Part of the garden make-over included decking around the house. We already had some but this would be replaced with wood rather than the composite already in place. We also wanted to do some re-modelling, adding a wider element at the far end of the house.
The frame that was there was ok but made to support decking length ways and we wanted the boards to span the width. We decided to re-make the frame, a bigger cost but probably quicker and more appropriate in the long run.
The materials were purchased post Covid and after the start of the Ukraine war. This made the availability of Siberian larch both more scarce and morally questionable. We wanted to use larch boards for the whole item and we needed a lot. In the end we opted for British larch boards, smooth both sides but thick to last a good period of time. The cost was eye watering but necessary so we ordered early and only the amount we needed and little more.
I confess I left the frame building to our builder who was both quick, knowledgeable and efficient. I assisted of course (?) and he had it all made up in a couple of days. This left the laying of the deck boards to me.
It was another painstaking and laborious task that I thoroughly enjoyed. Not much skill needed, cut to length (we’d made up a rig to make that easy), drill holes to screw into the frame beneath, countersink the holes, lay in place, screw down.
There were two difficulties in practice, drain inspection points and the fact the house walls aren’t perfectly straight! The latter was dealt with quite easily by measuring carefully, the drains I left to our builder.
He dealt with the drains by making up self supported frames underneath that can be lifted out if needed. It was a genius idea by him and they’re barely noticeable looking down the length of the decking.
Where the edges were visible, I boarded them with larch boards from our stock from our bargain pallet. All in all, it looks great and gives the house a lovely natural surround. We retro fitted some tiny patio lights into the ends of the boards to give it a warm edge in the evenings.
Cost: Larch Boards (108 @ £21) + delivery £2,567, frame & screws £400, Total £2,967
Wood Barn 
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