Patio Vs. Decking

D_D

Hi all,

I'm planning to put either a deck or a stone patio in my garden before Summer kicks in and can't decide which is best. The size of the area is approx. 2.6m x 5.5m.

It is a terrace house, so if doing a patio all concrete or stone required will need to come through the house which is not ideal, but doable as it will be once off.

If I was to go with decking, I'm thinking composite deck as this will reduce the maintenance required. Does anyone know of a good reputable supplier of composite decking? Is this stuff better suited to the Irish climate?

All advice welcome.

martinr5232

If i was in your position i would put down a patio i have a wooden decking and first opertunity i get im pulling it out and putting down a patio.

Hotblack Desiato

The only reason to choose decking imho is if the slope/height of the site requires lots of infill, or retaining walls, to have paving. Decking is a lot easier and cheaper on a site that slopes away from the house, and if you have an extension then the height issue gets worse.

jack of all

I have a deck which I put down over 15 years ago and it's starting to show its age now. Downsides are deck is unusable when wet (serious slip hazard) and never, ever run a deck up against house where there will be direct acess to it from a door (patio/ back door) as there will be a serious accident when you step out on it on a wet day and break your neck (I don't have this scenario but I've seen it in other peoples gardens). Depending on the wood used splintering can be a problem so bear this in mind if your missus or kids like to walk barefoot! Deck does require some maintenance to keep it right and this can be labour intensive. When my deck is ready for replacement I will put down a patio in paving slabs or sand stone next time, there's a lot more choice of materials available now and plenty of good information and ideas on the net.

Hotblack Desiato

Our decking hasn't been treated since we moved in in 2006 :eek: we had too much work to do with the house itself and then had two kids! Last autumn the slipperiness got too much so I blasted it with the power washer, detergent and low pressure then a good going over millimetre by millimetre with the high pressure nozzle. No problem wet or dry with slipperiness now - when/if we get a decent dry spell I'll put some decking treatment on it.

cheif kaiser

If you go for decking be prepared to look after it and that means having to treat it with an algae killer and stain it once a year otherwise you will have problems with it becoming too slippery. I have decking and do oil it at least once a year and have very little problems with that aspect, however I have a worse problem and that is Rats! They don't live under it, they use it as a rat run to get from one garden into the next which in itself is a huge problem and in fact my dog almost died from leptospirosis earlier this year and probably would have only I put 2 and 2 together and was able to advice the vet.

Jimmy_M

+1 on not putting a deck up against the back door if you can at all avoid it. Our is down the back of the garden since end of last summer and has been more for looking out at

As regards wood vs composite. Im sure you know composite is more expensive, but also I think you're abit more limited in what you can do wrt to hand rails etc - also e.g. I put my deck down last year in timber and i used 7x1 timber as a boarder and varnished it a different shade to the main deck - I didnt really have that option with composite.

For prices - I think your best bet is to ring around the usual suspects and get the best price. And if you get a quote that seems a bit high, dont be afraid to ask can they do any better.

Finally - I dont think you can bait a nice stone patio, well worked in with the rest of the garden - pricey though.

red sean

cheif kaiser wrote: »

If you go for decking be prepared to look after it and that means having to treat it with an algae killer and stain it once a year otherwise you will have problems with it becoming too slippery. I have decking and do oil it at least once a year and have very little problems with that aspect, however I have a worse problem and that is Rats! They don't live under it, they use it as a rat run to get from one garden into the next which in itself is a huge problem and in fact my dog almost died from leptospirosis earlier this year and probably would have only I put 2 and 2 together and was able to advice the vet.

Good advice. My neighbour had to have a big deck ripped up after a couple of years due to titbits of food from bbq's, kids dropping stuff etc.down through the boards and attracting rats. Except in his case they were living under it.
Patio for me all the way!

D_D

Thanks for the input guys.

Does anyone know if the composite deck is as slippy as a wooden deck? The back of the house will lead directly onto this deck, just to note. There is also a hardwood deck that I am looking at, which is called iDeck which has a grippy texture in one of the grooves, as seen here. Has anyone ever used this before? As it is a hardwood, does it need the same upkeep as a softwood deck?

I would love to do a patio and had my mind set on it, but because it's a terrace house all material would have to pass through the house which is causing me to reconsider. The interior has just been completely redecorated with a new kitchen in place also.

Hotblack Desiato

Rats - cut off a 40-50cm length of 100mm drain pipe and put 3-4 lumps of Storm rat poison into the middle, then slide it under the decking - this prevents any other animals from getting at the poison. If the decking is large then put in a few drainpipes.

Triboro

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Rats - cut off a 40-50cm length of 100mm drain pipe and put 3-4 lumps of Storm rat poison into the middle, then slide it under the decking - this prevents any other animals from getting at the poison. If the decking is large then put in a few drainpipes.

Was thinking of doing that but was worried about poisoned rats dying under decking and stinking the place up!

Hotblack Desiato

Generally speaking they go off elsewhere to die, but I'd rather have a dead rat under the decking than a live one!

whizbang

I would put the issue down to whether you have kids or not...

Composite decking is ideal for kids.
Put some nice railings around and create a 'playpen'. nice soft flat surfaces, no bugs wandering, will dry off in very short time also.

Marian Hritov

Hi D_D
Just wondering which one did you lay at the end- the copmosite decking or the patio and if you are happy with your choice as i am the same siruation as you
Thanks

domcq

Hi,

I had an old shed foundation and lots level changes to negotiate so the deck option suited my setup. I put down a 25 Square meter deck last April using 6x2 treated timber with a non-grooved finish - the flat finish is much nicer to walk on in bare feet. After a few weeks it had worn down to a relatively smooth surface (no major splinter issues).

It's a South West facing terraced back garden and the deck is right at the back door - it gets plenty of wind and sun so it dries out very quickly. I treated it after install with a clear treatment and it's made it through the winter unscathed (not slippery at all). I've since put a clear roof cover over half of it (the half that gets the least light). I'm sure i'd be just as happy with a patio but the warmth of the wood is a big plus in my opinion.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2YBWAMYcVPCQjg0ZjB2R19PcTQ