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Terrace floors : wood versus composite
BEAUTY WITHOUT BOUNDS COMPOSITE INSTEAD OF HARDWOOD FOR THE CLASSIC TERRACE
Photo – La San Marco Profili
Clients want an attractive outdoor terrace and wood probably springs to mind first. Yet several alternatives do exist which have been on the market for many years now, so the choice does extend beyond tropical hardwood. Broadly speaking, we can also tell clients that a composite terrace is certainly worth considering. Alternatively, they can even opt for thermally treated wood, which is basically a soft sort of wood artificially ‘upgraded’ by means of a treatment. In this article we consider particularly the benefits and drawbacks of composite terraces as compared to wood. We hope this will help parquet fitters to determine the ideal outdoor floor for their clients.
What is composite? Obviously, we need to make it clear what a composite material for use as a terrace actually is. In short, you could say it’s a material which reconciles the positive features of wood and synthetics. Composite is a mix of synthetics and wood or bamboo fibres. This means there are two sorts of composite planks, namely WPC (wood plastic composite) and BPC (bamboo plastic composite). What this amounts to is that during production the wood or bamboo fibres are mixed with synthetic grains before the mixture is sprayed into a cast under heavy pressure.
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Floor Forum International 114
WPC consists mainly of wood fibres and recycled polyethylene. The wood fibres usually come from saw mills, furniture factories, or other woodwork industries (e.g. laminate or parquet makers). The principle is that the more wood fibre is used, the harder and stiffer the end product will be. BPC is produced in exactly the same way as WPC, but, obviously, bamboo is the main component instead of wood fibre. Using bamboo makes this product a little more expensive since bamboo fibres cost more than wood fibre. However, BPC has the advantage of being both harder and stronger than WPC.
Benefits and drawbacks Generally speaking, a composite terrace can stand up better to natural tensile forces. This is because the synthetics keep the fibres together and ensure that the material can withstand pushing forces. Moreover, you also have the obvious benefit that a composite terrace preserves the warm and natural look of wood and requires much less maintenance than wood. Sweeping, brushing or spraying with the garden hose from time to time will suffice to remove leaves, sand, and dirt. Other big advantages of composite are that it doesn’t go mouldy or rot, it is insect-proof, it has a long lifespan, and it can often be fully recycled. For the rest it is splinter-proof and, thanks to a special finish, the surface can be made anti-slip in all seasons. Finally, you also have to consider
