Garden decking provides a good choice for a family garden. Even though the weather is getting a little colder our children still love to be able to play outside and we want to encourage them to be out in the fresh air. Yet it can be hard keeping an eye on young children roaming around the garden, while you try and do tasks inside the house. Many gardens incorporate water features and small ponds and these can be very dangerous for young children. Installing a decking area adjacent to the house is a perfect answer. Decking areas can be installed quickly and will blend into any garden and house design. Best of all, you can add some railings and a little gate so that children cannot stray too far. This solves the problem posed by water features. Children can play happily outdoors in safety. Decking provides a flat surface on which children can drive pedal cars, play a little football, and run around in safety. Properly installed by a contractor, decking offers a safe and secure surface. Wood is quite forgiving if little children fall on it, so there will be no nasty accidents or tears. Consider building in a little sandpit. Children love playing with sand and if you place a cover over it, after use, it keeps the sand clean and fresh. Once the children have grown up, you can always turn the pit into a small water feature by installing a pre-formed pond base or covering the pit with a special liner. It is worth considering adding a covered section within the decking area as this will allow all year round use. After rain or periods of ice and snow, decking can become a little slippery. This is easily dealt with by using an anti-slip treatment. Talk to your installer about the best anti-slip treatment to suit the wood you have chosen. It may be possible to build in anti-slip strips which can give that little bit of extra grip. Best of all maintenance is simple and easy. All decking needs is a brush and a wash down of the surface when required. This will keep the surface clean and hygienic. Once a year, use a timber treatment to keep the wood in good condition. Decking will stay looking good for many years making this a wonderful way to improve your home and garden. If you would like to discuss a decking project please get in touch via our website www.eastlondonlandscapes.com or email office@eastlondonlandscapes.com or call 020 3633 6413. We provide free quotes and advice.
Decking or Paving. Which is Best.
Decking or Paving. Which is best? It can be very hard to choose. Both look great, easy to install and simple to maintain. Both are natural products, and are environmentally friendly. A pretty area of decking, or a smart paved patio or driveway definitely adds value to your home. It makes sitting outside even more fun, and provides a safe play area for kids without having to worry about problems of muddy grass. Decking is very appealing. It can be a pleasure looking at natural wood, with its gently tawny shades or you can paint the wood almost any colour you want. Smooth and slightly warm to the touch, it looks good all year round. Decking is ideal if you have a sloping area, as it can be easily adjusted to cope with uneven surfaces. It is also easy to modify in years to come when your needs change, for example if you need extra space to cope with children or plan more entertaining. Decking is very durable and retains its appearance as long as you do not mistreat it! Paving is very strong and hard wearing albeit a little less forgiving if you fall! Paving stones can be cut to suit a wide range of different shapes and sizes allowing you to create a variety of patterns and designs to give a very individual, bespoke style. You can even co-ordinate that design across your paths and driveway as well as a patio. It can look very visually striking and impressive. Paving makes the perfect choice for driveways as it is extremely strong and hard wearing. Keeping paving or decking clean is important. No matter whether you have chosen paving or decking, algae can build up during the winter time or after heavy rain and make surfaces slippery. A good clean and brush over will quickly deal with the problem. Choosing between decking and paving is not easy. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to making a final choice. It is very much a matter of personal preference. What do you like best? What will suit your home and your circumstances? A chat with a specialist supplier and installer can be of immense help. They can offer suggestions and advice that you might not otherwise have considered. Whichever you choose, installation is quick and easy – just call in the professionals who can install it for you giving you the garden of your dreams. If you are thinking of a decking or paving project for your garden please take a look at our website www.eastlondonlandscapes.com and contact us by email at office@eastlondonlandscapes.com or call us on to arrange a free consultation and quote. We provide hard landscaping services in East London .
