Composite decking - options?

[Carbon Sasquatch]

MrThomo said:

Will post a pic tomorrow. Deck if removed will need ground building up first as it drops away in one corner.

I have considered porcelain tiles and it will be between these and composite decking. Just can’t make my bloody mind up.

How far does it drop away ? You can get a couple of feet with the height adjustable legs





I came across one company that have a system more like decking, where you lay beams then just sit the tiles on top.

I guess it just depends what finish you're looking for - sounds like you're already in the right ball park budget wise......

[Hoonigan]

Thanks that’s really good to hear, they have seemed very good and the company looks good on creditsafe.

Got our first quotes now and prices seem reasonable, did you manage to haggle any discount?

We’ve gone fully composite this time not a bit of wood in sight, lessons learnt. Spent the last few weekends ripping the old one out so now we’re nearly ready to start, just got to dig 82 post holes

stevemcs said:

Hoonigan said:

We’re in the process of getting these guys to quote to supply us for a 62sqm decking to replace the old and now rotten one I installed 11 years ago, anyone have any thoughts or experience with this product?

https://www.envirobuild.com/collections/frontier

We have the frontier range in marble, it’s very good quality and envirobuild were good to deal with

[MrThomo]

Carbon Sasquatch said:

How far does it drop away ? You can get a couple of feet with the height adjustable legs





I came across one company that have a system more like decking, where you lay beams then just sit the tiles on top.

I guess it just depends what finish you're looking for - sounds like you're already in the right ball park budget wise......

Thank for the info - will investigate the leg option.

Where the deck meets slabs the levels are the same. The ground drops away to the fence behind the seating area on the RH side. Drop is c 600/700mm. Seems like whoever laid the deck didn’t bother levelling up the ground, just fixed the back corner on a couple of posts.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

That might look odd with porcelain - unless you rip up the patio & do the whole lot......

I did it mainly to get a flush threshold from the house - then just carried on.

[MrThomo]

Carbon Sasquatch said:

That might look odd with porcelain - unless you rip up the patio & do the whole lot......

I did it mainly to get a flush threshold from the house - then just carried on.

Patio will definitely be ripped up. Idea is to replace both deck and current slabs with one solution to run from fence to house

[rbuk33]

Very helpful thread. I've been researching composite decking as got an area c 60sqm that is currently concrete slabs. My thoughts are:
- samples from dura deck, dino decking, and ecoscape are all hollow and don't seem right for reasons others have already mentioned.
- Neotimber - solid board but I could scratch it it with my nail... Ruled out.
- Ecodek - I believe only grooved rather than wood effect, which is what I prefer, so ruled out.
- I'm currently seriously looking at timber tech, EnviroBuild, and millboard. Not got a trex sample as yet. Thoughts on these 4?

Think I'd go with composite or metal substructure, seem to make more sense to me if you're expecting this stuff to be down for decades.
Millboard very nice but most expensive. Millboard has this duo span substructure you can buy as well, or there is plas Pro?
Cheers

[stevemcs]

I have envirobuild and really like it, here’s a tip though .... under no circumstances get any hot ash near it.

It burns ....and melts it.

[Hoonigan]

rbuk33 said:

Very helpful thread. I've been researching composite decking as got an area c 60sqm that is currently concrete slabs. My thoughts are:
- samples from dura deck, dino decking, and ecoscape are all hollow and don't seem right for reasons others have already mentioned.
- Neotimber - solid board but I could scratch it it with my nail... Ruled out.
- Ecodek - I believe only grooved rather than wood effect, which is what I prefer, so ruled out.
- I'm currently seriously looking at timber tech, EnviroBuild, and millboard. Not got a trex sample as yet. Thoughts on these 4?

Think I'd go with composite or metal substructure, seem to make more sense to me if you're expecting this stuff to be down for decades.
Millboard very nice but most expensive. Millboard has this duo span substructure you can buy as well, or there is plas Pro?
Cheers

I’ve just spent £8k+ with Envirobuild, we looked at them all and only Millboard or Envirobuild were options but the cost difference dwarf it to Envirobuild. The Trex imo looked very synthetic so was instantly ruled out. Photos to follow when it gets delivered.

We’re looking at fencing too now, think we will go Ecoscape for this, hollow but looks great, again not cheap though...

[rbuk33]

stevemcs said:

I have envirobuild and really like it, here’s a tip though .... under no circumstances get any hot ash near it.

It burns ....and melts it.

Thanks, helpful to know. Not a decking to have a BBQ sat on then! What substructure did you go with? Envirobuild seem to have different options including the pedestals and composite joists of different sizes.

We have a concrete patio, standard 600x600, fairly solid but sunk in a couple of places. Was wondering whether could go on top of this with adjustable pedestals or best to take up and put in concrete posts for joists?

