advice on decking or paving a garden

car39

hi,i want to overhaul my back garden which has slabs at the moment with weeds growing through them,basically its a mess..as i also need to be budget aware .is the better option decking or paving and would anyone know an approximate cost of the job..

doubtfir3

It depends really on what you like..

I personally dislike decking and am biased against it as a result. I see it as going off quite quickly, rotting, being slippery when it gets wet and not liking mold growing on it.

But then equally, you can get "fake wood" (cant remember the name) decking, you can treat the wood, and apparently if you follow the advice you will have decking which will stand the test of time and will be perfect for years to come.

My own preference is for paving, but natural stone paving.. I prefer how it looks, and find that the moulded concrete paving products which are available are similar to the decking idea in ways.. they really go off colour and don't look half as good within one season..

Essentially, I suppose the best thing to say is that each option has its own merits.. for paving you need the area to be relatively level and graded properly and there is a lot of work involved in laying paving.. decking is easier but may or may not suit your requirements... areas which are on a slope or areas which have a step or two outside the back door or at the patio doors are suitable for decking also as you can just build the deck up to the level of the inside floor which looks better.

My 2 cents.. but I think a lot of it comes down to which is more suitable for your chosen site!

k123456

Im in the landscaping business, I prefer decking becaause you can be more creative with wood, split level, angled deck, built in seats etc.

Stone patios also look great once a good quality stone is used

Over time both lose their appearence somewhat,

In both cases a pressure washer keeps them looking good (depending on your garden's aspect once every two years for a sunny garden

D3PO

k123456 wrote: »

Im in the landscaping business, I prefer decking becaause you can be more creative with wood, split level, angled deck, built in seats etc.

you can do all that with stone aswell. It jsut takes longer and costs more

Sonnenblumen

k123456 wrote: »

Im in the landscaping business, I prefer decking becaause you can be more creative with wood, split level, angled deck, built in seats etc.

Stone patios also look great once a good quality stone is used

Over time both lose their appearence somewhat,

In both cases a pressure washer keeps them looking good (depending on your garden's aspect once every two years for a sunny garden

Although I'm also engaged in landscaping with some experience of installing decking (including composite) our preference essentially for aesthetic but also functional reasons would be to recommend natural stone in almost every instance.

Our extensive portfolio of a range of patios in various natural stone finishes would be simple proof that almost any shape, size and finish is possible with natural stone.

That said there are also occcasions where alternatives might also be considered but IMO these are rare.

Choice of material is important but so too is quality of workmanship/installation.

starbelgrade

D3PO wrote: »

you can do all that with stone aswell. It jsut takes longer and costs more

You can do the same with pre-cast concrete slabs & it costs less. You can even get some that look very like sandstone for under €6 a sqaure meter.