Shantex Eco Tiles: easy to install, from recycled & reclaimed materials
Find out how I transformed our dreary concrete condo balcony into an inviting, chic patio, where there’s never a line-up and the drinks are always two for one (ha).
There’s something utterly unappealing about the concrete condo balconies taking over Toronto. Sure, condo dwellers are happy to have a little ‘outdoor’ space for themselves, but who wants to sit out on a drab slab of boring on a beautiful day? Not me. I’ve wanted to upgrade our balcony for a while now, and finally got around to it this past weekend after a family trip to Canadian Tire. The truth is, when you have a four-month-old baby and her bedtime is 7pm, drinks on a restaurant patio aren’t plausible most evenings. (It’s totally worth it for sleeps-sake; Charlotte does 12 hours in.a.row!) But our Canadian summers are so gorgeous and fleeting, it’s a shame not to use our own little slice of outdoor space while we have long, warm evenings and bright mornings to enjoy.
Balcony Before Shantex Eco Tiles
Balcony After Shantex Eco Tiles
We invested in Shantex Eco Tiles and are properly pleased with our new ‘deck’. I cleaned the balcony, which took two hours to clear away layers of local construction dust, then installed the tiles in less than half an hour. They snap together so easily . We’ll be finishing off the edging this weekend, custom cutting the pieces to fit the corners of the balcony. We’ve taken our supper out there every evening for the last week. We can catch up on our day over dinner with a view of the local park and the sail boats on the lake, not to mention the sunsets. Who knew, there’s a bunch of sky out there! Plus, our sleeping baby is only steps away, snoozing soundly in her bassinet. With Toronto Life proclaiming the age of the Condo Generation, we can all benefit from utilizing every square inch of our space.
Shantex eco tiles are the world’s original high quality, eco-friendly and super easy to install decking tiles. They look great and they’re durable. The Aspire Cedar Brown colour way is inspired by the great outdoors of the West Coast. It works well to warm up an outdoor space. WPC, that’s wood-plastic composite, is a unique hybrid material: reclaimed wood fibers help protext against UV damage, warping and fading, while recycled plastic, including milk jugs and plastic bags, protects the wood against insects, rot, moisture damage and decay. It should last a long time, even in our extreme changes in temperature due to classic Canadian weather conditions. The recycled and reclaimed materials used in Shantex Eco Tiles are ROHS certified non toxic, preventing hundreds of tons of wood and plastic waste from ending up in landfills every year. So sasstainable.
Have you taken on a sustainable home improvement project lately? I’d love to hear about in the comments! From our new oh-so-awesome balcony – Angela
New: "From Drab to Fab: A better balcony with @ShantexEcoTiles" #renos #balcony #condoliving Shantex Eco Tiles: easy to install, from recycled & reclaimed materials Find out how I transformed our dreary concrete condo balcony into an inviting, chic patio, where there's never a line-up and the drinks are always two for one (ha).