Sustainable Decking Has Healthy Benefits For Outdoor Play Areas

Written by Briana Hilton | Tue, Dec 26, 2023 @ 10:12 AM

Not only is sustainable decking strong, attractive, and better for the environment, but it’s also a healthy choice. Unsustainable decking materials typically emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs): a variety of chemicals associated with numerous health issues. Chose your decking materials carefully.

This custom built pirate ship, by one of our customers, sails into their backyard using Ipe wood decking.

Captain Tutu agrees, it's awesome.

Children can be particularly vulnerable to VOCs, which have been found to increase risk of childhood asthma, a British Medical Journal study reveals. By using sustainable materials to create your outdoor play area, you can create a fun space that’s safe for the whole family to enjoy.

Creating a healthy outdoor play area

Hardwood was chosen for this beautiful backyard deck area around a home basketball court, for its durability and ease of maintenance. With a big bonus of sustainability!

From playgrounds and playscapes to backyard decks and rooftop decks, toxin-free materials for play areas are in demand by informed parents.

In the short-term, VOCs are linked to health issues, such as, headaches, eye, nose, and throat irritation, and nausea. In the long-term, they can cause damage to the central nervous system, liver, and kidneys, and even cancer.

Composite wood, in particular, is made up of cheaper materials that are more likely to be derived of and treated with VOCs.

Fortunately, natural, sustainable wood decking is a simple way you can minimize your children’s exposure to VOCs. Sustainable materials aren’t treated with nasty toxic preservatives and emit virtually no toxins — therefore making them a safer choice for creating outdoor rooms and play areas.

Create a pool area with a shower and built in seating from sustainable hardwood. Not only will it be VOC free, but will also naturally resist mold and rot from moisture. Without chemical waterproofing

Moreover, when your deck is made with healthy and non-toxic sustainable materials, you can rest assured that it’s safe for the whole family to enjoy. So, for instance, your children’s play area may consist of a quiet corner on the deck — maybe with an outdoor chalkboard attached to the wall, or with a special seating spot where kids can eat snacks or do crafts. Add overhead structures like pergolas, for shade or a dining.

You can then also install built in grown-up spaces and seating for adults to relax — ensuring adults and kids can enjoy spending time outdoors on your deck together.

This incredible urban rooftop uses Ipe hardwood decking for the cozy family area deck, the pergola, wood planters that double as benches with green plants, and a complete playscape.

And, even better, no one has to breathe in any toxic VOCs. This type of healthy, age-inclusive living space is also a great way to get kids and grandparents living in harmony together. Facilitating bonding opportunities between grandparents and grandchildren this way will help ensure strong, lifelong relationships.

Feel good about where your children play! Natural, low decay, low splinter, sustainable hardwood makes it possible.

RELATED: Download the 150+ Deck Design Ideas eBook now for more real wood deck inspiration!

Looking for the right sustainable decking for your home?

Download The Ultimate Guide to Selecting the Right Decking today:

Sustainable materials are durable

Machiche hardwood decking was used for this day care, chosen for its incredible resistance to scratching, gouging, and wear and tear.

Durability is a key consideration when choosing decking for your outdoor play areas.

You’ll need your chosen material to be: strong, scratch resistant, and able to withstand active children running about for many years to come. Hardwood decking options are great choices here. Not only does natural hardwood look beautiful, but they’re also extremely strong and durable.

For example, Garapa wood, with the lowest fiber density of these hardwoods, is still almost one and a half times harder than Oak.

On the top of the scale, Ipe hardwood decking has the highest fiber density of all exotic hardwood, and is consistently the standard to compare all wood decking hardness.

Beautiful Strength: There are plenty of gorgeous, sustainable hardwoods with different color ranges to choose from for your deck. From the golden blonde or Garapa to the dark browns of Ipe, there is the chocolate-browns of Cumaru, Red-brown Jatoba (a/k/a Brazilian Cherry) and medium browns of FSC Machiche. And they all have their own gorgeous exotic grain and figuring that make them part of the design itself.

Additionally, many hardwood decking species are naturally rot resistant and termite-resistant, so you can rest assured your deck and play space will stay in great condition for years to come.

Since hardwood sustainable materials are also very long-lasting, they also offer low lifecycle costs overall. Especially compared to low density, less resistant softwoods such as Cedar and Redwood.

The high return on investment of these hardwoods include:

Not needing paint or stain, unless you want to. High density exterior hardwoods only require an oil-based UV protective finish at installation and then reapplied as needed.
No chemical insect treatment required. The high natural resistance is enough to stop wood-boring insects from the start.
Hardwood will weather to a beautiful silver-gray patina, if you want it to. Just do not reapply the initial UV protectant finish. Or you can decide to let it weather, then change your mind and sand it to bring back the natural color years later.
Weathered hardwood, unlike Cedar or Redwood, will not require any additional maintenance. Including the oil-based finish. Just basic cleaning as needed. Plus, the naturally high fiber density means hardwoods will stay as strong and durable as non-weathered, so you can relax.
High natural resistance to scratching and gouging from foot traffic, wear and tear, storm debris, or splintering. Repairs are unlikely so the good looks of your hardwood deck last for years without extra work or cost.

Hardwood weathers naturally to a silvery-gray, satiny finish that does not lose significant strength or durability. And still needs no chemicals treatments to resists damage and decay.

If you want to build green and durable while planning your deck project, check out the

Ultimate Guide to Selecting The Right Decking for more information and comparisons.

Better for the environment

A welcoming front Garapa wood front porch is perfect for family to gather and play after school or summer evenings.

Unsustainable decking materials are bad news for the environment, with plastic decking being one of the worst.

Plastic decking is largely made up of synthetic materials, which often includes polyvinyl chloride: a toxic polymer. Polyvinyl chloride (commonly known as PVC) is particularly environmentally-unfriendly. It seeps into the land, water, and air throughout the manufacturing process. PVCs are something you want to avoid when you care about the environment.
Plastic decking isn’t recyclable; it ends up either in an incinerator or landfill.
And the same goes for composite decking, too. Composite decking does its job for around 15 years, before similarly ending up in the landfill.
Since it’s made up of synthetic materials, composite decking doesn’t involve renewing any natural resources during production. Real hardwood decking, on the other hand, has an impressive life expectancy of decades, over twenty years in the case of Ipe, even when weathered.
Plastic decking simply does not perform as well as real hardwood, because plastic reacts to heat, UV, moisture and wear and tear much differently than hardwood.

Beyond off-gassing and chemicals, plastic decking has the same issues that all plastic can when it comes to heat, peeling, fading, and warping.

Mataverde exotic hardwoods are harvested responsibly — which means the forest can regrow after the few selected trees are harvested. Mataverde is committed to sustainable forestry, which leaves a minimal overall impact on the environment.

Mataverde FSC® certified wood decking takes it a step further with certification from the Forest Stewardship Council® to guarantee the responsible sourcing of Mataverde hardwood.

Using sustainable materials to create an outdoor play area is better for human health, as well as the environment. By opting for real wood decking, you can create a fun and safe play space that the whole family will love to spend time in. Plus, knowing that you are doing what's right for you, your family, and the Earth.

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