Hard Decisions

Balau (Shorea spp.), Ipe (Tabebuia spp.), Cumaru (Dipteryx odorata), Iroko (Milicia excelsa or M. regia), Teak (Tectona grandis), Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), Angelim (Hymenolobium spp.), Composite....

Okay, maybe not Composite, that was the spanner in the works.

But the rest are different types of hardwood commonly used in decking. It's a different kind of botanical pre-occupation for me at the moment as I go through and choose among these fine selection of plants. Definitely out of the ordinary, usually I choose plants that are alive. Now I'm choosing a plant that is dead, and processed, to be used in the garden for hard landscaping.

The elegant beauty of hardwood decking. (Flemings Show Garden at RHS Chelsea 2012)

So which should we go for? Decisions, decisions. The biggest deciding factor will be the likely end colour once it has been lightly stained and varnished.

Ideally the wood must pick up the colour of the reclaimed roof tiles of the filtration house. If we used slate tiles we probably would have opted for composite decking instead, as it came in shades complemental to slate roofing.

Samples, we need samples. And we've been looking around too (sadly no camera in tow whilst doing so).

When we started the project we had our minds pretty set on using chunky pine scaffold boards, either reclaimed or new as we liked its chunky and robust appearance. Not to mention being relatively inexpensive. But on testing some of the reclaimed ones we have already we found that it easily frayed, and gravel and other hard materials easily made an imprint on it.

Pine scaffold boards, yay or nay? Nay this time.

Not that strong then despite its chunky appearance. But those chunky scaffold boards are still pine, and pine is softwood so I wasn't that surprised. I still think it would have made a good decking material, but not for this instance anymore.

So hardwood it will be then, which is a much better alternative in the end as we do love the appearance and finish you can attain from it, not to mention its strength and long term reliability. And so much more tactile too for its not prone to fraying (small splinters stuck on your skin are never nice...).

One other thing why we considered pine scaffold boards before was an initial idea of having a decked area that was white washed, to achieve that light grey/faded white look that would tie it in with the white surroundings (a finish similar to the photo below).

Composite decking is available in different shades and finish (photo from Millboard website)

So why not do that on hardwood then? Now that did cross my mind but I knew already that that would have been a design crime. A big no-no, you do not cover the natural beauty of hardwood flooring with opaque paint or stain it in 'unnatural' colours. Definite no-no, much like painting over natural stone, you just don't do such things (of course you can do it, it's not a real crime, just frowned upon).

Which brings composite decking into the scene. It isn't natural at all, rather made with reclaimed wood fibre and polymer resins but it came in the finish we would have achieved with white washing wood. At the same time it has the strength and durability (actually much better) of hardwood. Composite decking is very hard wearing and needs very little maintenance, almost none. In fact you don't even need to oil or stain it, ever. 

But hardwood, ah hardwood, so tough yet so beautiful. How could you resist it? We certainly couldn't, too good to resist.

Beautiful, even left unvarnished or unstained.

Which also made me think now, how did I get to this point of decision anyway? By undertaking a big garden project ourselves.

By embarking on a big project ourselves we have been exposed to a lot of different landscaping materials and sources for them that are usually the domain for professional garden landscapers and designers, not for amateur gardeners like us. I didn't even know there were so many options for hardwood decking until recently, amongst other materials. But I do appreciate what I know now, a lot! There are so many options and materials out there and going through them is an eye opener to the possibilities of future creativity.  It is a learning curve and gives you a boost of confidence to look forward to what else can be done in the future. So many choices and so many better places to get them.

Mark

Posted in: decking , exotic garden , garden blog , garden design , Pond build