Timber and composite decks, raised platforms, steps and balustrade, built on a treated frame at the right joist centres and set out so water runs off and air gets underneath. A deck is mostly the frame you never see, and the frame is what decides whether it still feels solid in five years.
Treated joists at 400mm centres for timber and closer again for composite, sat on concrete pads or posts rather than straight on soil, with noggins wherever the boards need support. Overstretched joist centres are why decks bounce, and it is not something that can be put right later without lifting the whole lot.
The frame is set with a slight fall and a gap beneath it so air moves and rain drains away instead of sitting on the ground. Membrane and stone go down underneath to keep growth out. A deck boxed in tight to the soil rots from below while the top of it still looks perfectly fine.
Treated softwood is cheapest to lay and wants a coat every couple of years. Composite costs more up front, does not splinter and never needs oiling, which is why it is the usual pick where a deck gets full sun or bare feet. Both go down with the correct expansion gap, and composite in particular is unforgiving if that is skipped.
Steps built to an even rise rather than one odd one at the bottom, fascia boards to close the frame in, and handrail or balustrade wherever the deck is high enough to need it. Fixings are stainless or coated so they are not bleeding rust down the boards after the first winter.
Composite if you would rather not maintain it and you are staying put. Softwood if the budget matters more, or the deck sits under trees where anything gets dirty regardless. Composite is roughly twice the material cost and about the same to install. Both sit on the same frame, so you can change your mind about the boards without changing the price of the base.
Anything in shade will grow algae and get slippery through winter. Grooved boards help a little, a wash once or twice a year helps a lot more, and textured composite is the best of the three. If the spot is permanently damp and shaded we will probably suggest paving instead, and tell you why rather than just taking the work.
Usually not, provided the deck sits no more than 300mm above the ground and it, together with any other extensions, covers less than half the garden. A raised deck that looks into the garden next door can need permission and is worth checking before it is built. We will flag it if yours looks borderline, though the application is between you and the council.
A straightforward ground level deck of fifteen to twenty square metres is normally three to four days. Raised decks, steps, balustrade and anything needing the ground levelled first run longer than that. The groundworks are the variable, which is why we come and look before pricing rather than quoting off a rate per square metre.
Sometimes, and when the frame is treated, at the right centres and still sound it is good value. If it was built at 600mm centres or the joist ends are damp, new boards will feel exactly as bouncy as the old ones did. We will lift a board and tell you which of the two it is before anything is priced.
Based at New Street in Salisbury and working up to 100 miles out across Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset and Berkshire, so a look at your job is rarely more than a couple of days away.
Send a photo or two through WhatsApp, or ring us, and we will come out and give you a free written estimate.