Every week seems to bring a new application for our recycled plastic lumber, and this week we’ve been ooh-ing and ahh-ing over a great bit of original thinking from a roofing firm who bought some 30mm x 30mm lumber strips from us. They’ve used them in place of the standard timber supports for tiles on a house extension – Tom from the roofers said “we haven’t often seen recycled plastic used in roof construction, but we’re looking to avoid the rot that can often compromise roof integrity in the long term. These plastic battens should never need replacing and whilst the initial cost is a little higher than wood, the long-term savings and increased reliability easily justify the cost.”

Recycled plastic lumber used for roofing

Such pleasing geometry…

Fresh thinking

The total rot-resistance of recycled plastic is helping people find new uses for this emerging material every day, and we can’t help but think this might be the start of a new trend in roofing. As Tom says; “there’s really no difference for us in terms of working the material, we use all the same tools and techniques as with wood, and storage is actually easier as we don’t need to keep it dry.’

A big movement in roofing currently is ‘blue roofs’: SUDS-compliant roofing solutions which will mitigate drainage problems in built-up areas and help to limit flooding dangers. With roof design moving toward slower-draining systems and therefore allowing the buildup of water, perhaps recycled plastic will play a big role in future roof construction? More information on blue roofs can be found on the National Federation of Roofing Contractors’ website here.

If these pics have got you thinking about how you might use some recycled plastic lumber, you can find our complete list of lumber products here, and some info on how to work with it here. To get a quote for your job, you can email [email protected] or give us a ring on Freephone 0808 281 2929. We’re looking forward to your call.