Decking - DIY vs Kit?

elsmandino

Hi there.

I have a fairly large concrete base from an old garage that I had demolished.

I was thinking of putting some decking down but cannot decide whether it would be better to buy a kit or do it completely from scratch.

Having looked, the kits seem to be better value but none of them seem to specify whether the frame timber is Class 4 (which I am led to believe is essential to prevent rotting).

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Brie

Only thing I can say is that if you go down the build it yourself route do be sure you have an electric screw driver.  The OH didn't when building our deck and the impact of having to manually screw in however many dozens of screws caused a good bit of agony.  

Nobbie1967

Kits are generally cheaper because they use lower quality materials. If they don’t state a level of wood treatment then you can assume they don’t have much. Try looking around for timber specialists who will usually be cheaper than DIY sheds unless they have an offer on.

I almost bought a 8*14 foot shed for £880, but realised than even after I’d spent another £400 upgrading bits it would still be rubbish, so built my own. It cost almost £2k in materials. Not cheap, but so much more sturdy and durable.

ThisIsWeird

If you can, make at least the supporting frame and pedestals out of either aluminium or composite.

The decking itself can be timber if you like, since it's easy to maintain - spray every few years with wood preserver and then more oil - but if the hidden frame rots, you're sunk.

Cost comparison? No idea. All I can suggest is to compare qualities.

GLab

I've been wondering if it was true that decking kits are worse overall in quality. It does seem like it. I've had mine for a couple of years and it's already showing signs of wear, even when using treatment.

Is it worth spending money on green-treated decking?

Seems like you can get it relatively cheap from Harlowbros.co.uk but if anyone else has any other recommendations, that would be great.

CliveOfIndia

GLab said:

I've been wondering if it was true that decking kits are worse overall in quality......

New user, resurrecting a thread that's well over a year old, advertising a particular website?  Call me an old cynic, but I smell luncheon meat.

GLab

I searched for decking and this was one of the first and most relevant threads. Everyone is a new user at some point.

CliveOfIndia

GLab said:

I searched for decking and this was one of the first and most relevant threads. Everyone is a new user at some point.

As a new user then, you'll have seen in the Forum Rules that bumping old threads is discouraged.

Apologies, no disrespect intended, but hopefully you can understand my initial comment.

WIAWSNB

GLab said:

I've been wondering if it was true that decking kits are worse overall in quality. It does seem like it. I've had mine for a couple of years and it's already showing signs of wear, even when using treatment.

Is it worth spending money on green-treated decking?

Seems like you can get it relatively cheap from Harlowbros.co.uk but if anyone else has any other recommendations, that would be great.

Hi GLab.

When you say 'wear', what are you referring to? And what 'treatment' are you using?

As this old thread has suggested, always ensure that the base and frame are completely rotproof, as you ain't going to have access to it after the decking is down. Eg, aluminium or composite materials for the supports and joists. 

You can then fit real wood decking on top if you like, and this can be maintained pretty easily.

If you want your decking to last, I'd suggest - after it has weathered for 2 or 3 years - wait until a nice hot and dry spell so the timber is bone dry, and then buy a 25L tub of wood preserver such as Lumberjack. Water-based and easy to apply using a garden sprayer - soak it in, focussing on the cut ends of the boards, and all the screw heads - that's where the rot will begin. Always.

Once fully dry, then 'oil' is probably the simplest finish to apply.