For this garden decking installation in Watford WD17 the client required a completely new Trex Composite Decking surface over the old paving. The steps and elevation changes were tired and originally built at dimensions which were functional, but not comfortable or attractive.
Replacement of old Paved Patio and Step
The paving edges projecting into the lawn were rounded which minimised the usable space on the upper level and left awkward and unusable space on the lower level where not only did the space not get used but also it was almost impossible to get the lawn to grow in.Like all of our decking projects, the main goal was to increase the usable space, make it as low maintainence as possible, and improve the appearance.
The paving was difficult to keep clean, grout constantly needed to be repaired, and it was not very user friendly for a premium garden where a smooth, flat surface which is easy to keep clean surface was required. Maintenance for patios is very different from a Trex Deck, where only a mop and a hose is required. When this is combined with a long life warranty it means decades of low maintenance living which is one of the primary attractions of our decking installations.
Planning the Decking and Step Layout and Design
To increase the usable space, you have to be ruthless in your planning. If you have awkward corners and edges in your terrace this forces you to position rectangular furniture into the middle of the terrace, this reduces your usable space. The edging has to be planned with the end-use in mind. Rounded edges work very well when part of the intended walkways, so leading to or from steps, or with built in or custom furniture.
For a terrace this size, it is large enough to have at least 2 room sized areas as well as access to the lower garden. The 2 most popular room areas would be a dining area and a lounge area with sofas, coffee table, and chairs. For access to the lower garden, you need to make the stairs as flexible as possible for any combination of future furniture positioning. The easiest way to do this is with wide stairs as it gives you as much flexibility as possible for furniture positioning without limiting access to the lawn area.
Trex Lineage Biscayne Composite Decking
The decking specified for this project was Trex Lineage Biscayne.
Trex Lineage decking comes with a 50 Year Warranty. It is a Wood Plastic Composite (WPC) decking board which is Capped. The Trex capping has their proprietary Sun Comfortable technology making it cooler under bare feet than other WPC and PVC Decking boards.
Biscayne has been one of our most popular products since it became available in the UK. The colouring of Biscayne is an almost identical match to wood which has silvered from prolonged UV light. This means the colour of Biscayne is almost always already in most garden colour schemes across the Fencing and any other timber products in the garden, including existing Hardwood Furniture. Biscayne is a non-risk colour as it does not alter the colour scheme of most properties and it is the perfect blended background for the more vibrant colours of planting, feature walls, or furniture. If your budget doesn’t allow for Lineage Biscayne, take a look at Rocky Harbor in the Trex Enhance Naturals range as the colours are very similar.
Explore the Trex Decking and Railing Range at https://uk.trex.com/
Outdure Aluminium Decking Frame
We had between 50-70mm clearance for our decking frame. This limits options to timber, composite, or alumimium. We could have used 50 x 50mm timber, however this would certainly rot swiftly due to a lack of air circulation under this deck. 50 x 50mm composite (HDPE Plastic) would have also worked, however this material expands and contracts significantly as well as being highly flexible, meaning it would require far more support pedastals. The best option for these types of projects is Aluminium Framing.
We specified 45 x 45 Outdure Aluminium Framing for this project, with 45 x 135mm Framing for the Steps. Aluminium has the same advantages HDPE Plastic framing does, it is immune to wood rot and insect attack. Aluminium deck framing also has almost no expansion and contraction meaning the frame will stay where it is without movement over time.
Aluminium Deck Framing is also far more rigid meaning less pedestal supports are required. The Outdure Aluminium Frame also comes with its own system of corner and fascia brackets meaning and the joists are 5.8mt length, meaning assembly is far faster than HDPE Plastic Frames.
Outdure Aluminium Framing comes with a 30 Year Guarantee, the longest Guarantee available in the UK for any decking frame options.
Explore the Outdure Aluminium Decking Frame system at https://www.outdure.com/uk/
