The brief when designing Millboard was twofold. 1- avoid the issues that came with wood composite boards, and 2 – produce a board that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing (and that meant that not every board was the same as every other board).
Millboard is probably the only deck board in the Australian market that has achieved this remarkable feat. So much so that its popularity is soaring, and many new decks in Sydney are now being installed using this unique and special board.
Why is millboard expensive
Millboard’s secret is in its unique resin composition. The Lastane® surface is antifungal and non-porous. The difference between most wood composite deck boards and Millboard is probably best explained by Millboard’s Sales Director, Guy Douglass, who said,
“Wood composite boards are a mix of wood and plastic. These boards originated in the United States, and their primary function was supposed to overcome issues related to painting deck boards. But because there is still wood in the product, it attracts algae.
The result is that it can become slippery over time, and some of the boards can have fade issues.
We wanted to design a product that not only had the look of real timber but also gave our customers a decking product that had none of the inherent issues that came with the other available boards.”
To achieve this outcome, all the Millboard Decking Range has been moulded from actual boards that showed the original character and features of the timber.
If you look carefully at the Weathered range, the clarity of the detail and grain is quite stunning. These boards are moulded from late 18th-century boards that were first discovered forming part of the floor of a French railway carriage.
Each Millboard deck range was then based on several boards that were subtly different from each other so that when the boards were installed, there were slight differences that would give the finished look a slightly different patina. The brief was to remove the uniformity that afflicts many current products and provide a unique finish that more closely resembled natural timber, where no two pieces of wood are exactly alike.
To add to the appeal and care taken, each deck board is finished by hand. This ensures that the grain details in the boards reflect nature. The boards are then partly hand coloured to help make them almost indistinguishable from natural wood.
The result is a truly unique and outstanding product, and probably the most expensive deck board in the world.
Is Millboard better than composite decking?
Millboard is a composite deck board. The question should be, “Is Millboard better than other composite deck boards?”
Part of the design concept for Millboard decking was to overcome the need to paint timber and composite deck boards. In solving this problem, Millboard achieved another remarkable milestone. Not only was painting or oiling no longer needed, but the issue of expansion and contraction had also mainly been solved.
All the early composite deck boards suffered from contraction and expansion problems.
The result was that some composite deck boards were only available in short lengths. Longer lengths, when laid end to end, would often expand along their length and create a mini ramp where they touched. Variations in temperature as the boards were heated and then cooled were the cause of many trip issues and were very unsightly.
Other boards developed unique installation methods that required breaker boards (a board running at 90 degrees to the main deck boards) so that any expansion wouldn’t result in the dreaded ski jump effect.
This was not a good outcome, leaving many unhappy homeowners in their wake.
With the introduction of Millboard decking to the market, this problem was solved. The boards are inert and can be laid end to end to form a beautifully crafted, smooth, elegant deck top.
Problem resolved.
Looking for more information – check out our Millboard decking page.
The answer to: “is Millboard expensive”, is yes. You just have to decide if its unique characteristics and look and feel are what you want. If that is the case, then NO is probably your answer.
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