New uses for composite building materials

Orlando, Fla. — After 20 years as decking, composite wood boards by Fiberon are finding new uses as cladding for rain screen systems, which help walls manage moisture.

The New London, N.C.-based manufacturer's Symmetry and Horizon decking lines, which are made from recycled polyethylene and wood scraps, are both suitable for rain screen walls, Fiberon Sales Director Bill Ross said at the International Builders' Show.

“We're taking a product for decking and using it in a similar application that's vertical,” Ross said.

Decking manufacturers touted various benefits to differentiate their products as economists forecast a 10 percent increase in single-family housing starts to 855,000 units and remodeling activity to moderate in 2017 after three years of strong growth.

As they compete in a shrinking field, Tamko is out with three capped decks, MoistureShield is demonstrating its cool deck technology and Trex is offering more cabinetry for outdoor kitchens.

Last year it was cellular PVC deck maker Azek that announced it was entering the siding category with a product that has twice the impact resistance of fiber cement and 40 percent less weight.

Now it's Fiberon offering an alternative wood product for modern looking rain screen systems, which are made up of a water-resistant barrier (WRB), an air gap between the WRB and the back of the cladding, and weep holes at the bottom. Rain screen walls promote drainage and air flow, which prevents moisture build up that can be absorbed by sheathing and framing and lead to structural damage.

An air space as small as 3/8 inch enables adequate drainage and drying while equalizing air pressure inside and outside of a house during heavy rains.

“There's less pressure inside a house when there's a storm than there is outside. The water isn't pushed in. It doesn't trickle in. It's actually invited into the house,” Ross said. “Having the space cancels that. It brings an equilibrium of pressure on both sides so even with a driving rain at an angle, very little gets inside and then it drains down the back. It virtually eliminates rot, mold and mildew. And in the summer, because of convection, the house is cooler and less expensive to cool.”

In addition to performance, using a compression molded cladding that comes in eight hardwood colors with embossed grain patterns gives architects and builders a lot of design possibilities.

“This look is very contemporary and I think we'll see it grow,” Ross said. “This will be a significant growth opportunity for the industry. It's popping up in places you'd never expect it, like New England. It's big commercially with Starbucks, Marriott, Hilton and a lot of multi-family developments.”

Fiberon cladding also has eco-friendly qualities. Not only does it contain 94 percent pre- and post-consumer recycled content from items like medicine bottles and plastic sheeting, it contains no toxic chemicals or preservatives and releases no carcinogens during cutting.

In addition to cladding, Fiberon is out with a new composite decking line made from recycled carpeting called Relax that is priced to compete with wood. Relax retails for about $1.50 a lineal foot.

“If you're making a decision to put down a new 200-square-foot deck, our product costs less than the stain you'll buy for a wood deck,” Ross said. “It's virtually cost neutral.”

He isn't concerned about a dwindling carpet feedstock as the flooring material loses market share to products like luxury vinyl tile.

“We can mine it from landfills if we need to,” Ross said. “It's not an infinite amount but it's more than we'd be able to consume.”

With estimated sales of $175 million, Fiberon is No. 24 among North American pipe, profile and tubing producers according to the latest Plastics News ranking.

Azek, which started offering cladding last year, is No. 13. Owned by CPG International LCC, the Skokie, Ill.-based company had estimated sales of $310 million.

“We're down to the top three players having about 86 percent of the market,” Ross said of synthetic decking. “That's Trex, CPG and ourselves. We're about the same size as CPG if you take out the trim and other stuff.”

With sales of $440.8 million, composite wood deck maker Trex Co. Inc. ranks No. 9. The Winchester, Va.-based company has been focused on outdoor entertaining and storage at the last couple IBS events.

Trex has a license agreement with NatureKast, a Freeport, Fla.-based compression molder that uses high density, closed cell polyurethane to make weatherproof cabinets that match its partner's colors for Transcend decking, which is made of recycled PE and wood filler. The cabinet interiors and drawer boxes have PVC on the side walls and bottoms.

Sink and grill bases designed to hide plumbing and propane hookups while providing space to keep food prep essentials were highlighted this year. The outdoor kitchen line also includes wall-mounted TV cabinets, pull-out ice coolers, bench drawers and hampers.

“Our goal is to bring an indoor look to the outdoors,” Mike Vahrmeyer, NatureKast's vice president of operations and finance, said at IBS. “We're using Trex colors but a different resin to do it. It's not a composite like theirs. It's a polyurethane resin but it has the same characteristics in terms of performing outdoors and the same warranty.”

NatureKast has doubled its workforce to 40 since the beginning of 2016 to keep up with sales not only to Trex but high-end boutique shops that offer kitchen cabinetry, Vahrmeyer said.

Tamko has come out with a line of capped composite decking called Envision that it is offering in price points of good (Expression), better (Inspiration) and best (Distinction) but unlike the extruded competition, the boards are compression molded.

Compression molding leaves a deeper grain and better board variation, according to Brian Lowry, senior director of decking and railing.

“There are constraints in extrusion with die patterning,” he said at IBS. “The repeating pattern comes quickly. With our process, it does not. You don't get a repeat for about 10-11 boards. It spreads the pattern way out. Our customers have come to appreciate that difference.”

Tamko has been compression molding an uncapped line of decking called EverGrain for about 17 years and it remains popular, he added.

“There's still a very healthy market for that,” Lowry said. “We believed then as we do now that the grain is what distinguishes us. I can't speak as to why competitors had to cap their products but I can tell you we still have our uncapped product and it does wonderful. There was demand for us to move into the capped market as well so we created a family of three capped products.”

The decking is manufactured in Lamar, Mo.

MoistureShield will have two brands of decking using its proprietary cooling technology by the end of the first quarter. The line that's out already is called Infuse.

Owned by Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc., the company and and its partners came up with a way to optimize heat reflection with a trademarked coextrusion manufacturing process called Co-X, according to a news release.

At IBS, booth visitors were asked to touch the surfaces of decking samples placed under a heat lamp. The Infuse sample felt cooler and a temperature reading indicated its surface was 136° F, compared to 190° F for the competitor.

The cooler temperature means end users will be more comfortable on their decks in bare feet and will be able to enjoy that outdoor space more hours every day, AERT President Randy Gottlieb said.

“We're not guaranteeing it will be absolutely cool. What we guarantee is that it absorbs 35 percent less heat,” Gottlieb said.

The products with cool deck technology will be priced similarly to the highest selling competitor.

“There is such an inherent need for this,” Gottlieb said. “The industry has been looking for an answer and I think we're the first to come up with it. We've had a lot of excited customers come through.”

With sales of $76 million, AERT ranked No. 48 by Plastics News.