Premium Decking Installation Service & Materials Guide

Decking Materials Guide

Why choose decking?

There are numerous scenarios where Decking provides the ideal solution to a garden. The most significant one is elevation changes. Elevation changes between the back of a house or building and down to the garden presents some challenges. 

Very uneven areas of a garden present their own obstacles as well, creating unusable space. Raising the garden area up to the doors required huge amounts of backfill if paving the area. 

In these situations Decking is the ideal solution. It brings two uneven areas to a level that feels comfortable. This is especially key where children and their grandparents are all using the area. Stepping outside onto a decked area solves the issue of comfort.

The next question is how to keep the area clean. We often get asked what decks have the best slip resistance, and our answer is always the same: the cleanest decks have the highest slip resistance. So the question really is, what decks are the easiest to keep clean?

Composite Decking or Wood Free Decking are certainly the easiest to keep clean. If there is a lot of debris dropping from trees nearby, then a broom or an electric blower works wonders clearing up dropped needles and leaves. Then once the debris is clear, a sponge mop and warm soapy water is enough to clean a new composite decking area. No pressure washing or heavy chemicals are needed. Provided you clean the deck once in a while, and you have chosen a trusted decking manufacturer for your decking, you will have a slip resistant deck.

It doesn’t feel natural opening a door and immediately walking down steps or a staircase.

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How to choose your decking materials?

Most decking manufacturers provide a guarantee for their decking. These generally cover the structural strength of the decking, specifically that the decking boards will not break. Some manufacturers also provide Fade guarantees that their decking will retain it’s colour for a certain amount of time in years. Faded composite decking can not be repaired to get the colour back. Once it has faded, it will remain that way. All of these guarantees are based on the assumption that the decking has been installed according to the manufacturers strict guidelines. If the decking has not been installed according to the manufacturers guidelines, warranties will not be honoured. Always ensure you have an accredited installer carry out your work, almost all manufacturers have an Approved Installer or Trained Installer program.

Oilcanfinish Outdoor Living currently recommends and installs 3 manufacturers of decking. This is based on extensive research on the manufacturers and their products, feedback from clients, feedback from other installers, our experience installing various decking projects, and research on failed decking projects where the customers have been let down and lost their decking investment prematurely.

If you are looking for a more natural product, Hardwood decking such as IPE or Yellow Balau are incredible materials to have in your garden project. Tropical Hardwood decking can last in excess of 40 years with the appropriate maintenance schedule.

If the budget doesn’t permit luxury Hardwood Decking or Premium Composite Decking, consider Trex Basics or Trex Enhance Naturals as the perfect solutions for Composite Decking from a trusted manufacturer, with a 25 year guarantee, at an extry-level price.

Please click through to take a look at some of our projects and get in touch to start the conversation with us. We will walk through the various advantages and strengths of each product, all decking frame options such as Timber, Composite, or Aluminium Decking frames, any Bearer systems you may need.

Our first choice for softwood decking is Jacksons Fencing Heavy Duty Decking boards. These come with a 25 year guarantee as well as a softwood price. If you do not need your decking to last 25 years, or would prefer a smooth finish vs ribbed, we would recommend Pressure Treated Redwood Decking. The next upgrade levels from these for softwoods would be Siberian Larch which has natural resistances to Fungus and Insect Attack in a similar way Cedar does, and of course Canadian Western Red Cedar Decking. If considering softwood decking, please bear in mind it may require more maintenance than other timber decking options.

Decking Builder Pricing

When planning your project, you will find Deck Builder pricing varies greatly which is primarily down to access to the site, decking board selection, framing materials, and the experience levels of the decking installers you are using. A significant part of Deck Builder pricing is the Deck Framing and the detail finishing you want. The Deck Framing is very important as you do not want your decking boards to outlast your frame. Read up on our Deck Framing options and email us or schedule a visit to discuss these options in more detail.

These are the main elements to decking budgets and quotes and most operate on a sliding scale of quality.

• Decking Boards
• Decking Frame
• Supports and Posts
• Installer Experience / Labour
• Design Complexity
• Additional Items & Enhancements
• Ease of Access to the site and Delivery

1.Decking Boards

Decking Board pricing ranges from Softwood Decking to Ultra Premium PVC or WPC Composite Decking. This scale can slide from £20.00 per square metre to £175.00 per square metre. Dont forget about the screws and fixings.

For us, we dont install entry level materials, so our decking boards generally range from £100.00 to £200.00 per square meter.