Dining Out In Your Garden
Now that the rain has gone and the sun has reappeared we can look at dining out in your garden. Hot summer days bring out the fragrance of the flowers in your garden, the gentle sweetness of roses and philadelphus, lavender and buddelia. It makes an irresistible backdrop to dining outside, enjoying the fresh air and warmth. A beautiful patio or decking area complements that experience. It provides a place to sit and relax, enjoying the meal in comfort. But before you start planning your outdoor dining, check out the space. Is the patio big enough for all your guests? There is nothing worse than dining outside and finding there is not enough room for everyone you want to invite. A cramped table squashed into a tiny patio or decking creates the wrong impression, and destroys your enjoyment. Is the area clean and tidy? Are there any broken paving stones, or damaged planks of wood in the decking? Are any steps safe? Do the steps need handrails? Does the appearance of your decking look a bit jaded and tired? All these factors are often overlooked in the hurry to dine outside, but can make a tremendous difference to the experience. A quick chat with a hard landscaper can solve the problem. New patios and decking can be installed quite quickly, and often at short notice. You can even arrange to extend existing patios or decking, or add an extra section else where in the garden to take account of special views. A hard landscaper can provide lots of ideas as to how to improve your facilities, the colours that would blend in best or provide a contrast if that is your style preference. They can even add in extra pathways to make your garden more accessible. While planning your dining outdoors activity, think too about the little extras that can give your garden that extra special touch. Perhaps some lights twinkling in the trees, or winding through the shrubs. Try some pretty night light style candles edging pathways. Burning citronella candles will help keep the flies away, and add to the pleasing fragrance around your dining table. If you are having a barbeque remember to have some water and sand at hand, ready to put out flames in an emergency. Follow Food Safety Authority guidelines and don’t leave food out in the sun for too long, otherwise bacteria will start to develop. Ideally, food should be left outside for no longer than two hours. With a little bit of thought, dining outside in the garden can be a fantastic experience taking advantage of the pleasures of your patio or decking. If you would like to discuss a project please get in touch via email office@eastlondonlandscapes.com or call our office on .
Replacing Your Garden Decking
Sunny, spring days always make you feel like getting outside. It also reveals the damage caused by winter. Strolling out onto the decking can highlight damaged boards, faded timbers, broken balustrades. The decking can be slippery, blackened with fungus and timbers have become warped. If not dealt with quickly, this can eventually rot the timbers – and the framework underneath. Repairing such damage is essential. But before doing so, it is worth taking a close look at your decking and deciding whether it meets your needs. It may well be better to totally replace the decking than simply carry out a repair. Over time, people’s needs change. Children grow up and may no longer need that sandpit that was built beside the decking. Trees and bushes have matured and may affect the level of light being cast over your seating area. There may be a need to add in some steps or railings around the decking to provide a secure area in which children can play close to the house. Replacing decking can also make a tremendous difference to the style and shape of your garden. It can completely transform a garden. Adding in curves or ornamental edges instead of just having square or rectangular decking can provide a sense of elegance, of style and make it seem much contemporary. Think too about the level of shade experienced on your decking. Trees and shrubs may be needed to provide privacy from neighbours, and so cannot be cut down. Adjusting the shape and size of the patio could provide extra areas of sunlight. Then there is the question of extra facilities such as balustrades to give added interest or safety. How about adding a few raised planters, an inbuilt pool, some fitted benches or a barbeque? By installing them as part of the overall decking, you can gain extra planting space and relaxing facilities which actually blends into your decking since the same materials can be used to construct these additional items. Talking to a good landscaper will provide the advice and help that you need to maximize the benefits of your decking. For a landscaper with all the right tools and equipment, adjusting shapes and styles, and replacing decking can be undertaken with the minimum of disturbance to your lifestyle. With their breadth of knowledge of the decking sector, they can suggest ways of improving decking to give it a personal touch be it in terms of colour, facilities or style. If you would like to discuss a project please get in touch by email at office@eastlondonlandscapes.com or call our office on to arrange a free consultation.
Garden Decking Extras
Garden decking extras. Adding a few extras to your decking such as built in seating or planters can make a tremendous difference to your garden. Such features immediately enhance the beauty and functionality of your decking, while maximizing available space. Why not add in some pretty timber benches along the sides? This helps the transition from house to garden, while providing valuable additional seating that is perfect for al fresco entertaining. Inbuilt seating takes up far less space than a conventional table and chairs, and also has the advantage of being able to seat more people at any one time. Wooden benches evoke a sense of age less tradition, and look brilliant with any house style. A contrasting shade of wood can be very eye catching, while co-coordinating shades makes the space seem even larger. Darker tones can add a sense of warmth on cooler days. Existing features such as trees besides the decking can be enhanced by placing built in benches around it. Some built in planters provide an ideal way to grow sweet smelling and culinary herbs, or colourful annuals to brighten up al fresco dining. Built at waist height, planters can avoid the need for bending making it easier for anyone who is disabled to enjoy their garden. Steps provide additional interest and allow the installation of multi-level decking. The number of steps depends very much on the gradient, especially if your garden is sloping. Safety is obviously paramount as it is essential to avoid anyone falling down the steps and hurting themselves. Handrails are essential, while different shading at the edges of steps will help distinguish where one step ends and another starts. Contrasting textures are another way of combining safety with visual interest. At night, LED lighting beside each step will provide safety as well as creating a very pretty, twinkling, eye-catching image. End posts and handrails provide lots of opportunities for individuality, creating curves or shaped ends. Adding a fir cone shape or a circular globe gives hints of heritage, of age, as they are traditional garden styles. For something more contemporary, try squares or blocks. No one ever has enough storage space, no matter how big your house and garden. This is where built in decking features can really make an impact. Just consider the amount of space that exists underneath steps or under benches. If you would like to discuss a project please get in touch via email on office@eastlondonlandscapes.com or call our office on to arrange a free consultation.
