Replacement for overshadowed outdoor deck that is rotting
We have an overshadowed outdoor deck area that replaced a large portion of our small back garden where grass would not grow. Despite being in Sydney, Australia and facing north, in winter our deck does not dry out. Planks are now rotting and the deck is dangerous in parts. About 5 years after it was first built the decking boards need replacing - but not the substructure we hope. We are looking for advice and experiences of alternative decking materials that:
1. are attractive
2. will hold up to the wear and tear of 2 Staffordshire terriers (rules out products which scratch easily like Modwood)
3. are low maintenance (not keen on painting it yearly, though staining it may be ok if the boards don't need to be removed and stained or painted both sides)
4. will not become slippery when wet or become mouldy or mossy.
The current structure is low to the ground and over dirt with steel posts, H4 treated pine bearers that do not touch the ground, and H3 treated pine decking boards attached to the posts. Treated pine was an economic choice. We hoped the boards would grey but they have largely turned green, slippery and unattractive. Ag piping is laid throughout the deck substructure and leads into a drain installed when we built the deck. Despite what we have done to retain porosity and improve drainage, we fear it is not enough and we need to increase this. However, we are not certain this will be sufficient to stop the decking boards from rotting.
To maintain sufficient porous area in our garden we are unable to concrete the ground beneath the deck or to cover the deck. We have a large covered deck abutting this deck, built of spotted gum decking boards and bearers (a hardwood), stained and built over a concrete base which slopes gently towards a the same drain. This deck is great and has no problems.
Photos show the problematic deck and trees which overshadow it. The photos were taken at 5.30pm 22/1, with sun from the west getting to the deck. All trees are to the north and NE of the deck, so fully block winter sunlight. Note that we do not have control of any of the large trees - they are on neighbours land. We previously explored pruning the trees but this would be costly and ongoing, we believe.
Any ideas? Any experiences that might help us? We'd love to hear from you...
BTW, we would have loved to use a high quality artificial grass in this area but our high amount of leaf/tree litter, lower porosity of AG than our current deck and tendency for shaded AG to grow mould or algae (we hear) probably means this is not a viable option.
Comments (14)
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- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
PRO9 years ago- 9 years ago
PRO9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago- 9 years ago
PRO9 years agoairflow is certainly a concern. Water gets trapped under and the decking will soak it up. Millboard Decking however is the only board that doesn't have a component of timber fiber. This means that it will not rot/swell etc and wont need airflow.
Also the surface is non porous ensuring that no moss will grow on it which keeps it clean and non slippery.
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