What you are paying extra for as you slide up the scale is lower maintenance, easier cleaning, higher scratch resistance, and decking boards which last up to 50 years under warranty vs. the entry level softwood which may only last 6-8 years.

2. Decking Frames

Decking Frames range from Use Class 4 Softwood Timber, to composite decking frames, up to Aluminium Decking Frames. Some installers use even less expensive Timber which has a lower treatment level. The reason we know this is that we often carry them to the skip when we remove them 6 years after they were installed.

What determines your price is how long your decking frame will last. Now that Aluminium decking frames are readily available in the UK from Millboard and Outdure for example, you can have a decking frame with a 25 to 30 year manufacturers warranty. This gives you a price range of £35.00-£100.00 per square metre for your decking frame, from Softwood to Composite to Aluminium.

The cost of the Frame and Decking is combined with Labour.

3. Supports and Posts

There are multiple post and support options for decking. For garden decking on normal ground conditions, posts would normally be used which can be made of Timber, Composite, pre-formed Concrete, or Steel. Ground screws are also an excellent option if soil conditions permit. For certain structures with significant weight or elevation, concrete footings or bases may be recommended to provide the decking with more structural strength.

For terraces or rooftops, adjustable risers such as Millboard Duolift can be used to support your frame.

All Support Posts require Concrete as well as Framing or Structural Bolts to attach to your decking frame. Ground Screws require a specialist driver tool to set them into the ground. Footings require Concrete, Reinforcing steel Bars, and a Post Shoe attached to the top, such as those provided by Simpsons Strong Tie.

For standard Timber posts up to low level Ground Screws, budget £20.00 to £75.00 per support for materials only. The difference in price again is longevity and durability.

All 3 of the above items have one common denominator, the longer you want your decking to last, the more it will cost. You can not mismatch your timings and expect one element to outperform its listed usable lifespan, for example:

Using Millboard Aluminium Framing and Decking installed with Use Class 2 Timber Posts will only last as long as its weakest element, the timber posts. So even though the decking and framing will last over 25 years, the posts supporting it will only last 6-8 years.

4. Installer Experience / Labour

The more experience an installer has, the more they will charge. The less experienced they are, the less they can charge.

More experienced installers have a much larger list of materials they have worked with combined with using those materials multiple times. This gives them a unique level of knowledge in how to assemble and install the materials efficiently and to a higher level of profiency.

This also related to Design Elements you want which may be completely new to an unexperienced installer. While most people can build a rectangle out of wood, the finishing picture frame details, lighting, and fascias are where inexperience comes through. If you project includes Steps and Ballustrades or Complex Designs and angles or multiple levels, you will not achieve your desired result by using inexperienced contractors.

Manufacturers have lists of Approved Installers which you can use to find your installer. Here is the link to the Trex and Millboard approved installer lists.

Expect to pay £75.00 to £150.00 per square metre for an experienced installer with complex designs demanding a higher rate for the premium finish you are trying to achieve.

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Decking Planning Permission

There are several areas where Building Control requirements must be adhered to when planning your decking project. The first one is the Decking itself, the second is Fire Regulations, and the third is Ballustrades. These can vary between commercial and residential properties.

Putting up decking, or other raised platforms, in your garden is permitted development, not needing an application for planning permission, providing:

• The decking is no more than 30cm above the ground
• Together with other extensions, outbuildings etc, the decking or platforms cover no more than 50 per cent of the garden area.
• None of the decking or platform is on land forward of a wall forming the principal elevation.

In certain areas, additional limitations apply:

• In National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites the maximum area to be covered more than 20 metres from the house is limited to 10 square metres.
• On Article 2(3) designated land* no decking or platform is permitted either side of the house.
• Within the curtilage of a listed building, no decking or platform is permitted.

If the decking forms part of a larger piece of work (e.g. an extension with additional decking), then there may be different/further rules which apply to the entire development. These could mean planning permission or prior approval is required.

Please note: The permitted development allowances described here apply to houses and not to:

• Flats and maisonettes (view our guidance on flats and maisonettes) 
• Converted houses or houses created through the ‘permitted development’ rights for:
  • ‘Changes of use’ (Schedule 2, Part 3, Classes M; N; P; PA and Q) (as detailed in our change of use section).
  • ‘New Dwellinghouses’ (Schedule 2, Part 20)
• Other buildings
• Areas where there may be a planning condition, Article 4 Direction or other restriction that limits permitted development rights.

Full details can be found by clicking here: Planning Portal