From time to time, Re-nest will be looking at green deck materials. This post is the first in the series.
Bear Board is decking made from recycled HDPE plastic. That's high-density polyethelene—the stuff of milk jugs. It's relatively affordable and practical for decking, although it is not a direct replacement for wood.
Green Decking: Bear Board
The main difference is that HDPE lumber isn't as stiff as wood lumber. This opens up some possibilities for design, such as the curved bench shown above. It also means that decking either needs to be supported more frequently, or you need to use a larger size of board: for example, on a wood deck where you have a 2 x 4, you'll probably need a 2 x 6 piece of Bear Board.
Cost is similar to cedar or tropical wood, at around $3 to $4 a linear foot for a 2 x 6.
Plastic also expands and contracts due to temperature more than wood, so boards over 12' should be installed with a biscuit system rather than screws. This is similar to some tropical woods commonly used for decking.
Aside from being made from recycled plastic, the manufacturer of Bear Board will cut orders of over 50 boards to size so that you do not end up with waste on the job.
You can order Bear Board through Lowe's or direct through the company at their website.
Comments (3)
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here's one thing i would caution: i am not sure exactly what our decking (rental apt) is made of, but it is some sort of composite plastic (recycled?) sort of "lumber." It's nice, but a former roommate got some spray paint overspray on it (dumb) and called the manufacturer, who recommended goof-off to clean it (paint thinner would apparently melt the decking or something), and instead of taking the paint off, it stripped some of the color from the "boards" and left most of the paint on. The landlord realized that he'd have to replace so much of the deck just to replace those boards that it wasn't worth it, and now we have a 1-year-old deck that looks like crap.
if it were wood, we could have just sanded it off. so if you use this material, don't spill anything on it!
view akostalas's profile
Also keep in mind that most composite decking doesn't do well with spilled food. It will stain with any greasy food spills and probably a lot of other stain producing types of food.
view Kerstin's profile
I tend to worry about these composite materials and heat from the sun. I don't know if warping will be a problem but if it gets hot the little piggies of the little children will pay dearly. Real wood does not get hot. :)
view Alice's profile