What is the Best Synthetic Material for Porch Railings?

Best Synthetic Material for Porch Railing

High density polyurethane is the best synthetic material for your porch railings.  Our “poly” products are made from an environmentally friendly water-based product called High Density Polyurethane.  It is a synthetic material that is also known as urethane, HDP, fypon, or simply “poly”. In architectural specifications, poly products are often referred to as foam plastic moldings (although they are not plastic). Poly products are made in our custom molds. Each pattern is made to exact dimensions by our staff of master pattern makers. The edges of American Porch Poly Products are crisp amnd clean. They are durable, authentic, and easy to install.

Authentic Look of Poly Porch Railing Material

Other materials such as PVC or Vinyl, look and feel like plastic. Our Poly materials look and feel much like authentic wood. The material is similar in density to a softwood, such as white pine or cedar. It comes factory primed with a high emulsion latex paint. The poly material can then be finish coated with any high quality exterior latex paint.

Durability of Synthetic Porch Railing Material

Our poly products are made to provide outstanding durability. Polyurethane spindles are reinforced with an internal PVC pipe for strength and rigidity. The rails are reinforced with either a PVC or Aluminum pipe. You can cut our Poly spindles and PVC-reinforced rails using normal woodworking techniques. For rails with an internal aluminum pipe, use a slow speed cutoff saw or multi-cutter.

Low Maintenance Of Poly Porch Rails

Urethane is very low maintenance. The paint is chemically bonded during the molding process which prevents cracking and peeling. An additional primer is applied before shipping all orders. Urethane will not take on moisture, which allows it to withstand the environmental elements. It will not rot and is impervious to insects.

What About Polyurethane Balustrade VS. Concrete (Cast) Balustrade?

• Weight: Polyurethane balustrade is a fraction of the weight compared to concrete. This makes installation easier and faster. It also means polyurethane can be used on elevated locations where weight is a factor.
• Installation: Polyurethane balustrade ships directly to the jobsite, ready to install.  It is pre-primed and can be installed like normal exterior wooden carpentry.  No special skills or tooling is required.  Any installer with basic finish carpentry skills will have no problem installing our poly products.  Installation instructions can be seen HERE.
• Polyurethane will not warp, crack, or rot.
• Polyurethane looks and feels similar to authentic wood. It has clean crisp lines and the warm feel people expect from quality exterior millwork.

All American Porch Polyurethane Balustrade products are made here in the USA. You can sit on your porch and relax knowing that you have chosen the best synthetic material for porch railings.

Can I mix wood and poly products for my porch railing?

We recommend choosing one material for your porch railing instead of mixing them.  Not that it can’t be done.  Tthe poly material mimics wood so closely that it is an option to mix the two.  You could use wood spindles and poly railing (or vice versa) for example, and we’ve had customers do it successfully.  However we’ve designed each system to be straightforward to install and use.  Mixing materials opens the door for installation difficulties and potential issues down the road.  For example, the poly bottom rail is flat on top.  Our wood bottom rail is sloped to shed water.  Using wood spindles on a flat poly bottom rail could mean the wood spindle is sitting in water for periods of time after rain.

Can you help me decide between wood and poly for my porch railing material?

We often tell customers that the bottom line is this:  If it’s somewhat protected such as a covered porch, many lean towards authentic wood railings.  If it’s directly/completely exposed, I would lean towards polyurethane porch railings.  Of course this is colored by each individual’s personal preference and feeling towards these options.

 

M.G. of Stroudsburg, PA writes “After looking all over for wooden spindles to replace some that had rotted out on our front porch, I was about to give up. Woodworking shops could not replicate the spindles I had and the original manufacturer was no longer in business. American Porch was able to replicate my spindles exactly through a “casting” process using polyurethane. In any event, the new spindles are installed and look great, and will no doubt outlive the existing wooden spindles. Great job and easy to work with. Reasonably priced as well for this type of time-intensive custom work.