Garden Decking Trends 2016
Garden decking trends 2016. Will 2016 be the year of curves? All the indications suggest that this is set to be the dominant trend in decking design. People are increasingly seeking to be more individualistic, wanting gentle curves rather than stark rectangles and squares. Curves can help make smaller spaces feel larger as the space is less clearly defined and leads neatly into the wider garden area. This provides a much better and more aesthetically pleasing link between lawns, flowerbeds and the house. There is some interest in multi-level decks with little steps leading from one to another. This helps create variations in height, again helping to make a garden area seem much bigger than it actually is. Natural colours are still very much in evidence. Rich dark browns, soft browns, golden yellows reminiscent of autumn colours are trendy, although blue themes add a cooling touch to many gardens. An intriguing trend that is appearing is the use of a two colour decking style. This often involves having a dark colour such as a rich brown on the floor area, and highlights in a brighter or softer shade. The highlights may be created by low railings or by outlining a feature or area of the decking. Everyone is looking at ways of maximizing decking space so as to get value for money and as much use as possible. Given Britain’s uncertain climate, it is not surprising that many people are adding arbours or roof areas that can be covered over when necessary to provide shade from hot sun or shelter from inclement weather. Temporary lighting is set to become much more common rather than opting for fixed lighting methods. The big advantage to temporary lighting is that it can be varied according to the time of the year, making it much more cost effective. Solar lights that can be moved around without having to install wiring are popular with many people, especially environmentally conscious householders. Low maintenance solutions are set to become one of the dominant trends over the coming year. Most people find they just do not have as much spare time as they would like. There are so many constraints on leisure time, and so many things to do, that home owners want easy solutions. Decking is seen as being reasonably easy to maintain, especially if composite materials are used. Made from recycled plastic and wood fibre, these decking panels do not need to be stained or maintained on a yearly basis and have a long life span. If you would like to discuss a decking project please get in touch via our website www.eastlondonlandscapes.com. We provide landscaping and fencing services in East London .
Maintaining Your Garden Decking
Here we look at maintaining your garden decking. Decking is very popular and look gorgeous in any garden. It provides a very flexible addition to your home. As with most things it requires a little maintenance. Follow these tips below for a long standing beautiful deck: Sweep it regularly with a hard broom and hose down to maintain a good deck. Remove debris between the boards using a putty knife. Use a decking cleaner to remove any moss, algae or dirt from the decking. Aim to do this twice a year. Ideally once in the spring and once in the autumn. Do not use any chlorine based bleach for cleaning as although it will clean the deck it will break down the lignin in the deck timber which holds the wood together. A jet washer can be used to clean the deck but do not use a heavy duty one. It needs to be smaller than 1500psi. Allow the deck to dry for several days before applying any type of finish. Soda crystals can be used to remove some stains. Water the deck, sprinkle the crystals, and allow to dry before washing away. After thoroughly cleaning add a decking oil. Even though your deck has been pressure treated in the manufacturing stage it will need to be maintained. Apply the oil with a brush and add two coats. If your wood starts to look tired and grey it need oiling. Never drag heavy objects on the surface of a deck to avoid damaging the wood. Move planters, chairs and tables occasionally to avoid discolouring the decking. Trim nearby bushes and trees. Don’t let leaves and debris pile up in corners. Keep nearby gutters and downspouts in good repair.
