Garden decking is a great alternative to graveland concrete landscape design. Here decking plank or terrace deck are usedas materials, as they are commonly used in building open terraces, wharfs and decks. Specially treated cedar decking, larch and teak withstand temperature drops, keep the shape well and are rot-resistant. All these advantages allow to widely use timber decking in landscape design.
Types of decking design
Eco decking is aesthetically beautiful and blends well with surrounding landscape. Depending on the particular features of a given environment, garden decking might be executed in various colours, using either separate decks or ready-madeunits.In terms of quality three types of decking are singled out: hardwood decking, heat-treated decking and wood polymer composite decking. Due to the fact that timber decking has better propertiesthan untreated wood,it willlast longer in any climate conditions.
Image source: Flickr
Decking designs
There are hundreds of garden decking ideas - will it be an openveranda, a terrace, a garden bridge, patio, exploitable roofing or waterside leisure area. Decking ideas for small gardens can be found in specialized literature or on garden decking manufacturers websites.i.
The shape of timber decking area might vary according to the style of the surrounding buildings and terrain features- it might be square, triangle, curved or made out of several connected units.
If an open terrace is timber decked, you need to consider running up a temporary shed or a roof to protect it from the sun and rain. This applies especially to leisure areas, where garden furniture is being held. Utility furniture can be made of rattan, bamboo, plastic, wood or composite materials.
Image source: Flickr
If the garden has uneven terrain (more than 40-50 cm difference), or there is a need to build a decking area above the pond, consider building decking balustrade and decking stairs. Necessary in terms of safety, decking balustrade is also a strong design element, which needs to accord with garden decking design. Decking stairs are made of the same material as the gardendeck itself.
How Garden Decking is built
First, deck building stage is created with a flat concreted areaorinstalling helical pier support.
Then wooden railway joists or metal profiles, coated with antiseptics are attachedtogether with terrace decks. To hold the decks fixed, stainless steel self tappers or joining clips are used.
When fixing, we need to make sure to buttthe decks end to end and place exactly above the joists to prevent sagging. At least 5-8mm gap between deck boards is needed to maintain ventilationand drainage and prevent shrinkage or expansion in changing weather conditions.
It's a well known fact that moist wood surfaces can become very slippery, which creates the risk of injuries. Ribbed surface solves the problem, being either wide or narrow. Furthermore, to aid water run-off, the deck is attached at a small angle. If timber deckingborders with the house, the angle is made in the opposite direction.
Things to consider when buying the decking
Today’s timber decking market is flooded. Unfortunately people often encounter low quality products. In such cases timber decking has various wood defects, mechanical damages, might change the colour and deform with time. Let’s have a good look on how to choose quality decking.
Image source: Flickr
- Timber deck can’t be cheap for several reasons: it is made of hardwood, oftenof expensive tropical trees (ipe, cumaru, massaranduba, iroko, palisander, red-bark devil’stree, padauk, teak, merbau, etc.), or is specially coated. For this reason don’t buy timber decking which is much cheaper than itsaverage market value.
- If you are interested in the products of particular manufacturer, browse through various construction forums for reviews.
- Read carefully the information about the manufacturer on their website. Send an inquiry for deck tests being held to determine discolouration, durability and stability against changing weather conditions. Available range of products must contain not only dark shades of different colours, but light ones as well.
- Study deck samples. Saw cuts must be smooth, without chips and the wood must be solid, not loose.
Garden decking plays a big role in creating comfortable, cosy atmosphere, full of purity and order. It complements the architecture of the house, is a strong functional and design element in the garden.
