What timber’s should I consider?
There are many hardwood timbers available for decking in the UK all varying in price, sustainability and suitability. Often price like most things reflects the quality of the material. Using a cheap hardwood can result in unwanted movement over time as they’re unsuitable for the UK environment. If you do want to use a tropical hardwood we recommend the following timbers – Ipe, Iroko, teak and Doussie.
There are other hardwoods worth considering that have been “modified” these often carry warranties against rot and are more sustainable. In particular, we recommend Accoya® which has a warranty of 50 years against rot above the ground outside. Accoya is incredibly sustainable and stable. We also recommend Kebony® which carries a 30-year warranty against rot outside.
Wide decking boards
These tend to lean towards a more rustic project; the boards are usually more unstable and require massive fixings to keep the boards in place. They’re also difficult to source and are rather costly. If your project does need wide decking boards there are many sizes available in Accoya® that are very stable and our go-to timber in this instance.
Narrow decking boards
These often look more refined and have a crisp and smart appearance. The tropical hardwoods are more regularly available in these formats too as this makes better use of all available timber.
This design is aimed at the designer or Architect wanting to use timber as the main feature and to create a unique platform, a similar dynamic to the trellis systems often used these days. The refined nature of these structures can be as narrow as 42mm total board width. The resulting timber face is 36mm. The recent project at the Louvre by Jean Nouvelle Architect in Abu Dhabi used Indonesian Teak at 57mm width. This was decided as the maximum yield from the boards available meaning minimum waste at this dimension.
The standard sizes would be 42mm, 68mm and 90mm; there are others but there may be an increased volume of waste.
Exterpark product designers take pride in creating decking options that are elevated from the norm. They create options for the most challenging of projects and explore dimensions and solutions that work within the language of the design.
In previous projects where a narrow profile had been expected, the decking had been fixed with surface fixed screws which looked unsightly and added considerably to the build time.
“The Exterpark Magnet system has allowed these unique narrow profiles to be specified with an invisible fixing system and without a compromise on installation time. The patented aluminium joist allows special POM clips to be fixed to the decking which allows for a screwless installation and looks rather like the deck on a yacht”.
How to finish your hardwood decking?
We recommend Owatrol for finishing your hardwood decking as they have a huge variety of warranted products to finish both new and aged wood. If you want to protect and enhance your Natural timber or learn how to restore your grey weathered decking, then read our blog post: Bring Your Decking To Life With Owatrol.
Or if you want your deck to look grey then read our blog post about how Exterior finished hardwood decking with grey decking paint.
Need more decking advice?
If you need decking advice that reaches much further than the standards sitting on the shelf at the back of your local builder’s merchant… call us Exterior Solutions Ltd 01494 711 800 we have an in house technical team ready to discuss your project and find the right products for you.
