6 x 1 or 5 x1 sawn timber as decking boards?

[The Medway Handyman]

Decks are extremely functional & fit for purpose. They may be 'new' to the UK but have been around in the USA for yonks.

Last deck I built; French windows from lounge had a 14" drop to scabby concrete patio, so doors never even opened let alone used.

Kitchen door to garden (at right angle to patio doors) had an 8" drop to concrete, then after 3' level went up by 3" onto uneven old slabs. Then 18" drop to garden.

No access for mini digger, nearest skip would have to be 20 yards away.

One week & £2K later = 300 sq ft of user friendly practical space with minimal disruption. Cost to remove old patio & slab in would have been somewhere like 5 times that and taken months.

So ner ner ne ner ner :-)

[The Medway Handyman]

ST150 wrote: Decking rots and it does go slippery, it goes all discoloured

It certainly does not rot! Modern tanalising makes timber damn near rot & insect proof. It's certainly is not slippery if the right profile boards are used. Only discolours if you don't treat it right.

Foretunately for my bank balance - I do!

[Owain]

Or put it on stilts and call it a gazebo.

Owain

[dennis]

I tried to get one of my neighbours to put a deck on stilts.. his garden slopes at about 35 degrees and he wanted a flat area.. decking on stilts.. easy and quick.

No.. he has been building a concrete wall and filling it with hardcore for the last four weeks now.. I am not going near it as I didn't see any steel going in so its probably a death trap.

[The Medway Handyman]

I just bought the Black & Decker book "The Complete Guide to Decks". Obviously published in the USA. In the 300 + pages not a single picture shows anything but plain timber being used as a deck board. Not a machined board in sight.

[Andy Hall]

Sure.

I have visited loads of houses in the U.S. with decks and have never seen a deck with grooves. This has been mainly California, though, where the climate wouldn't produce conditions for slippery boards during any time that one might use the deck. I'll find out from some friends in New England as to whether they do anything differently and see what they say.

Have a look at Taunton's web site. They have a number of deck books and some designs that are a bit more imaginative than the standard rectangular platform.