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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Decking quote

27 replies

PiggyMummy · 10/04/2015 15:08

Wise mumsnetters, I've just had a quote to dig out my existing garden (turf and plant beds) and replace with pine decking. The area to be done is roughly 3x4m so 12m squared (that's right isn't it?!). The quote is £1110 all in. Does that sound about right?

I want to go with the company who have quoted as they come highly recommended locally and the quote seems fair to me. DH wants to do the whole 3 quotes and compare thing. I can't be bothered with the faff so I thought I'd see if anyone here could let me know if this sounds an ok amount!

We are in London by the way, outskirts, but London!

OP posts:

superram · 11/04/2015 16:13

Seems cheap to me!

JessesGirl · 11/04/2015 16:19

That seems very reasonable to me. I had decking about the same size in my garden done about a year ago and it cost me £1000. They didn't need to dig anything out because the space was already there but they did need to make me a hatch type thing to go over the man hole cover.

iwouldgoouttonight · 11/04/2015 16:36

We had an area decked a bit bigger than that but they didn't have to remove any turf or anything first and it was around £2000 so I think your quote is very reasonable especially if they have come recommended.

specialsubject · 11/04/2015 16:49

make sure they have considered how not to trap damp near the house and that it allows water through. Also ask what you'll need to do to maintain it to stop it becoming a slippery death trap in winter.

the telegraph gardening correspondent thinks decking is ridiculous for the UK and I agree.

Original poster

PiggyMummy · 12/04/2015 07:58

That's reassuring, from googling it seemed very reasonable to me too.

Specialsubject I have my doubts about decking too, but as a short term solution for our crappy tiny garden (we hope to move within a few years so just want to get it usable and low maintenance) we couldn't think of anything better. The whole thing is only about 5m by 5m and split level so decking seems to make the best use of space for the least money. Grass doesn't grow well as its so shaded and the grassy bit is so small it's hardly worth having a mower. Any other suggestions would be helpful though!

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specialsubject · 12/04/2015 12:23

it won't be low maintenance; you need to scrub the whole lot at least twice a year (more if it doesn't get sun) or jet wash it which damages the surface. Chicken wire nailed on to it is one non-slip solution but it is not a good look.

I would be VERY wary of decking in a shaded garden and NEVER walk on it if it is icy.

why not chuck down some gravel - you can get tonne bags for about £35 delivered. Will be some hard work but worth it. Add perhaps a few paving slabs as 'stepping stones', some planters; instant garden!

PigletJohn · 12/04/2015 13:31

rats like to live under decking.

CatsAreLikeChocolates · 12/04/2015 13:41

Yep, another naysayer here I'm afraid. I slipped and broke my coccyx on a friend's relatively new decking. It loaded fine, but must've been icy and was a death trap. DH gallantly came to my rescue and also slipped, nearly landing on top of me. We can laugh about it now, but it could've been quite a nasty accident. Not a landscaping solution I'd recommend! Agree with the gravel garden idea. Easy to do yourselves with some weed-proof membrane and lots of leg work. Looks nice and tidy all year round, and less likely to break anyone!

CatsAreLikeChocolates · 12/04/2015 13:42

Gah! For loaded please read looked. FFS! I can't type for toffee.

DramaAlpaca · 12/04/2015 13:47

Make sure the decking wood is pressure treated, not just treated, and make sure they put down weed suppressing fabric (not sure of the technical term) between the ground and the deck. Also the screws need to be zinc coated galvanised screws so they don't rust & stain the deck. This is DH's advice - he built ours a few years ago & we love it.

I think the materials alone cost about the same as your quote, but our deck is a larger area so your quote seems good.

We scrub ours annually with the pressure hose and then put a fresh layer of decking oil on it. This seems to be sufficient in terms of maintenance, but our deck is a sun trap.

It does get very slippery in icy weather.

As for rats, I have actually seen one on the deck the dog dealt with it for me but the old saying is that you are never more than 10ft from a rat wherever you are, so I don't let it bother me!

