Garden Decking - Advice Please
Discussion
Looking at getting the rear garden decked.
Have had the men around & the quote has arrived.
I’ve no experience of decking & was looking at composite for ease of maintenance. It’s come in 25% more expensive than soft wood.
Is it really, worth the extra? Is it minimal on maintenance? Assume soft wood needs re-staining every season & gets slippery.
Note that the garden doesn’t get much sun this time of year so things do go green quite quickly.
Have had the men around & the quote has arrived.
I’ve no experience of decking & was looking at composite for ease of maintenance. It’s come in 25% more expensive than soft wood.
Is it really, worth the extra? Is it minimal on maintenance? Assume soft wood needs re-staining every season & gets slippery.
Note that the garden doesn’t get much sun this time of year so things do go green quite quickly.
I would say yes it is worth the extra. It depends how much you value your time in cleaning, scraping, sanding and restaining.
Composite is made from a cocktail of wood and recycled plastics which gives a generally more stable product.
If you go composite, make sure you choose the correct colour - not as easy to change later.
Get a couple of other quotes though - do not rely on just one.
Composite is made from a cocktail of wood and recycled plastics which gives a generally more stable product.
If you go composite, make sure you choose the correct colour - not as easy to change later.
Get a couple of other quotes though - do not rely on just one.
Decking is tricky! With softwood it is cheap, but requires some real attention to maintain it, you can't fit & forget.
Pressure washer damages wood, paint it once and be forever trapped repainting it, slippy in winter... Grey within few years etc...
If you can get composite, definitely do! If not, get a patio
Pressure washer damages wood, paint it once and be forever trapped repainting it, slippy in winter... Grey within few years etc...
If you can get composite, definitely do! If not, get a patio
In order of preference: paving, composite decking, hardwood decking, softwood. I suspect that your quotation will be for softwood bearers and composite deck boards.
I put down some grey composite boards last year (DIY & paving would have been too expensive) - something which was unexpected was that they get quite hot underfoot on a sunny day.
My composite stuff has green traces, but is not slippery. It'll take a quick blast from the power washer to be summer-ready.
I put down some grey composite boards last year (DIY & paving would have been too expensive) - something which was unexpected was that they get quite hot underfoot on a sunny day.
My composite stuff has green traces, but is not slippery. It'll take a quick blast from the power washer to be summer-ready.
If you're going for composite, make sure you go for a good brand, NOT a cheap Chinese one. There was a recent case where a very well known DIY retailer had a shipment of 'Friday afternoon' type stuff, slipped through quality control somehow and it turned out they'd topped up the composite mix with rice husk from the factory next door as the normal ingredients were getting pricey! One season of hot and cold and the husk rotted and the whole shebang would fall to bits!
Uncle John said:
Thanks all for your replies.
Cost of paving would be prohibitive so it looks like composite is the winner, just to make sure it's from a reputable brand.
I would go for paving every day of the week over decking, unless the area is truly raised with usable space underneath.Cost of paving would be prohibitive so it looks like composite is the winner, just to make sure it's from a reputable brand.
V8mate said:
Only 25% more for composite? Last time I looked it was twice the price of wood.
So the warnings^ re quality are particularly poignant.
I suspect it's 25% on top of the total bill, which will almost certainly include a large portion of labour/profit - i.e. the material cost might be 75% higher.So the warnings^ re quality are particularly poignant.
It's probably composite deck boards only, and not the bearers.
It might also be the boards which are not solid i.e. hollow inside.
Chris Type R said:
V8mate said:
Only 25% more for composite? Last time I looked it was twice the price of wood.
So the warnings^ re quality are particularly poignant.
I suspect it's 25% on top of the total bill, which will almost certainly include a large portion of labour/profit - i.e. the material cost might be 75% higher.So the warnings^ re quality are particularly poignant.
It's probably composite deck boards only, and not the bearers.
It might also be the boards which are not solid i.e. hollow inside.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff