Hello
 

Hi!,

I just signed up for ecomodds and stumbled upon a link to ecorenovator. So I'm really excited about contributing to this forum!:thumbup:

Welcome to ER, faq:)

Do you have any ecorenovations planned for your house?

Yes, I actually do. I have an old wooden patio, and I think that it's about time to get a new one or do some renovation on it. Our patio seems like it's starting to fall apart, and I was thinking about some different materials that I will be able to use. There's recently been a few families in my area that have been using a material that is a combination of wood and plastic. Are you familiar with this material?

I've seen it in the US, but the Wife and I regret that we can't find it in Europe.

I have a friend that built a deck out of it. THe cost was almost double that of cedar. It looks good and should last forever though. The biggest complaints in 2 years is that it grows a covering that needs scrubbed off yearly and that in the direct sun it gets too hot to stand on with barefeet. Way way hotter then wood in the same location. having seen it I'll go cedar if I need a deck.

But I would hate to cut down trees to make a new deck. My neighbor told me the other day that for this material they use wood chips and recycled plastic to make. I'm thinking if I can save a few trees, it'd b a good thing to do haha. Is there an easier way to deal with the covering that grows on the material?

Trex decks are made of plastic and they look like it. The trees that architectural lumber are cut from are mass produced and have much less embodied energy than plastic.

So, actually building a deck from architectural lumber is better and more sustainable?

If it's taken care of properly it probably is.

In that case, I will probably not use this material. But cutting down trees seems like the opposite of what people here are trying to do. Do you have any suggestions on decking materials?