Is it me, or is this stuff outrageously expensive, I am thinking about replacing an old wooden deck but the prices seem crazy, I would need 46 3.6 meter lengths, the average price is about £40 per length, has anyone else here researched of fitted this stuff?
I built a timber deck last year and at the rate timber prices were increasing back then, I wouldn’t be surprised if timber was at least 50-60% of that price by now.
It is expensive but probably cheaper in the long term as long as your sub structure holds up.
Worth having a browse here
https://www.edecks.co.uk/dept/135/Co...cking-Products
Are you intending on replacing your decking frame as well? If not please be careful, as this could undermine any expensive decking that you choose to put down
I have just built one for a customer, he did want composite boards at first but finally decided on 'Yellow Balou' hardwood instead (these 3.96 -see below comments- worked out to £60.75 each) with hidden screws using an American jig system
The reason for replying is that I've seen that another member has posted a link to edecks.co.uk
We purchased the boards from them and just a word of warning. Not any two of the 30 boards that we bought were the same length. They were also not the advertised width. This caused a lot of extra work and terms of resizing the deck base and having to cuth the boards to a uniform size
I can supply you photos if this is of any help
John
My parents had one done 13 years ago when they moved in. Seemed to have lots of bounce in the heat and the sub frame was sub par. They now have ceramic tile.Originally Posted by adrianw
Thanks gents, I will take off the old decking and see what it looks like underneath
Hi John
Was just going from my experience 3 years ago buying the ‘Real Groove’ composite boards from edecks 2.4 & 3.6 and they were spot on but as we all know things can change ?
So best I guess is any buying decisions are made based on latest feedback / trust pilot reviews
When all said and done as good as the composite is i think a nice hardwood would be my choice next time around providing your prepared for extra maintenance
Mum has a small section of composite decking and it becomes lethal when wet. (worse when it is icy) She has resorted to topping it with old bits of carpet! The sooner it is gone, the better!
I fitted trex on a small staircase at the rear of the house and it's been a mixed bag. As above when wearing anything with synthetic soles it's like ice, and also a lot of them took extra fixings because they were sightly warped when delivered. On the plus side they look as new 2 years later, zero maintenance and easy to work with in terms of cutting and drilling etc.
I would buy again but wouldn't spend thousands, I'd rather replace in wood every 10 years.
I had it in our old gaff, not cheap but a quick jet wash as looked liked new. No faffing with stain or oil.
It’s crazy heavy, make sure the frame is up to it.
I’m just having new fascia boards done the roofer says anything plastic has got ridiculously expensive in the last year
Had our 30 year old wooden decking replaced with composite last year including a new subframe. The initial quote was around £3.5k for wood or £4.6k for composite. By the time we'd added on a few other bits and pieces, it came to a bit more but, we went with composite and couldn't be happier. Regards how slippery each surface is, we found the complete opposite to a previous poster. Our old decking was lethal in rain or snow whereas the composite couldn't be safer. It's also much easier to clean off with the hose and won't require any maintenance, unlike the wood.
Most anything building related has got ridiculously expensive in the last year sadly.
the Decking is part of a bigger project, we are turning the shed at the bottom of the garden into something more usable, I got prices for the materials 24th June, I ordered them on 1st of July, plasterboard had increased by 20%
I put down approx 40 sq m of composite last year, it is double sided with a different colour either side so could in theory be turned over if we ever fancy a change of colour scheme. It wears well and a quick jet wash keeps it looking brand new, use the manufacturers stainless steel clips and make sure to allow sufficient expansion gaps as it does expand significantly. As stated earlier it is rather heavy so put down a decent frame well supported at 400mm centres and correctly sized joists. Each manufacturer publishes figures relating to how slip resistance each product is. We found ours to be much better than the previous timber decking especially when wet or icy.
It is more expensive but after having some put down last year as part of a garden overhaul I'm very happy with it and it wasn't a crazy amount more than a hardwood option. Ours is from Ecoscape.
https://ecoscape.co.uk/
Make sure you get the expansion gaps spot on. Our fitter unfortunately did not and some boards have now warped.
As others have said, put plenty of focus into the frame. Even a softwood deck can last 20 years if you regularly treat it, but there is no proper access to the frame to treat it after the deck is constructed and that can often be the source of future problems which are difficult to fix. Simple steps like tacking some dpc (or equivalent) to the top of the joists can make a big difference as water will sit on top of the joists in the gap between the boards and that is inevitably where they start to rot from first.
I ripped up all our decking a couple of years ago the decking wasn't too bad but as you say the frame was rotten it was a cowboy job that was there when we moved in and I was glad to see the back of it
Isn’t that why you’re supposed to fit them groove side down?
I'm not following you? Joists don't have a groove and the bit of the joist that is exposed in the expansion gap between boards is what traps water and rots first on all decks.
The groove in the deck boards is to improve traction and designed to face upwards.
Decking is great for providing warm and dry spaces for rats and foxes (though I suspect not at the same time)! Suffice to say we opted for ceramic tiles.
Correct, allows airflow and water to disperse. Much like a drip grove on a window board.
Hi TKH,
Yes, I can only go from my experience with the company just over a month ago. We only discovered the sizing anomolly after I had begun to install the boards. After contacting edecks, we negotiated a small discount, but I have to say it was pretty dissapointing that every board was 138mm wide (instead of the advertised 145mm) and the lengths varied from 3.92m-3.97m (instead on the advertised 3.96m)
The Yellow Balou boards are a really nice hardwood. My customer is German and is very detail driven, so we treated all of the boards prior to installing them with Barretine Wood preserver and then 2 coats of Barretine decking oil, both in clear finish. I would thoroughly recommend Barretine products, as the finish is excellent
It will be interesting to see how this very warm & dry Summer affects the boards and if they will need treating again before the winter
This is the first one that I have built and whilst it was a bit of a headache, I think the result was worth the time and effort
I can't post the photos of it as they are too big, but here is a link to my FB page, you can see the process and result
John
https://www.facebook.com/JTHomeImp
https://gripclad.co.uk/blog/things-y...about-decking/
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote