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.