Slip resistance of composite decking

As with all outdoor flooring products decking can be affected by many elements such as rain, ice contaminants etc but we have recently undertaken independent slip tests on our Plastideck range of composite decking, the test included resistance in dry conditions but more importantly in wet conditions and the results were found to have performed very well .

With wooden decking the moisture gets trapped in the wood and the decaying process starts and the by product of this is the formation of algae which in turn becomes very slippery in wet conditions. With composites unique structure of wood fibres incased in plastic polymers the moisture cannot get to the wood avoiding the decay and ultimately the formation of algae, whilst Algae can still form on composite decking this is usually associated with foreign bodies i.e. dirt, leaves etc but with a good maintenance programme of cleaning this can be averted.

The test surface presents a moderate, borderline low, risk of slip in wet conditions. The nature of the profile, being of timber and plastic construction, does not lend itself to a high level of wet grip due to the inherently lower dry slip resistance of plastic and the soft/rounded nature of timber fibres. It should be noted however that the surface presents values very close to the 'low risk of slip' cut off and in terms of the risk of slip values of 36 and 34 PTV indicate a similarly low risk.

It would be interesting to do tests on wooden counterparts to see how they would perform and to see what happened after weathering for a few years.

So in summary our composite offers a low risk when wet and no risk at all when dry obviously care is required in winter months with ice formation which is out of our control.

For any advice on Plastideck Composite Decking Plastideck boards can be dispatched nationwide within 24 hours of order.