Plastic lumber
is also known as composite lumber, because it is made with various
substances that improves upon the material’s strength and
durability. This material often uses recycled plastic components,
making for an environment friendly building material. Moreover, it
can withstand wet weather more readily and efficiently than ordinary
lumber.
Single
Polymer
As the name
implies, single polymer plastic wood is made up of just one type of
plastic. The material commonly uses recycled high density
polyethylene or HDPE, which is also used to make detergent bottles
and plastic bags. Thanks to its composition, single polymer plastic
is more consistent than other plastic lumber materials.
Bio-Composite
Essentially,
the components of bio-composite plastic lumber include shredded wood,
flax, straw, rice hulls, and similar materials, which are embedded in
a thermoplastic matrix. However, as these materials have short
fibers, bio-composite materials tend to weaker than wood. This is why
bio-composite plastic lumber must have about 50% or less of these
short fiber materials to be considered plastic wood.
Fiberglass
Reinforced
Fiberglass is
an excellent building material as it can significantly improve the
strength of the material it’s added to without significantly
increasing its weight. Hence, fiberglass-reinforced wood sees plenty
of use in tall buildings, marine equipment and structures, and even
massive load bearing structures, thanks to its outstanding
properties.
