You should just do what folks near me do. Wait for the most glorious sunny day, and for all your neighbours to hang their washing out. Then burn as much as you can, preferably newly felled timber and leaf to generate as much smoke as possible. If anyone else is gardening, thing that as a bonus
Has anyone used or designed with composite decking (instead of wood)? Like this. I'm wondering if there is some pretty convincing wood-imitation out there. As I would like to keep a greenhouse and pots on the deck, it would seem to be sensible to not use wood.... Just exploring options.
My aunt and uncle used it for building their patio and some steps up to an above ground pool. It doesn't really 'look' like wood, but it looks nice.. and feels nice on bare feet. Evidently it's a pain to cut through though, if you plan to DIY. You need a special saw blade. They did theirs about 10 years ago, and it still looks great. They powerwash it every spring, but aside from that it's zero upkeep.
Leave cm gaps between each board, so greenhouse spills can just be swept into the cracks, and water can escape. It will provide some additional ventilation as well.. though you may need to bubble wrap the floor each winter! 😀
Less slippery than wood. The construction type places around here will usually give you a few free samples to check out, or sometimes you can purchase samples online for minimal cost.. it might be worth getting some and seeing how it looks out in the rain, etc. There are all differerent types.. and some are much better quality than others.
My OH is building houses for someone else at the moment and he's recently been putting down this type of composite decking https://www.compositedecking.co.uk/. It's gone down really easily - no special saw required - and looks very neat. As Blue Onion says, I'm not sure it looks like real wood, but it does look fine - neat and tidy. They've used one of the ribbed types including on a ramp and it's definitely not slippery. I can't say how well it weathers as it's only been down a few weeks.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Best to make sure that there's some access to the space below the decking - have heard one or two tales about people dropping pieces of jewellery (engagement rings!) and being unable to retrieve them without having to dismantle part of the decking.
Thanks for all your thoughts. HCF, I have loads of space below the decking (currently filled with old rubbish), that's part of the problem. Lol. I'm trying to see this reworking as an opportunity to put in something that works better than the old decking ever did.
I haven’t used it but seen it laid outside in a display at a diy store, taking thousands of tramping customers looking at the garden furniture. The grey looks really smart and is not pretending to be wood, so I think looks much nicer than the chocolate brown.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
In January just gone, I had my wooden decking removed and replaced with Indian sandstone. I gave 11 square yards of sound decking to a strapping young man who had advertised on eBay looking for old decking. He removed it all in one morning, which saved me a huge amount of work (and sent the mice scattering, my main reason for getting rid of the decking). I then had sleepers laid as retaining / planter walls, and the whole area covered in sandstone slabs, resulting in a single, rather than multiple levels, which makes walking much easier. Last week, after a couple of days of dry weather, I treated the stone with resin, giving the colours a nice wet look. I have to say that overall, I am far happier with the stone than the deck, and my wife is very reassured that the mice now have no reason to come near to the house!
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Leave cm gaps between each board, so greenhouse spills can just be swept into the cracks, and water can escape. It will provide some additional ventilation as well.. though you may need to bubble wrap the floor each winter! 😀
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”