Home DIY

I’ve just put in timber decking but smooth side up. By all accounts the slip is from crud/algae build up and a smooth surface is easier to clean and has more surface area to grip. I went out on it in the rain the other day and if anything it was more grippy than in the dry!

We have gone for Composite, put it down in Nov, so have used it in rain and frost, and it has definitely been good in terms of non slip. We also went for it as it will last a lot longer than wood, and takes a lot less upkeep as well. It is more expensive than wood, but the price has come down loads in the last couple of years, and for 10sqm you should be able to get something for a decent price. If you do go down composite your have to think about what you make your sub frame out of, as you don’t want that rotting out before the decking boards, so we built ours out of oak.

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My garage was put up by me in the very late 80s so asbestos had been oulawed by then. I'm going to have to bag it up like asbestos though as that is the only way that council will accept it.

Hardwood decking such as Ipe is expensive but will last three or four times as long, and even the smooth stuff has great grip in the wet. I fitted mine three years ago and have been very pleased with it.

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About 8hrs later

real feeling of satisfaction. Steel insulated panels.

So in terms of decking, smooth wood, composite, hardwood, all good.

What I'm planning is a fairly substantial timber base, as if I were putting a garden office on it, but putting decking on it for the moment.
If we extend the house, we'll probably stick to decking, if we don't extend the house we'll build the garden office.

It it were up to me, I'd put fairly cheap decking in case we only keep it a year, but my wife is rather worried about safely.

Yep, I would go hardwood or composite if you are planning on keeping it any length of time.

In terms of the frame, are you concreting the posts into the ground? If so I would think about what wood you are using there, as standard 4x4 posts will rot out faster than anything else, you can slow that down a fair amount by using post savers or slow it even further by using a harder wood for the posts. I used 8x4 oak sleepers ripped in half, and then put post savers on as well for double protection.

My deck is over 4 years old and was boggo standard Wickes deck boards. Has only been pressure washed and treated (with Ronseal Deck Protect) twice in that time. Still like new.

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The hardwood I used for my deck cost a grand for the small area shown in the picture. Softwood would be a about a third of the cost I reckon. Regular scrubbing will keep the slippery stuff off it.

I think we are going to make concrete pads and bolt posts on them. We've had issues with fence posts in that corner of the garden, ground stays quite damp, so want to make sure to keep the frame away from the rot as best as possible.

Those Wickes boards are a tenner each

How did you rip the sleepers?

Also does anyone have ballpark figures for longevity of fence post vs with post saver vs oak? Am hoping to do a 6x3m deck for my garden office this summer.

I'm also undecided on hardwood vs composite boards .

I ripped them using a bench saw behind the tractor, but my sawmill also offered to do them for a £1 a cut.

No idea on longevity, but the post savers were £1 each, so figured for an extra £50 it was a no brainer.

From a quick ebay post savers look to be ~£2 each. If they're confident enough to offer a 20yr guarantee it almost doesn't seem worth not doing right?

The real comparison is cheap post + fence saver Vs oak.

hardwood vs composite boards

My 2p: decide that based on aesthetics.

Council was £50 per 200kg. Have to double bag and tape. Pricing it all up with packaging and transporting, have gone with a specialist instead. £360. i'm up in the north of the country.

Was literally just on the council website looking at this - looks like they do a pick up for free here as it's a pretty small amount.

Anyone have any experience with sandblasting? We have some beams in the new house which are stained or have shiny varnish on them and want to take them back to plain oak. Belt sanding doesn't seem correct as we don't want to lose the shape/detailing of the beams. Or am I wrong.

Sandblasting sounds right as long as cost works out.

My garage was put up by me in the very late 80s so asbestos had been oulawed by then

Not true only blue and brown asbestos were outlawed in '85, to the best of my recollection both of these were used in lagging or insulation. White asbestos (the stuff present in re-enforced corrugated sheeting) was not banned until '99.

looking forward to another night of rain pissing into my garage under the door tonight

whoever plonked it at the bottom of a sloping driveway and failed to install a drain trench thing - fuck you

Yes you want sand blasting. Only experience is Oak beams in old French farm houses.

Depending how old they are / tight the fibres are, if you leave them untreated they'll get really dusty and dirty.

As I've found out. Gone down the licensed contractor route. An unexpected expense.

Will treat them but not with any colour or super shiny varnish as currently.

Cool thanks all

Another question - has anyone used Bauwerk lime paint ( @Airhead maybe?)?

Money well spent imo.

Sorry, not used it or any lime paint. I'm thinking about trying some linseed oil paints but I've been doing that for about 10 years!