Decking.

[noseall]

Timber decking is doing to gardens and back yards everywhere what artex did to walls and ceilings in the '70s and '80s.

Looks great when first fitted, is quick cheap and easy to lay, but ends up horrendously slippy and ugly looking when it will be inevitably neglected or poorly maintained.

 

[ladylola]

I'm inclined to agree, I'm not a big fan of covering a garden in glorified pallets myself I much prefer slabing or bricks but each to his own.
Still , silver lining at all that, there will be work in the future ripping out all this "terrible old fashioned decking" to replace with neon plastic gravel or what ever becomes the in thing in 10 years time

 

[foxhole]

Most things end up looking cr*p when neglected or poorly maintained.

 

[merlin50]

it gives the wannabe diy person an easy start. next they can remove the unwanted chimney, starting from the bottom and working there way up

 

[noseall]

Most things end up looking cr*p when neglected or poorly maintained.

True.

However, decking becomes slippery and looks horrendous whereas masonry products can age well and some even mature into their surroundings.

Oh, and wood rots too.

The point is timber products are high maintenance and a lot of folks detest outdoor maintenance, particularly during the winter months.

 

[merlin50]

wood kitchen worktops will be the next to rip out

 

[^woody^]

IMO, Brighton pier looks much better than it would if block paved or slabbed

On a serious note, check out this prank phone call related to decking

 

[imamartian]

This post unfortunately smacks of the "pro v DIYer".... i'm a DIYer and have put down much decking and plenty of slabs..... decking does go a bland grey colour after many years, but remains sound in contruction. I also have a slab circle, and a blue/grey patio and both are a mere shadow of their original glory. The point is, they both look weathered and right for a well established garden.

Obviously concrete will last years longer... and the one thing i strongly agree on is the fact that decking can be fatally slippy... even without a frost !!! (although not tried a karcher on it yet !!)

 

[noseall]

This post unfortunately smacks of the "pro v DIYer!!

It is more of a case that just about anyone with a saw and a hammer can fit it to a (visibly) acceptable standard.

What this means is that a lot of low skilled tradespeople can push this product onto unsuspecting homeowners without expressing the pro's and con's of the product, i.e. high maintenance.

In my opinion people generally do not like maintenance.

So, the upshot is, chancers can put a sign on their van saying "Landscaper" etc and will inevitably turn up at a pensioners house who expressly wants a masonry patio with brick walls only to pushed into having decking and sleepers 'cause it is cheap and easy to lay. They then go on to charge a fortune for a timber structure with sub standard timber spacing that will become a rotten death trap in 4 seasons.

Ho hum.

 

[Deluks]

who expressly wants a masonry patio with brick walls only to pushed into having decking and sleepers 'cause it is cheap and easy to lay.

But cowboys do shoddy brick walls and patios as well?
Decking, if it is maintained, and isn't installed in shady areas, does what it says on the tin.
So what has prompted this anti-decking rant? Have you just had to rip out a duff deck?

 

[noseall]

But cowboys do shoddy brick walls and patios as well?
So what has prompted this anti-decking rant? Have you just had to rip out a duff deck?

Brick walls and patios will look very bad if laid by an unskilled person whereas decking can be passed off more easily, by nature of the product.

The rant is aimed at low skilled chancers calling themselves a tradesperson.

Decking is not suitable in some areas but is fitted by morons regardless.