Question about decking!!

[hollyberry]

Sorry - not sure where to put this!! I have a v unevenly turfed garden and I really want to deck it so that my mindees to be can ride their tricycles around and so that it's an even surface, easy to keep clean and thus they can play out virtually all yr.

However, everyone is saying 'don't get decking it's really slippery' and so I'm not sure what to do. Bark chippings are not going to allow them to ride around and will get trodden into the house, that specialist padded flooring they put in kids playgrounds will make the garden look - like a kid's playgound - all the time!!

What's anyone elses experience of how suitable decking is - so many people have it....

[mufftie]

i have a vast amount of decking and think its fab , yes it is slipery when wet but im sure you can buy products that overcome this and its better than not being able to use the garden at all , my grass area is a big no no at this time of year

[Happy Bunny]

I have decking and yes it does get slippery at times. I have to regularly jet wash it.
I have two areas in my garden one decked and one slabbed, must admit the slabbed area better for scooters

[solly]

We had decking fitted last year, when we had it fitted we made sure the deeper grooves of the decking which are usually the underneath of the decking were face up and we dont find it slippy at all:)

[AnnieM]

All of my garden is either gravel or decking, (which is a large part of it) if you jetwash it with an anti-fungicidal wash a couple of times a year then it stops the algae growing on it, which greatly cuts down the slipperyness of it. It can still be a bit slippery when wet, but not too bad and I am definitely not the most surefooted person around, so if anyone would have slipped on it, believe me it would have been me :rolleyes: and as of yet I haven't. :thumbsup:

[hollyberry]

BRILLIANT - you know that was the answer I was hoping for!!!!!!! Thanks so much. I am sure if I keep it clean and also advise the mindees not to run when it's wed/frosty - and pick activities appropriately for the weather, I'm sure it will be alright.

Now I can continue to imagine me sunning mysself in the garden sipping a glass of wine, sat on my lovely decking - not bark chips!!!!!!

Thanks so much indeed for your respones. :)

[sweets]

i have decking and its never slippy! i jet wash it once or twice a year.

BUT my garden is south facing and very sunny so it dries quickly, if your garden is dark and damp then it may get slippy more often.

[hollyberry]

Yes that's what I've been realising - they must be jet washed and kept as unslippery as possible. I'm actually not sure which way my garden faces but it's very open and no trees at all around so hopefully it won't tend towards being too mouldy and green!

[Pipsqueak]

My hubs erects decking and no it does not have to be slippy. I can be pre-treated, it can depend very much on the quality of wood, the depth of the grooves, how you look after it etc.....

[hollyberry]

What pre-treatment is there then, do you know?

[Pipsqueak]

not that I am the expert by any means - and hubs is out at the moment - but the wood is generally bought and erected as pre-treated. You are probably better of going to an independent supplier/erector or timber yard rather than the big commercials.

Like I say - quality of wood is a big factor.

[hollyberry]

I've got a really local timber merchnats - I'll go to them when the weather's a buit better