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Something translucent: Lexan, plexiglass, marine glass?

Jason Young
14 years ago

I'm building a new deck that will be approximately 8 feet high. I need to figure out a creative way to allow some natural light to penetrate below.

I have seen some folks recommend lexan planks. I have not priced these but if they are strong enough to walk on, reasonably easy to work with (e.g. drill holes, cut with a power saw, etc.) and doesn't cost a fortune, then this could be a good solution. I suppose I could sandblast the top for texture (doesn't need to be clear).

I found some interesting products called "marine prisms" or "deck prisms" that people used to install in 18th century sailing ships. Big blocks of glass that channel light to dark spaces below. Strong enough to walk on. Some of them have brass rings, which look pretty cool. Kind of expensive.

Any other ideas? I thought about maybe using light tubes (aka sun pipes, sun scopes, solar light pipes, or daylight pipes). Problem here is that they protrude above the surface of the deck.

Any other creative ideas?

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