What is decking or decking, how is this material made, its advantages and disadvantages, types and methods of fastening, rules of care in winter. Decking is a material that is used for flooring in outdoor areas. Its popularity is based on the fact that installation is not particularly difficult. It can be easily done with your own hands without the involvement of specialists. This will not only save significant financial resources, but also show your creative nature.
Description and purpose of decking
Wooden parquet has become a common type of flooring for many. He is loved for its warmth, environmental friendliness, safety for people and animals, beauty and durability.
Today, this material can be laid not only indoors, but also outdoors, used when decorating the area around the pool, in gazebos, on terraces, verandas, open areas. The wood used for these purposes is different from that used inside buildings. This special material is called "decking" or "decking". For the first time this term began to be used in the English navy, and it meant "deck covering", laid in a certain way. It did not absorb moisture and dirt, and retained its excellent appearance for a long time. In the middle of the last century, it was appreciated in Canada and the USA and began to be actively used to decorate areas around pools, gazebos, verandas and terraces. Today, decking is very popular in the design of recreation areas on the sites of country houses and summer cottages.
For the production of decking, wood is used that is highly resistant to decay and is not affected by moisture. As a rule, these are exotic types of trees: kumara, teak, azobe, merabu. Among domestic varieties, Siberian larch and cedar are used. Decking is not pure wood. Decking is a composition of polymer and wood flour. Additionally, fixers and various mixtures that increase stability are introduced into the composition of the material of the terrace board. The higher the percentage of wood in the decking, the more it looks like natural wood. On average, this figure is 60-80%.
Decking can easily be mistaken for natural wood due to the preservation of the texture and basic characteristics of the natural material.
Advantages and disadvantages of decking
Like any building material, decking has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main advantages of decking:
- Does not contain impurities and components harmful to humans and animals. It is non-allergenic and has a pleasant texture.
- It can be used in combination with tiles, various types of stone, pebbles, rubble, gravel.
- The decking board is not exposed to rain, snow, sun. She perfectly tolerates temperature fluctuations. Easily withstands heating in direct sunlight up to +60. She is not afraid of frost at -10 degrees.
- Such a coating can easily withstand heavy loads and mechanical stress. At the same time, its surface does not crack and does not wear off.
- The laid floor does not need to be additionally treated with various agents (paints, varnishes, stains).
- To clean the decking from dirt, just pour water on top of it and thoroughly sweep it with a broom.
- Decking is produced in several types, which facilitates installation and makes it possible to obtain many interesting solutions.
However, with such a large number of positive qualities, decking has one significant drawback. This building material has a high cost. However, having spent a large amount once, you will get a great wooden floor for years to come.
The main varieties of decking
Nowadays, manufacturers produce two types of decking. It is divided according to the type of base and overall dimensions. This variety allows everyone to find a suitable option.
Decking can have a different base, which allows it to be used depending on the conditions:
- Soft … A board on a plastic base that resembles a lattice. It provides special fasteners with which the material is connected to each other.
- Hard … It is based on wooden logs, to which the top is attached using special furniture brackets.
According to the design solution and dimensions, the terrace board is produced in the form:
- Rectangular planks … In this case, the deck resembles a regular board. The sizes of such modules range from 150 to 600 cm in length. The width is selected individually by the client, according to his needs.
- Tiles. Such decking can have a variety of shapes - square, rectangular, triangular. In this case, the front surface can be smooth, or it can have special grooves for draining excess water. A wide variety of shapes allows tiles to be interconnected in different patterns.
The presence of several options for design solutions allows you to choose the best option for your site. Rectangular planks are most often chosen for finishing areas near the pool, bridges and awnings over the river. But the tiles are used for gazebos, terraces, verandas, and recreation areas in the garden.
Terrace board mounting technology
After you have decided what type of decking is right for you, you need to study how to lay a decking board and find out the main nuances of the work. It is not installed on the base itself, but on special logs. Therefore, in your work you cannot do without a drill, saw, screwdriver, pencil and building level.
