Building a Green Deck for Hanging Gardens and Middle East Sensibilities

Could you ever imagine patios like this one built with composite materials?

If you’ve been thinking about building a hanging garden on your urban Middle East deck, patio, or porch, spring is the perfect time to start planting your seeds. While people living in crazy and compact Middle East cities like Beirut, Tel Aviv, Cairo and Istanbul may not have much in the way of private and open green space, most people can count on having a little balcony space to start growing herbs, tomatoes, even lettuce.

In some cases, your porch might be covered over with a makeshift wall to provide space for that office or an extra storage nook. If you’re spring cleaning, consider getting rid of all that extra clutter you haven’t been using anyway, and open up your deck to let some fresh air in.

Some readers, though, might be living in old and dilapidated buildings. You might be curious on building a new deck that’s safe and strong, and green. There are companies out there that can help fulfill your green fantasies, especially when you live in the Middle East where finding green material suppliers can be a challenge. And where wood is expensive. Build Direct, for instance is an online company that ships green building materials, including supplies for composite decks.

What is composite decking? An intro

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While we are not sure how strong this recycled plastic material is for decks or patios in apartment buildings, it could certainly be used for shared outside spaces, and for building green patio furniture on your patio and deck. Built to resist the sun and rain, composite decking is a popular green choice for deck material in North America. Said to require less maintenance, it is made from a mix of wood and recycled post-industrial plastic.

A manufactured product, every plank you buy will be perfectly straight. You can find the planks in a variety of colors, and I’ve read that the material is free from insect damage, rot, or splintering.

While the idea of green building for the private homeowner is just starting in the Middle East, composite decking might be a sound business idea to start.

Image of mosque porch from Shutterstock