DramaAlpaca · 12/04/2015 13:51

Cats ouch! That fall sounds nasty. You posted while I was typing. Weed-proof membrane, that's the stuff I couldn't think of the name of.

PigletJohn · 12/04/2015 14:32

stainless screws are better. Zinc will only hold back the rust for a few years.

PrimalLass · 12/04/2015 14:39

If the Telegraph gardening consultant could tell me what to do with my awful crazy-paving-on-a-slope garden other than levelling it with decking then great. If not then he/she is wrong and can feck off.

Marmitelover55 · 12/04/2015 14:42

We have a deck and I love it. We wanted a seamless transition from inside to outside and it works a treat. We chose thermawood, which was s big more expensive bug looks nice and will hopefully last longer. It did get slippery in the winter though.

Original poster

PiggyMummy · 12/04/2015 15:46

Yes I know all about the potential rats and slipperiness issues, I did my research on Mumsnet! I am a bit worried about the rats, not the slipperiness as we have no reason to go out there in cold weather. Gravel is a no go as I want a smooth-ish surface for my little girl to play on, paving would be ideal but I'm assuming out of our very limited budget? Scrubbing it down a couple of times a year seems low maintenance to me compared with our current set up (flower beds and about 9m sq grass which requires us to keep a lawn mower in our tiny house and cut it).

OP posts:

Marmitelover55 · 12/04/2015 15:48

Think rats equally likely to live under shed - we have both but do have a cat...

Original poster

PiggyMummy · 12/04/2015 15:54

Anyway, next door have a deck so there's probably rats there anyway

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iwouldgoouttonight · 12/04/2015 16:02

My entire (tiny) back yard was decked in my old house and I never saw a rat in the six years I lived there.

We had our patio decked in this house because we couldn't afford paving, I actually really like it now. It's slippy when icy but I rarely go out in the garden in winter anyway.

specialsubject · 12/04/2015 18:05

the decking will get splintery when scrubbed/jetwashed, much nastier than gravel. Buy her a playmat to play on.

the grass does sound a pain in your circumstances, I agree.

so some of you do not set foot AT ALL outside the back of your house in winter? Let's hope you don't have to, remember the decking doesn't have to be icy to be slippery.

TeddyBee · 12/04/2015 20:18

My decking wasn't icy or slippy this winter, apart from when it actually had snow on it. We're in the Greater London microclimate, but still, I don't know where these ice rink decks are. We love ours. It saved us a fortune in landscaping and we had a sandpit built into it for the kids.

TeddyBee · 12/04/2015 20:19

Also gravel = cat poo. Just saying.

PrimalLass · 12/04/2015 20:35

so some of you do not set foot AT ALL outside the back of your house in winter? Let's hope you don't have to, remember the decking doesn't have to be icy to be slippery.

Of course. But there was no other way to make the back garden usable as it slopes (on bad crazy paving) about 2 ft from one end of the house to the other. Other than spending thousands on digging up the concreted-in paving, levelling the ground etc.

specialsubject · 12/04/2015 20:50

Greater London is virtually frost free (big city plus lots of energy waste) so decking may work there.

there is a right size of gravel to avoid creating a cat toilet. We bought the cheap stuff and have had no problems, and we certainly have passing cats. Designer individually handpainted gravel is a cat magnet, go for the rough stuff!

PigletJohn · 12/04/2015 21:00

'mmmm, it depends how built up you are. I had a loft pipe freeze in a leafy suburb in 2010/11, and IIRC that winter the streets were thick with snow and ice for several weeks.

Decking frosts faster than paving (and melts faster).

Original poster

PiggyMummy · 12/04/2015 22:05

I didn't set foot out the back of the house between October and April (first year we've been here) . DH did to clear a drain but there is (and will remain) a proper path along the back of the house so no decking for him to slip on if that happens again! I concede we may go out there more often next winter though if it's been sorted and is no longer a weedy mire, esp as little girl may want to go out. We had no frost this past year but I'm sure that's not always the case. I reckon we'll chance it!

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