Installation of logs for decking
After you have brought the material to the place of future installation, it is recommended to unfold it and leave it outside for a couple of days. This is necessary to adapt the decking to the surrounding conditions.
Depending on the place where the terrace board is laid, the logs can be installed either on a rough (concrete) base, or directly on the ground. If you will be laying tiles on a concrete base, then when pouring it, plan in advance the slope on one side. This is necessary to remove excess moisture after rain or melting snow. Wooden or metal logs can be laid on the prepared surface.
Consider the main points of the lag device on the ground:
- First of all, you need to carefully align the selected location. To do this, it is better to use a vibratory rammer.
- After that, we fill in a layer of medium-fraction crushed stone. Its thickness should not be more than 10 cm.
- Pour a five-centimeter layer of sand on top.
- Now you need to lay the reinforcement mesh, which will serve as the base. It is required to impart rigidity to the future structure.
- Then you can lay logs. They can be made of metal or wood. If you prefer wood, then choose hard conifers, which are less susceptible to rotting and moisture.
- Before laying, wooden logs must be treated with a special protective agent.
To fix the lags themselves on the base, it is recommended to use brackets made of aluminum or stainless steel. Such a choice of material will allow you to extend the life of the assembled site and reduce the likelihood of destruction of joints under the influence of external weather factors.
Regardless of what material you will install the logs, there are several important points that you need to remember when installing them. Disregard for the recommendation data is unacceptable. Indeed, otherwise the laid board will quickly fail, begin to creak, sag and may break in the end.
The method of installing the lags completely depends on how you will carry out the fastening of the terrace board:
- If the slats are planned to be placed parallel to each other, then the distance between the lags should not exceed 50 cm.
- If the laying is to be at an angle of 45 degrees, then the logs are placed in increments of 30 cm.
- If the angle of inclination of the deck is 30 degrees, the distance between the logs should reach 20 cm.
- If you work with terrace tiles, then the logs are laid on its width.
How to fix a decking board
Today, there are two ways to install decking. The first public method is not particularly difficult. To do this, it is enough to make markings on the boards with a pencil. Drill holes in the marked locations with a drill. Then, using a screwdriver and self-tapping screws, fix them on the base. So that the heads of the screws do not stand out much, they should be wiped with mastic to match the color of the board.
The second mounting method is hidden. This method of installation will require the purchase of special clamps and nails for them. With this installation of decking, it is necessary to take into account the expansion gap. This is especially true when installing the floor on the veranda, terrace, open area, which is adjacent to the main building.
It is carried out as follows:
- We fasten the first board to the logs in an open way using self-tapping screws.
- We drive kleimers into the log near its edge. Then, with a rubber hammer, we fit the hammered element to the edge of the board and fix it with a screw.
- Now we take the second bar. With the help of a rubber hammer, we knock it onto the cleaimer installed on the first board.
- We repeat the installation of the fastener on the second board and carefully knock the third one with a rubber hammer.
- We fasten the last bar with self-tapping screws to the joists.
- After the installation is completed, it is necessary to hide the side ends with special plugs.
Fixing terrace tiles is no different from laying boards. It can be done in two ways. After installation, the ends must also be hidden with special plugs.
Rules for caring for a terrace board in winter
During the period of autumn rains and winter cold weather, terrace tiles can be dismantled or left in place. If you plan to remove it before the next summer season, then be sure to clean it from dirt and dry it thoroughly. After that, it is neatly folded in a dry, ventilated place and left to warm.
If you do not plan to take it off for the winter, you can cover it with thick film on top. After the onset of heat, the area from the terrace board is dried for several days. Only then can it be used again.
If the terrace board is laid under a canopy, then it is not afraid of any weather and does not need special protection for it.
How to lay a decking board - watch the video:
Choosing a decking for an open area as a finish will give you a great floor that will last you for many years. In addition, this material is beautiful, environmentally friendly and allows you to experiment with design solutions.
