Wooden Decking: PATIOS TEND to look better laid in symmetrical, formal designs while wooden decking is an ideal alternative for curved, flowing layouts. Decking has a much more relaxed, informal feel to it than paving. It is a material associated with outdoor living and leisure and, being relatively soft, it is a better material than blocks if you have children.
Wood blends in with plants much more than blocks. The texture of blocks contrasts well with that of living material; the one is hard and solid, the other light and full of movement. The two work well together in any garden. There is nothing more attractive than the straight edge of a patio softened by a profusion of trailing plants.
WOOD DECKING is an alternative to paving and is visually and physically softer than other hard materials. It looks good in rural surroundings or with modern houses, and it is warm to walk on.• Decking can solve problems as an alternative to paving if you are laying a patio over several different levels or a very uneven surface.
• If you cannot afford to deck the entire area, see if a corner of the patio could be decked.
• You need to use hardwoods (or softwoods that have been really thoroughly treated with preservative) and the very best-quality fastenings.
• Decking is quite easy to construct yourself, unless it has to be built high off the ground.
• Experiment with different patterns by arranging the planks in different designs and at different levels.
There is nothing worse than having to splash your way through puddles of water every time it has rained. Good drainage is absolutely essential.
CRAZY PAVING comprises pieces of broken paving blocks laid to produce a complex, decoratively patterned surface. However, despite the apparently random effect of the paving, the pieces must be laid in a strict formula both for a symmetrical appearance and for strength.
The sides of the paved area are formed by a row of fairly large block pieces which have at least one straight edge, placed outermost. Similar-sized pieces with irregular edges are positioned along the center of the area. Smaller irregular pieces are then used to fill in any spaces remaining between the larger blocks.
PREPARE THE base by digging out the topsoil. If the subsoil is not firm, dig this out too and replace with 3~4in of compacted rubble. Top with about 2in of sand, raked and leveled.
A raised wood deck provides you with space outdoors for dozing, dining or soaking up the sun, and can be constructed using just a few specialist carpentry techniques. Decorate the surface with containers.
DECIDE WHAT you are likely to use the deck or, as this helps you determine its overall ;ize: if you intend to dine outdoors, it must 3e large enough for a Table and chairs with ;pace for people to pass behind when serving i meal. Where the deck will be used as a ;unbathing area, space must be allowed for oungers. Decking combines best with wooden fencing and wooden cask containers. Consider how the deck will appear when attached to the house wall: if it is fairly narrow—say about 10ft—and projects out from the Wall about 20ft, it will not sit easily. A deck of this width running along the Wall of the house would probably appear to be in better proportion. A squarer deck, on the other hand, is more in keeping with a corner location, set in the angle between two walls that meet at right-angles.
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