Recently Completed in Truro
-- Building by the sea poses a vast amount of challenges. From dealing with the elements to sourcing materials that will withstand those elements, thoughtful and sustainable decisions need to be made. This past fall, Cape Associates was hired to upgrade an existing set of beach stairs on the bayside of Truro. The homeowner wanted to replace the existing wood treads with a product that would allow air, sand and light to pass through, that would be sturdy and long lasting and one that could stand up to the constant wind, water, sun and salt, as well as to be kind to their dogs paws.
Research led Project Manager, Chris Dio, to a product called ThruFlow Surge 50 Decking. Typically used in marine implementations, the special perforated ThruFlow panels offer 50% of light to pass through, providing sunshine, water and air flow to surfaces below. The surface of the panels never gets hot under direct sunlight and remains non-slip even in the wettest environments. Maintaining erosion control efforts with the growth and spreading of beach grass is an integral way to help stabilize a dune and was a very important consideration in this project making the ThruFlow panels an ideal product for this application.
Cape Associates also installed new top caps on all the railings. We replaced the pressure treated lumber with a decking product made by Tangent that is created from 100% Post-Consumer Recycled HDPE Resin that has structural characteristics similar to wood lumber but does not require annual refinishing. The pressure treated lumber that was removed was repurposed into new risers and supporting elements to the ThruFlow decking. To further protect the environment, the Cape Associates crew cut the stair treads, risers and railings in a covered shelter, away from the water and dune to minimize sawdust and disturbance. Materials were then transported into place for installation.
Learn more about the products used on this project here:
http://tangentusa.com/tandeck/
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