Vinyl Decking is the Right Choice for Cedar Point Amusement Park
When Terry Ross, AIA, corporate architect for Cedar Point amusement park and resort, needed to replace a section of its 660-boat marina, he surprised himself by choosing a vinyl decking product made by Thermal Industries Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
"I had to be convinced that vinyl was the way to go," Ross said. Cedar Point, the second oldest amusement park in the country, is in Sandusky, Ohio, right along Lake Erie. Temperatures range from below freezing to the high nineties.
Not only does the area experience temperature extremes, but everything at the park is exposed to high foot traffic and abuse by nearly 3.5 million visitors a year.
Before choosing vinyl Ross conducted half a dozen tests including one in which he delivered a direct blow to the material with a hammer. He even went as far as to freeze the product to see if it would crack or split.
"Northern Ohio weather is brutal on any decking product," Ross added. "We've been through a full season with the vinyl deck and we like it so much that we are going to replace more of the marina's docks with the product," Ross said.
He also discovered that vinyl wasn't as hot on boaters' feet, and it was easy to clean with just a garden hose. "There are a lot of seagulls at the marina, and it is easy to hose down; not only that, I don't have to worry about splinters and wood pops."