Every once in a while a product innovation comes along that revolutionizes an entire industry. WearDeckTM is undoubtedly one of those products.
Anyone who’s ever installed a gleaming new pressure-treated dock or admired their freshly built deck knows to take a photo for posterity. Because no matter how professional the installation or how high the quality of the wood, it’s just not going to look that way for very long.
When exposed to the elements, even treated wood rots, splinters, fades, and loses structural integrity over time. But what if there was a product that mimicked the beauty and met the purpose of wood but wasn’t vulnerable to the effects of weather and time? What if you could invest once in this product, and not once every five or ten years?
WearDeckTM is a revolutionary engineered deck board that not only overcomes the shortfalls of wood for water- and weather-exposed applications, it also overcomes the shortfalls of competing composites. A pure synthetic board (not a composite or PVC), WearDeckTM is composed of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced with fibreglass. Unlike other human-made boards, most of which are actually sawdust-based, WearDeckTM contains no organic material. Its colour, protectants, additives, UV-inhibitors, and heat reflection and anti-static technologies are all in the board, not merely on top of the board in the form of a coating that can be breached.
Distributed throughout Canada exclusively by Baycrest Distribution in Bala, WearDeckTM is structural in strength and strong enough to span 36 inches on centre. This means that WearDeckTM is strong enough for you to complete safe, solid, and totally wood-free load-bearing building projects. To demonstrate these features, in 2022 Baycrest Distribution built a 12 x 24-foot platform, parked a 4,000-pound vehicle on it between the WearDeckTM joists, and left it there through the dog days of summer.
According to Jason Smith, co-owner and president of Baycrest Distribution, WearDeckTM boards are, quite literally, “the last deck boards you’ll ever need to buy.” They stay cool underfoot, won’t deteriorate under water, and cause no static, making WearDeckTM a perfect application for marinas and marine fueling stations. And unlike wood and competitive stand-ins, it is thermally stable, experiencing minimal to no expansion and contraction with temperature and humidity fluctuations. “This means no gaps between butt and mitre joints,” explains Jason, “and allows for the use of traditional fastening methods,” such as in the construction of crown moulding, baseboard trim, and window casings, which couldn’t previously be built from human-made materials due to expansion and contraction at the joints.
This Lake Joe garage features WEARDECKTM trim around exterior windows and doors and utilizes WEARDECKTM accent trim in the building’s wash bay area to ensure longevity.
Other building projects ideally suited to WearDeckTM products include outdoor furniture, bartop tables, planter boxes, raised gardens, picnic tables, and garbage bins. WearDeckTM cuts and installs just like wood, with a few different fastening options, including colour-matched self-tapping screws, countersink screws and plugs, and camo hidden fasteners.
WearDeckTM includes an attractive directional wood grain pattern and is sold in nine colours and many profiles, all the way from 1 x 6-inch boards to 2 x 10s. Baycrest Distribution stocks all lengths, colours, and profiles, meaning you can get started on your project today.
Unlike competitive composites and painted wood, WearDeckTM colours are solid through the board (not just on the exterior) and stay true over time. This includes darker tones that people often avoid due to concerns over fading and chalkiness. Thanks to this unique feature, your dock, deck, or other building project will look just as good, and have the same structural integrity, year over year. (So, if you don’t get around to taking that photo as soon as your project is built, don’t worry. It can wait.)
While many human-made composite boards offer warranties, Jason emphasizes the importance of reading the fine print. “Those warranties tend to be prorated,” he explains, “so if you end up making a claim five years down the road, maybe you stand to get back a small percentage of what you paid. Ten-plus years down the road, it might be a residual amount.” WEARDECKTM, by contrast, comes with a non-prorated lifetime residential warranty, good for the life of the purchaser. Aside from giving the customer peace of mind from a financial perspective, it speaks to the company’s confidence in the durability of their product.
Today’s property owners are looking for low- or no-maintenance, long-lasting products. This may be especially true at the cottage, where we hope to relax and unwind, not spend time tending to repairs and upkeep. Witness the increasing popularity of steel roofs, vinyl siding, and PVC trim. WEARDECKTM boards have the same appeal. Not only do they look beautiful when installed, they continue to look beautiful, keeping your cottage property safe, attractive, and—when the time comes—ready to sell without first requiring costly repairs and upgrades. “We’ve had customers whose property sat on the market for months, and then sold within weeks after replacing the decks and docks with WEARDECKTM,” says Jason.
WearDeckTM products are manufactured and distributed only in North America and distributed in Canada exclusively through Baycrest Distribution. If you’re working with a contractor, talk to them about using WearDeckTM for your decks, docks, and other suitable projects. You can also call Baycrest Distribution, or visit their extensive showroom in Bala for more information.
