on decking alternatives.

The award-winning author of many articles and books—and a sought-after green trainer and keynote speaker for dealer events— JOHN D. WAGNER is the Green Editor for LBM Journal and the content manager for the Certified Green Dealer Program. Contact John: John.Wagner@LBMJournal.com. Or visit his website: www.JohnDWagner.com