THE TRUE COST OF MATERIAL CHOICE: THE CASE FOR EVA-LAST COMPOSITES
by AJ Jesiolwski, Director of Product, Eva-Last Americas
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get” — Warren Buffet
Cost is the most common question that drives most purchasing decisions when considering materials for any construction project. And composites are no exception. But only calculating costs ignores the more important question of value, which deserves more careful measurement.
Of course, suitability and material specifications matter, but when budgets are tight and deadlines are looming, many customers only compare the upfront cost and aesthetic appeal of a product when considering which material will do the job adequately.
But the true cost of a material often lies beyond the purchase price, when the real lifecycle cost and actual long-term performance is revealed long after the architects and contractors have left the project. And that’s the part customers should be focusing on.
We’re not just talking maintenance like a quick lick of paint. No. We’re talking about the opportunity cost of giving up your weekend to scrape, sand and revarnish your deck or fencing. Or the downtime that comes with closing your restaurant patio for maintenance or a revamp when you should be open for trade.
Then there’s the lost potential of unexplored creative executions that new high-tech materials like Eva-Last composites offer solutions that not only do the job but do it better. Now we’re talking real value add! The benefit of designing a structure to not only serve a purpose, solve a problem and realize your intention, but to keep it looking as good as it did at the outset. The intrinsic design potential or limitations of the material, its performance properties and longevity. And this is where Eva-Last composites shine.
Eva-Last composites are high-tech material formulations with outstanding performance properties designed for durability such as UV-, water- and corrosion-resistance. These materials are designed and manufactured by Eva-Last to reduce replacement costs and structural loads, withstand different climatic conditions and offer an improved carbon footprint. Eva-Last composite materials also combine super thermal and torsional performance with lightweight strength and greater span capabilities, while opening up new design possibilities or installation ideas that excite and encourage creative executions.
These innovations usually come at a premium compared to the more traditional timber alternatives. However, consider the low maintenance characteristics of Eva-Last’s Oasis composite fencing, compared with the regular annual staining requirements of traditional cedar picket fencing. Or the glass-fiber reinforced (GFR) strength and span of Apex Plus which reduces the need for expensive sub-structures usually required for support. Then there’s the true-to-touch look and feel of Pioneer’s sophisticated print technology that reproduces the beauty of rare – and expensive – hardwood timbers without placing further strain on these precious natural resources, ultimately saving these rare species.
Even the lengthy warranties of Eva-Last’s extensive range of composite decking changes the cost equation. If a natural deck needs replacing every 10 years, that could mean replacing it multiple times over the warranty period of any Eva-Last composite range making longevity an important part of the real cost calculation.
As Sir Ralph Speth, the famed German automotive executive, so aptly quipped “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”
Indeed, we’re talking about the time value of repairing or replacing that deck when it could be spent more constructively elsewhere. The time value of an installation designed for efficiency and ease using modern materials and systems. The time value of performance properties engineered for durability and decreased maintenance. And the environmental value of using recycled waste materials instead of precious raw materials such as wood to build our projects.
How’s that for a cost-analysis?
Perhaps the real opportunity is to stop designing projects around what materials we have come to know and understand and start asking what today’s engineered materials can do for us. Eva-Last’s advanced composite building materials give us that choice: to build differently, design more freely and demand more from the materials we specify. Because progress isn’t about paying less, it’s about getting more from what we build.
That’s where Eva-Last, as a leader in advanced composite materials, continues to make both economic and environmental sense.
