Fantastic Green Initiative by Balguard Engineering to Recycle & Reuse Timber Decking Removed and Replaced by Aluminium Decking in Fire Safety Remediation Projects

AliDeck strives to be a company that makes as minimal an impact on the environment as possible. We work hard to minimise waste in our aluminium decking and balcony component production process and look to recycle any material that we’re able to. The construction industry is working hard to reduce embodied carbon and we are determined to play our part in that.

We were delighted, then, to hear some great news from one of our customers about a really smart green initiative they recently undertook. Established in 1977, Balguard Engineering are a major fabrication company, supplying construction with a wide range of architectural metalwork such as balconies, balustrades, railings, staircases, and more.

AliDeck have supplied our aluminium decking system to many Balguard balcony packages over the years. Our two companies have developed a great relationship and we worked with Balguard recently to supply decking materials to a balcony refurbishment project.

A new service offered by Balguard, their expertise for balconies and decades of experience in working with complex and difficult metalwork projects is perfect for the requirements of fire safety remediation projects in the current building safety crisis. The project at a medium-rise development in London went very smoothly and an excellent, compliant outcome was delivered to the leaseholders and property owners.

The good news doesn’t end there, though! Balguard made the forward-thinking decision to partner with Chiltern Wood Recycling to salvage every scrap of removed timber decking with a view to turning it into useful garden products!

Chiltern Wood Recycling is a non-profit social enterprise with the aim of recycling and reusing waste wood to help reduce deforestation, reduce the need for landfill, and to lock up carbon to prevent it being released into the environment. The company collects waste wood from many sources, including construction firms, and has a team of employees and volunteers that turn it into attractive and useful products.

It’s a noble enterprise and we applaud the Balguard team for joining forces with CWR. While no longer compliant for fire safety reasons, the timber decking removed from the remediation project was still in good, useable condition and has years of life left in it. The first products manufactured from Balguard’s salvaged wooden decking are these attractive and practical garden planters.

This is a fantastic idea and we’re really pleased to see this material reused. It is essential that combustible decking materials are removed as part of fire safety remediation, but with Balguard’s excellent example on responsible, ethical management of the waste timber some additional good can be easily achieved by conscientious constructors.

To find out more about fire safety remediation and how aluminium decking is the ideal replacement for non-compliant timber or composite material, please call the AliDeck team on 01622 235 672 or email info@alideck.co.uk.