Advice on decking (low budget)

ashe

If you!!!8217;re on a budget don!!!8217;t forget to factor in your time for sanding it down, straining it now and then and buying the stain. Looks good to times when done well, don4 cheap,it can look crap, and will look dog tired without care

getmore4less

Wilko always has decking oil cheap at end of the year just stock up.

maisie_cat

reclaimed scaffolding board, about a £1 a foot at 9 inches wide and they are a much softer look

Davesnave

Grass needs mowing, so if the OP has no grass at present, the cost of something to keep it trimmed should be allowed for in any calculations.

I wouldn't do decking, especially with cheap wood, as splinters and periodic maintenance to stop it becoming slippy could be a pain. There's nothing as lethal as wet wood in winter.

If it were me, I'd turn some of the area into a wildlife pond and pave much of the rest with secondhand slabs from Gumtree, or wherever. I'd also build a front and/or side 'wall' with a wide top at child height, again with whatever I could scrounge, because kids like their own areas to be enclosed and they prefer a surface above ground level to put things on, be it mud pies or pond dipping trays.

Apart from some screws, sand, cement and a pond liner, I think most stuff you'd need could be scrounged.

It could 'develop' rather than all be done at once too. Input from the child?

getmore4less

maisie_cat wrote: »

reclaimed scaffolding board, about a £1 a foot at 9 inches wide and they are a much softer look

£1/ft sounds cheap till you add all those 9"x1ft up

The area is 2.2m x 4.53, that's 10(9") x 15ft £150.

silvercar

If it were me, I'd turn some of the area into a wildlife pond

I wouldn't put a pond anywhere near a 2 year old. Little ones can drown in as little as 2 inches of water.

Davesnave

silvercar wrote: »

I wouldn't put a pond anywhere near a 2 year old. Little ones can drown in as little as 2 inches of water.

That's why I said wildlife pond, not something that a toddler can't easily crawl out of.

The 2" of water thing gets trotted-out all the time, but is there any evidence that it happens outside of baths, which are nothing like shallow edged ponds? Does it also happen when there isn't some other contributory factor like unconsciousness, epilepsy, etc?

silvercar

Davesnave wrote: »

That's why I said wildlife pond, not something that a toddler can't easily crawl out of.

The 2" of water thing gets trotted-out all the time, but is there any evidence that it happens outside of baths, which are nothing like shallow edged ponds? Does it also happen when there isn't some other contributory factor like unconsciousness, epilepsy, etc?

I wouldn't risk it.

The presence of the pond, wildlife or no wildlife, would mean I wouldn't feel comfortable for the child to be in the garden alone. Whereas without a pond, there will be a time when I could allow the child to play within site of the kitchen window.

Davesnave

silvercar wrote: »

I wouldn't risk it.

The presence of the pond, wildlife or no wildlife, would mean I wouldn't feel comfortable for the child to be in the garden alone. Whereas without a pond, there will be a time when I could allow the child to play within site of the kitchen window.

Everybody perceives risk differently, which is why I also added that the space could grow with the child, rather than be accomplished all at once. People should do what they're comfortable with.

I'm missing a second cousin, who drowned in a water butt at the age of two. Most people don't think of those as a risk, though they're far more dangerous than a pebble edged pool about a metre across and maybe 30cm deep at the far bank, which in this case would be best against the wall.

glasgowdan

There's a sea of voices that always shout about ponds being a bad idea for kids... I've just created a pond BECAUSE i have little kids. I can't think of much that would amaze them more. I've put a string mesh fence around it with tree stakes to hold it in place. They're not falling in, but they'll see so much life, and become aware of the risks of water. I built a bridge so they can walk over it, lay on their tummies and look down the cracks into the water to try and find living things. I'm getting power set up and will get a pump/filter and some little roach, rudd and gudgeon or similar, and maybe a goldfish or two simply because they're easier to spot.

I imagine driving a car with kids in it puts them at greater risk of life than having a garden pond.

OP, this area would be good for a rockery if it's sunny. A play area, gravel, even a little slide down a rockery bank would be fun, but they'll soon grow out of it so if it's easier to change into something YOU want then all the better.

If it's sunny you could get a raised planter for sunflowers...