When we first visited this Raynes Park, SW20 property the first time, the garden was 100% a work in progress and the composite decking installation was what we were asked to take care of. Fencing work had been done, the paving work was in progress, and their was a dwarf wall which had been built. All of this had followed a home extension bringing out the kitchen, lounge and dining room. Our goal was to create a low maintenance, premium space for the family to enjoy. It was to extend from the lounge out past the low wall with steps down to the paving path along the side. It also had to wrap around the side of the house to the side door. Future plans for storage of some type on the small side return near the air conditioner units was always part of the plans. For a busy family, composite decking is the number one choice
Why choose composite decking?
Composite Decking provides something other materials do not, and that is the one thing people are always running out of: time. Softwood and Hardwood decking looks superb immediately after is has been cleaned and oiled. They it begins its gradual journey into its maintenance schedule. Cleaning is a scheduled task if you want it done properly. Oiling is a another schedule and weather dependent task if you want it done properly. If you don’t have time to do it, budget £600 per year for a team of 2 people plus materials for a medium sized deck. Now multiply this by 20 years and you get the real comparison figure to compare a Hardwood Deck and high-quality Composite Decking. This is the only way a hardwood deck would ever even come close to looking as good or better than a composite deck over a 20 year lifespan. Thinking you can bypass this with a pressure washer is incorrect. Pressure washers roughs up the surface grains of the wood, so the algae just has more surface to adhere to every time a deck is pressure washed. It actually makes the problem worse. If you are going to properly clean a softwood or hardwood deck, use cleaners from Owatrol or Osmo.
For your composite deck, factor in a £12 mop from Tescos. You hose it down, run over it with a mop, and hose it down again. That is it. For 20 years minimum. By that point, you may have to replace your timber frame on your decking, but your composite boards will still be in good condition to be re-laid provided you chose a premium brand (like Trex which is what we primarily install and recommend).
So when you are gathering quotes for your decking project, remember that over a 20 year period, add £12,000 for Hardwood and £240 for premium Composite Decking. Add those 2 numbers onto all of your quotes and you will see a true comparison of the difference materials makes. That’s what it costs to keep hardwood looking as good as a superior grade of Composite Decking.
Types of composite decking: Wood Plastic Composite Decking (WPC)
| Type of Decking | Seasonal Expansion & Contraction | Price | Fire Resistance | Whats the Wood in WPC? | Whats the Plastic in WPC? | Whats on the top? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low-End Range WPC | Significant | £ | Low, unrated | Bamboo Shavings | High Density Plastic | Protective Cap |
| Hardwood Decking | Low | ££ | Highly Flamable | — | — | — |
| Mid Range WPC | Low | ££ | Medium, unrated | Mix of Softwood & Hardwood Shavings | Low Density Plastic | Scratch, Fade, and Stain resistant Polymer Capping |
| Premium WPC Composite Decking | Medium | £££ | Medium, unrated | Hardwood Shavings | Low Density Plastic | Highly Scratch, Fade, and Stain resistant Polymer Capping |
| Wood-Free Composite Decking | Low | £££ | Bfl-s1 Rated in the UK | No wood | No plastic | Paint, flexible and durable |
| PVC Decking | Low | ££££ | B Rated in the UK | 100% Plastic | Scratch and Stain resistant Polymer Cap | |
| Ultra Premium WPC Decking | Medium | £££££ | Medium, unrated | Hardwood Shavings | Low Density Plastic | Highest Scratch Resistance, Fade, and Stain resistant Polymer Capping |
The biggest shift we have seen is between Hardwood Decking and Mid and Premium Ranges of WPC Decking. Mid Range WPC Decking being ideal for lower budget projects where durability and low maintenance are key, such as in Rental or Tenant Properties, while Premium WPC and Wood Free Composite being ideal for busy families who want a low maintenance deck in their garden. PVC Decking and Ultra Premium WPC Decking are for those looking for the absolute best.
Get in touch via email to enquiry@oilcanfinish.com if you would like specific examples of each category of decking.
Planning your decking frame: its all about the doors
The area featured a significant elevation drop, meaning if paving was being considered it would require a significant amount of backfill to fill the void. This really is where decking shines, when you have elevation changes and fairly large undulating spaces, all working to a millimetre perfect finishing point. The elevation from the house bi-fold doors to the low wall meant we had approximately 20cm in total to work with to include the decking boards, the decking frame, and the frame supports to clear the wall. This frame would have an open cavity under it for the majority of the decking of up to 50 cm depth, which for us means a fairly large amount of airflow.
The goal was to have the top surface of the decking as close as possible with the interior flooring. The transition from Indoor to Outdoor should be as seamless as possible. You do not want steps or elevation changes all of which can causse trip hazards, so the work and thought around your doors is crucial part of the planning phase. The doors are the reference point for the height of the rest of the project.
The other intial planning details for this deck revolved around a double picture frame design, an inset planter bed, the Stairs down to the lower paved area, and step lighting. The future plans included more lighting down both sides of the garden, hose and cable runs to the garden, and the possibility of building a storage unit of some kind along the slat fence side of the deck.
Advanced planning for future lighting plans as well as any electrical or water supplies is always a good idea. Running a power cable and an HDPE water pipe from the house under the deck to a potential future access point gives you options, just cap them at either end, to protect them, and leave yourself some slack and an easy access point to them.
