Large terrace, what about Merbau wood?

[shockthemonkey]

The original composite stone has begun chipping and we are re-doing our terrace. Garden design person has been pushing the idea of covering over with Merbau decking. It's quite a large space - about 60 square metres.

He insists his wood is responsibly sourced (with FSC certificates), but we're looking into that separately ourselves... while we double-check his supplier, does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with Merbau? Or any data (beyond what we have seen online) regarding the eco-friendliness (or otherwise) of Merbau?

One comment I have had is that it would be a huge space to deck over - will it look odd? Terrace takes up about one fifth of the garden surface area.

Thanks if anyone has any thoughts!

I’d go for a mixture of slabs and gravel. It’s a huge area to cover with boring decking that will need maintained and will never look great . Sorry but your garden designer doesn’t sound very good.

Thanks!

He has great ideas for the rest of the garden, so we may give him a chance. I do like the slabs with gravel idea. May go with that...

I’m a garden designer. I wouldn’t deck a large area personally. Stone slabs are more durable and age better. Wood looks great when first installed and will provide a wow factor for the designer’s website photos, but only goes downhill.

Why do you need a terrace of 60m2? Do you have a very large garden and hold very large garden parties?

Are you sure he’s a proper garden designer and not a landscaping contractor?

Contractors are very keen on large rectangular patios / decking across the whole of the back of the house ( even if it’s shady so you will never sit on it ).

And bright Orange timber fences around the whole garden and an orange shed right at the back. And randomly curvy borders with dwarf walls.

Like these.

For the avoidance of doubt - I am not recommending this look. Though I understand it’s very popular.

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it used in upmarket shopping malls in high traffic areas so must be pretty sturdy.

Have you been able to try a couple of planks to see how slippery it gets? How much maintenance it’ll need? Those are usual concerns with wood.

I don’t know about eco credentials but composite decking seems to last well from what I’ve heard.

We’ve got French limestone and pebble mosaics and have been happy with those.

That's like a village hall worth of decking! It will be so huge and (sorry!) a bit boring?

I don’t think 60m2 is that big once you’ve put down plants and furniture (given the size of the garden). Comfortable for a good size dining and sitting areas + space to walk around it without bumping into people or things.

Here are the pros and cons
deckingperth.com.au/pros-and-cons-of-decking-with-merbau-timber/

Have you considered Millboard? It is pricy but maintainence free.

Thank you so much for your thoughts!

The patio area has always been this size and it would be hard to reduce without a huge re-design of the entire space... plus, we do use it fully through the warmer months, for table tennis, outdoor dining, general entertaining.

The look you've posted pictures for, S00LA, is not what we're going for, which is why the decking idea came as a surprise and our first thought was to ask if it is really eco-friendly. Without that assurance, we would not have gone on to consider whether in fact we would like the look. My OH was half tempted as he loves yoga, and the decking outside would provide the perfect place for it.

Thank you so much for your insight, Venus. Yes this man's website has a lot of lovely decking on display but I think, thanks to everyone's input, we are going to go with our original idea of re-paving with stone... with a little brick detail in there for added interest.

Thanks for the link, Willow. Am going to have a look now ;-)