Decking - yes or no?

82much

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on decking. Want to tidy up my garden with a view to selling in about 6/9 months time.

jbainbridge

I wouldn't see it as a feature ... but some do see it as being attractive. It's usually used to level an area that it would be impractical to pave. We have it outside the back of the house because the garden is about a foot down from the floor of the house.

Jellybean_Jo

How much of the garden would you intend to use up with the decking? Personally it would really put me off buying a house as I just don't like it, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker if I really liked the house. If it took up most of the garden though, I'd immediately want to rip it out and that would affect how much I'd want to pay.

I think decking is a bit 'marmite' in that you either love it or hate it!

sirmosh

I think the type of house makes a big difference, if it's all very modern then decking could be a good fit but if it's an older property with a more traditional feel to it decking may feel very out of place.

Personally I hate decking but a lot of people do go for it.

ognum

My daughter has decking outside a Victorian terrace, it was there when she moved in and actually looks quite nice.

On the day she got the keys I visited with my small terrier, the first thing he did was sniff, then scrabble beside the decking and come out with a live rat in his mouth!!!!

Apparently decking often becomes a home for rats, they enjoy the food that falls through and can live very happily unnoticed and comfortable.

so for me, decking, no thanks!!

SailorSam

Next door to me had a big conservatory and decking done and it looks good, but it's about a 8' drop into the garden, but under normal circumstances i'd rather have a paved area outside the back door.

82much

Thank you for most interesting replies and 'food for thought'. We have about 2 foot drop from the french doors so I thought it would look better than putting steps in. Quite a large garden and house very contemporary. We have paving at the side but thought decking would look softer and more interesting. Will report back with your replies to 'he who doesn't want decking!!'

Wyndham

It can get very slippery when wet. We've got some at the front as the garden is really steep, so this was probably put in (before we bought) to address that. You need to keep up to it, and we used lots of salt in winter to deal with ice/gunk and make it 'unslippery' (if that's a word?) I'm terrified of being sued by the postman!

I don't think I'd choose it again, to be honest. Or I may do for the back of a house that's only used in good weather, rather than all year round.

princeofpounds

I have some. It's fine. It is not slippy when wet (grooved boards), and I don't get algae or moss problems. Clean and stain it once a year. No more a vermin trap than the wood pile or the drains.

It covers an area that can't be easily paved for various reasons. Main thing is to keep it in proportion with the garden.

I wouldn't see it as something that would affect my decision over a house.

smileytiger

I have a huge area of decking (around 32 x 14 feet) but that was because our garden is one huge slope. The end closest the house is level with the patio & the far end is on 8 foot 'stilts' to give us a level useable space. It's actually quite a feature but only there to make more use of an otherwise unuseable part of the garden.
In a flat garden i wouldn't bother but would have a patio.:D

paddedjohn

We have quite a flat garden and have a 32x14 deck outside the back door then 8 ft of paving before the garden, the total length is 120 ft so it fits in nicely but would probably look silly in a small garden. If you are making the space more usable then that can only be a good thing.