Garden Decking As An Outdoor Room
Decking creates the perfect outside room no matter where you live. The warm, natural tones of wooden decking blends into all house styles and can be made as large or as small as you want. Placed adjacent to patio doors leading from the lounge, or beside the kitchen door; an area of decking gives the impression that the house is much larger than expected. In fact, it is an ideal way of extending your house at a relatively low cost as it provides a lovely place for children to play in safety, or where you can relax and enjoy a barbeque. Planning permission is not normally needed for decking so you can install an area of decking quite quickly. To create an image of another room attached to the house, choose decking colours that blend into your décor. Look for natural shades that will link into your colour scheme or reflect the colour of furniture. A slightly lighter shade of wood can make the area seem even larger. Consider adding a few extras that will make your decking unique. Some balustrading round the decking can add an elegant touch. If you have young children, add a little gate with a safety catch so that they can play in safety while you are busy indoors. Avoid steps if there is anyone in the family with mobility issues – a gentle ramp will be far more user friendly. Leaving the patio doors open so that you can go straight out onto the decking encourages people to relax when having parties. They have the space to move, and are not confined to a small room. The decking can even become a place for intimate conversations while watching the sun set over the horizon. Add a pretty table and chairs, perhaps a barbeque, some planters filled with fragrant herbs and perhaps a candle or two – and your outside room is ready for use. So sit back and enjoy a relaxing evening on your new decking, made even better by the knowledge that this is an experience you can enjoy time and time again in the months ahead.
Garden Decking – A Child Friendly Choice
As the days grow longer, and the temperature rises, children love to be able to play outside. Yet it can be hard keeping an eye on young children roaming around the garden, while you try and do tasks inside the house. Many gardens incorporate water features and small ponds and these can be very dangerous for young children. Installing a decking area adjacent to the house is a perfect answer. Decking areas can be installed quickly and will blend into any garden and house design. Best of all, you can add some railings and a little gate so that children cannot stray too far. This solves the problem posed by water features. Children can play happily outdoors in safety. Decking provides a flat surface on which children can drive pedal cars, and run around in safety. Properly installed by a contractor, decking offers a safe and secure surface. Wood is quite forgiving if little children fall on it, so there will be no nasty accidents or tears. Consider building in a little sandpit. Children love playing with sand and if you place a cover over it, after use, it keeps the sand clean and fresh. Once the children have grown up, you can always turn the pit into a small water feature by installing a pre-formed pond base or covering the pit with a special liner. It is worth considering adding a covered section within the decking area as this will allow all year round use. After rain or periods of ice and snow, decking can become a little slippy. This is easily dealt with by using an anti strip treatment such as painting with boat paint. Talk to your installer about the best anti slip treatment to suit the wood you have chosen. It may be possible to build in anti-slip strips which can give just that little bit of extra grip. Best of all maintenance is simple and easy. All you need to do is brush daily and regularly wash down the surface. This will keep the surface clean and hygienic. A regular check should be carried out to identify any boards that might be working loose. This rarely happens, but is possible and with children around, it is important to be very safe. Once a year, use a timber treatment to keep the wood in good condition. Hardwood decking will stay looking good for many years making this a wonderful way to improve your home and garden.
Garden Decking – Contractor vs DIY
Here we look at the pros and cons of contractor vs DIY for your garden decking project. Well laid decking looks fabulous in the garden and definitely adds value to your home. Not surprisingly, increasing numbers of home owners are installing it. Yet simply choosing materials and a design is not enough – fitting needs to be done just as carefully if you are to have the decking of your dreams. Installation is always a tricky question. Who is going to do it? Should a contractor be employed or should you attempt to do it yourself? Using a contractor definitely has distinct advantages. Contractors can design as well as install decking, making sure that it meets your needs exactly. They will know all the building regulations and ensure these are not broken. Contractors have the equipment, the materials and the skilled craftsmen who can deal with any problems that arise. Above all, a contractor will make sure that the decking is laid safely and securely. There will be no risk of loose planks or uneven surfaces that could pose a hazard to anyone in your family. An experienced installer will have a lot of experience on which to draw. They know what works and what doesn’t, and can bring this experience to bear when designing your new decking. It is not just a matter of putting down a few planks of wood. The site has to be assessed, prepared, foundations laid, wood chosen before the actual process of building the decking can begin. Adding features like steps or raised decking immediately makes the task even more complex. They can also add in seating areas, storage areas, flower beds and build sand pits within the decking and much more. Admittedly DIY can be cheaper. There are no installation costs. But you do need good DIY skills, and more than one person is needed on site. Help is needed to make sure the installation is safe and secure, moving large planks of wood around. It is not a simple task! Opting for a contractor will make the task easier and less traumatic. A skilled team can do the task in half the time leaving you free to enjoy the end result. If you would like to discuss a decking project with us please get in touch via our website www.eastlondonlandscapes.com. We provide landscaping services in East London and Essex.
