The funny thing is, that title wasn’t intended as a pun, but the truth is, timber – for all it’s beauty – just doesn’t stand up to the harsh Australian climate. What is more, sadly it doesn’t stay looking great without a lot of maintenance and upkeep too. But anodised aluminium, on the other hand, is impressively durable, corrosion resistant, maintenance and hassle free, and will still look great in years to come!

Anodising is the key!

The benefit of anodised aluminium over timber is that, not only is the aluminium structurally durable, resistant to warping and other temperature related stresses, but it is literally impermeable to moisture and stains. Meaning there’s no need to oil, or paint it like timber structures, and the anodising means graffiti cleans of easily without leaving unsightly shadows.

Many companies offer “mill-finish” aluminium structures, however this leaves the raw aluminium susceptible to corrosion – you may have seen the white powdery looking corrosion on aluminium products before. Oxidisation is actually a natural process that raw aluminium goes through when exposed to the environment, however by enhancing this process through anodising in our state-of-the-art production facility, we are able to control the consistency of the aluminium oxide finish, offering a smooth, tough coating in a huge range of colours. The finish is so tough, in fact, that anodising – aluminium oxide – is one of the toughest materials on Earth, second only to diamond.

Once anodised, the product can be powder coated in almost any colour, or even coated with Timber Effecta, an extremely realistic textured timber finish, that has all the aesthetics of a timber appearance, without the maintenance hassle.

Whilst timber structures and even galvanised or zinc coated steel structures may appear a little cheaper from the outset, they won’t last nearly as long as anodised aluminium and the extra maintenance that is required will push the costs up very quickly over time. This is why all of Terrain Group’s products carry a 10 year structural guarantee, because we know our products will remain structurally sound for at least decade, with minimal maintenance compared with that of other materials.