Skip Hardwood And Consider This Eco-Friendly Alternative When Building A Deck

A deck adds useful outdoor space but the material you choose has an impact on you and the environment. For instance, ipe is a durable hardwood that is commonly used to build decks but this type of wood is slow-growing, making it a less eco-friendly choice. In addition, it's expensive and requires regular oiling. Pine and cedar are two types of faster-growing softwoods commonly used for decking but they require a lot of maintenance to withstand constant weather exposure.

If you want to build the perfect deck, consider building one with bamboo. Bamboo is a sturdy but eco-friendly alternative for deck material that is both long-lasting and good for the environment. It grows very quickly — at a rate up of up to 23 inches per day — making it a fast-renewing resource. With such a fast growth rate, a bamboo plant will grow to maturity in about 5 years. On the other hand, a hardwood tree may take 25 to 30 years to fully mature. The much faster regeneration rate of bamboo means that new plants can replace harvested plants much more quickly than what it takes to replace a hardwood tree that is cut down for building material.

Bamboo is a renewable, lightweight alternative to hardwood decking material but it doesn't fall short in terms of durability. It's considered to be denser and stronger than even some hardwoods, including ipe. Plus, bamboo has natural fire-resistant properties. To design your home with sustainable materials and make the most of the benefits of bamboo as an eco-friendly deck alternative, you should look for solid bamboo decking material. This material fuses together layers of bamboo, making the boards strong and durable enough to stand up to the elements. Composite bamboo, which is bamboo fused with resin, is another weather-resistant alternative to consider.

The most important thing to maintain a bamboo deck is to keep it clean. Make sure that you regularly remove mold or mildew from your deck surface. And while you don't need to oil the deck, you can do so to maintain the color of your bamboo. However, make sure that you don't use a water-based or acrylic stain on this type of deck. Then it'll be functional and offer curb appeal for years to come.