What is a picture frame design or layout?
The Double Picture frame design is very popular for wider decks as it gives a polished finished look. This modern look does away with random boards butting up against eachother and leaves crisp, clean lines. It is ideal for a contemporary sleek appearance. The boards all line up perfectly and the two sections are separated at a fixed point by what is called a Breaker Board. We centred the breaker board on the main door from the house. It is not the exact centre of the deck, however it is the central focal point when viewing the deck from the house and draws your eye towards the entrance. The look is completed with a perimiter border, leaving the appearance, from an aerial view, of a 2 panel window, hence the name double picture frame. We extended the east picture frame down around the corner to the side door.
WPC Composite decking expands and contracts slightly as the temperatures change. Using a picture frame design has a practical function as well as aesthetics as it allows the expansion and contraction to occur fairly consistently without pusshing boards out of possition.
The alternatives to this include the traditional design method of butting up boards against eachother. Thiss method utilises the least amount of decking boards, however it also creates a mish-mash of lines across your new deck. If you are looking for a more natural, cottage look, this may be for you and there is a decking board for that too!
Inset Planter Beds to break up and soften the grid pattern
The second key design feature for this deck was the inset planter bed. This is my favorite feature of this project as it adds something completely different to the project which you don’t often see. I would like to see more of these in our future designs as it is a beautiful way to break up areas with natural plants which soften what is overall a modern design.
Closed Staircases: made chunkier to become part of the furniture
A closed staircase joining decking with a lower level is often used to delineate strength and safety, however when it is expanded into a feature with its own expansive top, it can become more of a feature on its own. The tops of this closed staircase are already the regular location for drinks, phones, and anything needing to be set down while moving to the lower garden area. They are big enough to be sat on as a casual perch, the cat certainly finds them useful for this, however the tops can easily be converted permanently, or temporarily, to become feature planter beds.
Adding permenant features to your decking in key areas maximises the durability of premium composite decking. These decking boards will outlast any garden furniture you can buy so why not use them for a raised bed, a bench, a table or ledge, or another permanent structure in your garden. There is almost no end to uses for this building material. Also, almost every premium decking builder we speak to actually enjoys these aspects of projects as it is something a bit different and we do love custom requests.
Garden Lighting: highlight crucial elevation changes for safety
The last item to be added to this modern decking design was lighting. The idea initially was to highlight the step area with recessed step lighting for safety. After some discusssion the client advised he would be adding lighting down both sides of the garden as well along the planter beds. It is also possible more deck lighting may be added. When these types of discussions take place it is extremey helpful to recommend a future-proof solution. We installed an Inlite Smart Hub 150. This includes 3 ports for 3 separate cables, each of which become individual Zones on the Inlite App (on Android and Apple) each of these Zones can be managed independenty of eachother. So we set up the start of Zone 1 with these recessed Inlite Dot 22mm Lights with Stainless Steel Bezels. There is approximately 32 linear mts of Cable left on that Zone, tucked away safety behind our decking, ready for any future additions. There is enough cable to go all the way down one side of the rear garden or wrap the entire exterior border of the deck. Thats 1 of 3 zones. Zone 2 will most likely follow the fence on the side the Hub has been installed and be spike lighting mixed in with the planting.
We almost always recommend Inlite Smart Hub 150s for our garden decking projects as even if you haven’t decided on your whole plans, they can expand with you and they have a ssignificant range of options to highlight any garden feature, no matter how subtle you want it to be. They also come with a 5 year warranty.
Decking Frame, Bearers & Posts used for this project
- Use Class 4 treated timber with a C24 Rating
- Trex Protect Joist Tape to prevent water damage to our Timber Frame
- 100 x 100mm composite posts, notched and bolted to the frame to provide a rot free support system
- Carpenters Mate Flat Head and Hex Head Structural Screws which come with a lifetime warranty and are approved to BSEN 1995-1-1 (which makes them a building control approved alternative to the M10 coach bolt)
Premium Composite Decking used for this project
- Trex Transcend Lineage Biscayne composite decking boardss, our most popular colour for the past 2 years
- includes a 50 Year Warranty, including against fade and stain
- will not crack, warp, rot
- easy clean with a mop and warm water, for the entirety of its 50 years
- no treatment, oiling, or sanding required
- can be installed with Trex Hidden Fixings or Hidden Screws and Plugs so the entirety of this deck has no vissible fixings
- Trex Transcend Lineage Bisscayne fascia boards
- all of the advantages listed above but in a slightly wider and thinner board, ussed on the fascias of the stepss to reduce unattractive additional lines
- Order Trex samples online by clicking here
Premium Lighting system used for this project
- Inlite Smart Hub 150
- Inlite Smart Bridge to add wifi connectivity to your Smart Hub 150
- Inlight Dot 22 recesssed lights with 28mm Stainless Steel Bezels
- Request your Inlite Brochure by clicking here
First Contact
If you are in the initial planning stages of a Decking project. There are multiple AI Models and Software to help plan your project if you want to dive in like the The Trex Visualizer Tool Free Deck AR Visualiser App for Your Phone | Trex | Trex
If you prefer an initial discussion on property, and you are in the Greater London area or within an hour or so drive, get in touch with us via email at enquiry@oilcanfinish.com or call/Whatsapp us at +447919344450, or fill in the contact form below.