[Ecodek Vannplastic Ltd]

Its been a week now and still no reply from Mr Valente………. What does that say to you?

[Ecodek Vannplastic Ltd]

Would love to Leon!

Alex

Leon Atkins said:

Alex you said everything i was thinking but after the first bottle of wine thought i had better hold back. Maybe we can have a chin wagg at some time

regards 

Leon

[Ecodek Vannplastic Ltd]

Well, I suppose I should write a few words in defence of the composite decking manufacturers such as ourselves!

 

Firstly, in response to your 3 claims:

 

1) cheaper, better price decking – FALSE  – I don’t think anyone has ever stated that composite decking is a cheap option – it isn’t! Its comparable (in the UK at least) to a cheap hardwood but much more expensive than most softwoods.

 

2) no maintenance – FALSE – Wrong, the actual material itself does not require any maintenance in order to survive the 25 year warranty we offer – it will not become structurally un-sound (in normal environments) even if it is never maintained. However, it does need cleaning to keep it looking good and it’s always a good idea to maintain drainage/expansion gaps. But we would still uphold a warranty claim 24 years from date of install even if it had never been ‘maintained’. Also – in order to keep Ecodek looking good, the amount of time spent cleaning & caring for the deck is generally a lot less than for any timber decking.

 

3) 100% eco friendly because you can recycle it – FALSE – Wrong again, that’s complete rubbish when talking about polyolefin based composite decking products. You have obviously never been in a composite decking factory! We recycle all returns & scrap, we use HDPE as our base polymer which is recyclable many times. Even 25 yr old Ecodek scrap could be 100% recycled – Fact. (All the decking we have supplied to the Olympic Stadium will in fact be recycled and re-used by us at some point within the next 10 years.)

 

On a separate note, regarding your pictures. 2 of those pictures are of the same deck and that is a HOLLOW deck. Hollow decking is widely known as being inferior to solid composite decking due to the narrow wall sections, increased surface area and ability to trap water inside the boards. (see http://ecodek.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Solid-vs-Hollow-nopic.pdf )

There is also no way of knowing what base polymer was used, whether it contained UV additives, or most importantly, what wood percentage was used! I could show you plenty of pictures of warped/rotted/distorted timber decks if that’s what you want?

 

Your other photo is of TREX decking and they did have many problems in the early days due to using very poor quality polymers and also not having enough compression during the extrusion process.

With any new product development, mistakes are made which the manufacturers then learn from. (You seem to think that Mercedes are a quality product, well the cars they made  in the late 90’s are now total rust buckets due to a lack of chassis rust proofing during manufacture!)  There are still some manufacturers, especially in the Far East that do make inferior composites and every time I see their products, I despair. But if you buy a quality SOLID decking product from an established and well-known manufacturer, you will not have any problems.

 

One last point, it is always interesting to me when people such as yourself use negative marketing techniques to sell their products – All it does is show up the flaws in your own marketing strategy when the only way you can publicise your products is to slag off your competitors rather than shout about the merits of your own product.

 

If you’re ever in the area, I would be delighted to show you around our production facility and hopefully then you could understand that composites and timber both have their places in the market – we never sell our product as a wood ‘look-a-like’ it’s just an alternative.

 

Best regards

Alex Collins

Technical Director

Vannplastic Ltd, manufacturers of Ecodek wood/polymer composite profiles – The UK’s longest established and most successful composite decking manufacturer.

 

[Ecodek Vannplastic Ltd]

Hi Karl, yes we got 3 or 4 I think. Angela is dealing with them. I hope we are able to put business your way and theirs next year! – If anyone is reading this who has requested to be on our installer database and they are unsure as to whether they have been put on the database or not, please contact [email protected]

Thanks

Alex

[Ecodek Vannplastic Ltd]

Thanks for the plug Gary! We’re looking forward to supplying you in the new year.  Its quite amazing how interest for composite decking just grows and grows. Vannplastic Ltd have been manufacturing wood plastic composites since 2002 and Ecodek since 2004 and in that time we’ve seen sales grow every year between 30% – 100%. There’s a lot of exciting new projects on the way too, including a self assembly fence panel, multi-layered decking boards (to give different surface properties), other cladding profiles and many other bespoke profiles for specific customers.

[Ecodek Vannplastic Ltd]

Thanks Karl, We have recently had an incident where we had recommended an installer, that installer had done a shoddy job (not enough screws, incorrect bearer spacings etc). The installer seems to have now gone out of business and in un-contactable! The customer is (understandably) upset.

What we need are reliable, time served installers, who are willing to read & comply with the installation instructions. As you know, composite decking has to be fitted correctly to give the lifespan intended and we are seeing more & more cases of poor workmanship.

 

I would say that the main installation faults are:

1) No airflow under deck

2) Incorrect bearer spacings

3) Incorrect gapping

4) Insufficient screwing

5) Not screwing close enough to the end of the board

 

Over the last 10 years of composite decking manufacture & supply, we have learned a lot about the best methods of installation, care & maintenance. (By maintenance, I mean keeping gaps clear and cleaning.)

We have a number of good & reliable installers that we can call upon, but are always looking for more. We would of course, need to assess any applicants, but once they have been approved, there is plenty of referrals we can give them – especially in & around London. All sorts of jobs from 10m2 back garden work to Hotel refits, and everything in-between!

 

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