Have you ever thought about decking? It's a concept that was very popular a few years ago and every TV DIY programme and even some gardening programmes seemed to advocate covering your entire garden in some form of wooden decking. Mostly it was a tasteless fad that saw a lot of inappropriate wooden constructions that looked out of place or tacky, which were built from cheap materials that quickly became dangerous as they fell apart or got covered in moss. The concept has moved on since those times and the use of decking has become a much more sophisticated process and an undertaking to be handled thoughtfully and with care.
When my wife and I were redesigning our large rear garden we wanted an area where we could sit out on summer evenings and entertain friends and neighbours. Given that we live in a traditional English country cottage in a lovely rural village, whatever we decided to do had to blend in with our house and the garden. DIY was clearly not a viable option. The site we had selected to construct our entertaining area, was at the top of a slope so that we could look out across the flower garden and fish ponds below but we didn't want the effect to look like an African Safari platform so the design was going to be a challenge and we decided to call in a professional.
We called in an expert from Grand Decking Designs, who listen carefully to our requirements, studied the house, its environs, the site we had selected and then came up with several plans for our consideration. The plans were extremely detailed, even down to the dimensions of the timber to be used in the various components of the job. One of the things we had insisted upon was to be able to talk to other clients that had used their services. Of course we got a selective list of happy clients, but talking to them about their experiences help to confirm our opinion that we were dealing with a company that could deliver what we wanted and several of them invited us to come and see the finished installation, of which they were, without exception, very satisfied with.
It wasn't cheap. Anything cheap would warp and fall apart in our damp winters so we were faced with a cost of several thousands even for what we thought was a modest construction but it was an investment worth paying. The wood used was all good quality and properly seasoned and we used a local carpenter to construct the finished design. The end result was better that we had expected and after a couple of years, it still shows no sign of deterioration or damage by the weather and the weather has been grim for the last few years.
Regrets? None but we wish we could have planned the weather as well as our decked area. Still we have had a lot of fun entertaining our friends on those days when the sun did shine and the evenings were warm. Who knows? This year we get to spend a lot of time outdoors in the garden.
Grand Decking Designs can be found on [http://www.granddeckingdesigns.co.uk/]
When my wife and I were redesigning our large rear garden we wanted an area where we could sit out on summer evenings and entertain friends and neighbours. Given that we live in a traditional English country cottage in a lovely rural village, whatever we decided to do had to blend in with our house and the garden. DIY was clearly not a viable option. The site we had selected to construct our entertaining area, was at the top of a slope so that we could look out across the flower garden and fish ponds below but we didn't want the effect to look like an African Safari platform so the design was going to be a challenge and we decided to call in a professional.
We called in an expert from Grand Decking Designs, who listen carefully to our requirements, studied the house, its environs, the site we had selected and then came up with several plans for our consideration. The plans were extremely detailed, even down to the dimensions of the timber to be used in the various components of the job. One of the things we had insisted upon was to be able to talk to other clients that had used their services. Of course we got a selective list of happy clients, but talking to them about their experiences help to confirm our opinion that we were dealing with a company that could deliver what we wanted and several of them invited us to come and see the finished installation, of which they were, without exception, very satisfied with.
It wasn't cheap. Anything cheap would warp and fall apart in our damp winters so we were faced with a cost of several thousands even for what we thought was a modest construction but it was an investment worth paying. The wood used was all good quality and properly seasoned and we used a local carpenter to construct the finished design. The end result was better that we had expected and after a couple of years, it still shows no sign of deterioration or damage by the weather and the weather has been grim for the last few years.
Regrets? None but we wish we could have planned the weather as well as our decked area. Still we have had a lot of fun entertaining our friends on those days when the sun did shine and the evenings were warm. Who knows? This year we get to spend a lot of time outdoors in the garden.
Grand Decking Designs can be found on [http://www.granddeckingdesigns.co.uk/]