Vermont decking

Tommy Vercetti

I was looking at this stuff in Atlantic the other day. Has anyone here used it before, and would you recommend it? I want something which is relatively simple and quick to assemble, and I couldn't be bothered paying someone a fortune to do it!

www.vermont.ie

viking

I did some research into Vermont and was disappointed by them. It appears that unless you are doing a small decking area that is quite simple then it is not worth the price. I'm not convinced that the subframe is that strong and it isn't raised enough off the ground for my liking (unless you use raising blocks).

What kind of area are you looking at covering with decking? Did you price it on the vermont.ie site?

In the end, I ordered off a local hardware shop and myself, my neighbour and his carpenter buddy put it in one Saturday. Worked out cheaper than Vermont and because we weren't restricted by Vermont's sizing, we were able to bring the deck around to the back door so that we had an even bigger decked area.

BTW, I have quite a bit of the materials left over if someone is interested:

4.8M 125X35MM Tanalised Timber Decking
4.8M 150X44MM Rough Treated (sub-frame)
4.8M 100X35MM Treated D Rail
Decking screws

It's sitting round the side of my house since the job is done, if anyone wants it its yours to take away. I'll get the exact quantities later.

viking

PH01

Agree with all the Viking said.
I don't like the look of the Vermont system, though it does look handy.
My main concern is vermin control with this type of decking, with plenty of nice places for rats and mice to make they're home.
I like decking especially as they're so easy to build - 100 time easier than patios IMO. But my wife really hates rats, won't look at one even on TV, and since she heard that decking attracts rats, it nearly was the end of my deck building days.
I had to do some research on how to make them less rat/mouse friendly. And the way to do this is by making them accessable to cats and small dogs.
The Vermont system doesn't look like your pet puss will be able ot find its way through every corner of that decking.

slave1

I was looking at Vermont also and came to same conclusion as the two guys, the build quality just wasn't there, especially in the subframe

I had a small decking area in front of a kids 10X8 garded hut
the decking was 10X4
5 lengths of 5X2 treated rough timber for subframe
these sit on 12 4" solids blocks that I used as base (cemented in, one bag cement/sand)
13/14 ish 3.6meter decking boards which were enough for top and front and two sides and left overs for small chairs and steps
one pack of 200 galvanised T20 screws
all in from local builder providers for under 200 yo yos
two days work, solid as can be and with an oil treatment looks infinitely better than the vermont and would have expectations of longer life span also

give it a go, all you need is a shovel, saw and drill