Is it time for new garden decking?
When the sunny days arrive, there is nothing better than getting out in the garden. Spending time with family and friends, having a meal outside, watching the children play or just having some quiet time in the garden. It is wonderful to have an outside space to relax in. After the winter months that’s when we all start looking at what work needs doing in the garden. This could be replacing decking, painting fences, installing new features. Decking is one of the most prominent features in your garden and will get a lot of use and therefore will need a lot of care and maintenance too.
According to Andrew from Rubadeck “Decking is a great investment for your home and it will provide endless enjoyment in your garden in the spring and summer months for years to come. This will enable you to enjoy the weather while you can.” The biggest advantage to alternatives to wooden decking is when the sunny weather arrives you can go straight out onto your decking and enjoy it. Rather than spending time stripping and refinishing a wooden deck.
Although wood has been a long popular material for decking for a while now, it can be difficult to care for. This can include regular refinishing, sealing to prevent damage and discolouration, which has to be done annually. Wooden decking is also very dangerous in autumn winter months. It can be slippery after rainfall or ice conditions and treacherous in some cases, which doesn’t make it ideal for children or the elderly to walk on especially. For those reasons, many people have turned to other materials nowadays for their decking in their garden.
There are a few choices for your decking. One of them is composite deck boards. These are made out of lumber waste such as saw dust and recycled plastic materials. So environmentally friendly. They are very water resistant due to their recycled plastic materials content. They don’t tend to discolour like the wooden decking does, but they can be scratched and stained. From a distance they give the impression of wooden decking but up close their manufactured nature does become apparent. They can also heat up faster in the sun and therefore walking on them barefoot in the summer months would be uncomfortable. Although you don’t have to worry about splinters in your feet.
Another choice for your decking is rubber decking. Rubber decking is a non-slip decking which is great for those wet and icy days in autumn and winter months. It is simple and quick to install with no specialist equipment needed and comes in a range of colours, which means you can choose a colour to complement your garden space. Rubber decking is guaranteed for fifteen years against rot, fungal decay. This will guarantee your decking to look great for a lot of years to come. You can walk on this decking barefoot comfortably and you will not slip either. With this soft surface it is great for children to play on which reduces the risk of injury on impact.