[rbuk33]

Hoonigan said:

I’ve just spent £8k+ with Envirobuild, we looked at them all and only Millboard or Envirobuild were options but the cost difference dwarf it to Envirobuild. The Trex imo looked very synthetic so was instantly ruled out. Photos to follow when it gets delivered.

We’re looking at fencing too now, think we will go Ecoscape for this, hollow but looks great, again not cheap though...

What size deck have you got? £8k sounds similar to what I priced up on envirobuild website so sounds like similar size. I think millboard will be £10k + including their duo span. They've got specific pack sizes available on ebay, eg 3.6mx3.6m where you can buy multiple packs to fit the size you need (which includes their duo span substructure) .

What substructure have you gone with? Be interested to see pics once received!

Edited by rbuk33 on Saturday 15th August 17:35

[Hoonigan]

rbuk33 said:

Hoonigan said:

I’ve just spent £8k+ with Envirobuild, we looked at them all and only Millboard or Envirobuild were options but the cost difference dwarf it to Envirobuild. The Trex imo looked very synthetic so was instantly ruled out. Photos to follow when it gets delivered.

We’re looking at fencing too now, think we will go Ecoscape for this, hollow but looks great, again not cheap though...

What size deck have you got? £8k sounds similar to what I priced up on envirobuild website so sounds like similar size. I think millboard will be £10k + including their duo span. They've got specific pack sizes available on ebay, eg 3.6mx3.6m where you can buy multiple packs to fit the size you need.

What substructure have you gone with? Be interested to see pics once received!

We’ve gone with their manticore understructure mounted on dwarf walks.

No fking wood in this decking...

Total area including walls is about 62sqm

[Scooters5678]

Tree, Fiberon and Eva-Last are some of the biggest brands in the USA market so have a proven reputation.
Millboard is a different type of composite than the others but you pay a significant premium for it.

[Little Bob]

monthefish said:

Even the solid stuff will warp so just make sure you go belt and braces with fixings (their hidden fixings system is very good but is quite expensive).

This worries me - i’m looking at putting composite decking on a balcony (~10 sq. M, and triangular just yo make it easier), but of course the fact it will be resting on a solid surface and not screwed to posts which are set in concrete would mean any warping would not be good.

I’ve been looking at the Envirobuild Frontier (solid) decking just now, and thinking about their 50 x 50mm bearer:
https://www.envirobuild.com/products/low-profile-p...

Resting on their decking risers:
https://www.envirobuild.com/products/adjustable-de...

Is this the way to do it, or have I got it totally wrong?

And warping, is that likely with a solid composite deck such as this, with this base?

[muppetman74]

Little Bob said:

This worries me - i’m looking at putting composite decking on a balcony (~10 sq. M, and triangular just yo make it easier), but of course the fact it will be resting on a solid surface and not screwed to posts which are set in concrete would mean any warping would not be good.

I’ve been looking at the Envirobuild Frontier (solid) decking just now, and thinking about their 50 x 50mm bearer:
https://www.envirobuild.com/products/low-profile-p...

Resting on their decking risers:
https://www.envirobuild.com/products/adjustable-de...

Is this the way to do it, or have I got it totally wrong?

And warping, is that likely with a solid composite deck such as this, with this base?

If your balcony is already flat, I wouldn;t bother with the risers unless you need to raise the level of the deck. If the balcony is flat, it will provide a lot more support to the bearers by laying them on the floor. You can always screw the bearers to the balcony floor for belt and braces.

[cts1975]

I bought mine from Cladco in Devon. Seems a really good quality product and the fittings and screws they supplied were all good quality.
I fitted mine during the first 2 weeks of lockdown. It measures 8m x 3m. I had to remove the old wood decking and then build 4 new frames before fitting the new deck boards.

[Chicken Chaser]

I was looking for something that looked like wood, but only found Millboard to actually come close. Judged it was too expensive in the end so as I wanted it to look like wood, I bought wood. Smooth side up, plenty of ventilation and plenty of supports. I'll stay away from oil, stains and paint and just clean with netrol and treat with Ronseal deck treatment. That way it stays looking fairly natural. At worst it's a day's worth of effort every spring.

[cts1975]

We treated our old decking every spring with Ronseal. The boards lasted and were still in good condition when they were taken up. The problem was the frames, you cant treat them so they failed well before the top boards.

[rbuk33]

cts1975 said:

I bought mine from Cladco in Devon. Seems a really good quality product and the fittings and screws they supplied were all good quality.
I fitted mine during the first 2 weeks of lockdown. It measures 8m x 3m. I had to remove the old wood decking and then build 4 new frames before fitting the new deck boards.

Looks neat. What did you build the frames out of?

[rbuk33]

Has anyone done a ramp in composite decking? If I go with this, I'd have one to do to join with the passage next to the house

[Zippee]

We ended up using future dek from deckplus.
Looked at pretty much every sample from every manufacturer, some looked great quality but were way too expensive, others looked good but felt cheap. Some of the expensive boards just looked plasticy.
About 26m2 in total