Timber decking options comparison. Which is better?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Timber decking options comparison. Which is better?

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#2486882 20-May-2020 10:13

We have a Garapa deck around the pool. It's about 5 years old in Marlborough. The previous owners didn't oil it. Neither have we. It's gone a nice silver colour

I don't think it's even particularly high quality Garapa, as it's only about 30mm thick. One board has gone convex. Other than that it's holding up really well.

A few screws creep up every now and then. I think that's more likely to be caused by the joists than the decking. I occasionally screw down any screws that have crept up far enough to stand proud of the deck. They don't look like proper decking screws, just 304 SS wood screws - I should probably start swapping them out for proper crews.

Mike

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billgates

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#2486967 20-May-2020 11:20

I rang another timber merchant just to compare pricing for Accoya decking and their RRP is same price incl GST as what my above quotation is excl GST which will add 8% builders margin on top. The timber merchant over the phone mentioned that they will get confirmed pricing from ITIM Spec who wholesale Accoya in NZ but I can expect better pricing than RRP since I will require now 60sqm worth of it. I have emailed the timber merchant our plans to get confirmed pricing but from all the searching I have done in past 2 days, Accoya is looking really really good with 50 years guarantee. I cannot find any downsides and found articles of houses in Europe that laid Accoya for their decking and wall cladding without any coating and it still looks really good. Of course our UV is a lot worse here so I will likely consider still oiling all 4 sides of timber before passing it to builder to install. Abodo gave solid advise as well and is 2nd contender but requires maintenance every 12 months and the profile of their Sand Decking is 112 x 21 where as all the other decking in above quotes are 140 x 19 so the wider the better look :)

The video also showcases strengths of Accoya. It is a bridge surrounded by water. I feel for the $$, Accoya will really go a long way even if paying double compared to something like Garapa.

https://youtu.be/9WvccFi9rQM?t=80

Do whatever you want to do man.

Paul1977

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#2487344 20-May-2020 18:44

eracode:
@Paul1977

We have hollow Outdure and as I mentioned earlier it gets extremely hot in summer sun - but I still love it for all the other reasons. Just need jandals or shade.

But you’ve never had issue due to it be hollow rather than solid? I can only imagine solid would retain the heat even longer because of its larger volume.

eracode

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#2487475 21-May-2020 04:25

Paul1977:
eracode:

@Paul1977

We have hollow Outdure and as I mentioned earlier it gets extremely hot in summer sun - but I still love it for all the other reasons. Just need jandals or shade.

But you’ve never had issue due to it be hollow rather than solid? I can only imagine solid would retain the heat even longer because of its larger volume.

No issues at all due to it being hollow - has not warped, split, twisted, moved, shrunk, faded, cupped or bowed. Even the hollow stuff is incredibly heavy and solid. Not sure about your second sentence but probably correct.

The way this stuff is layed/installed means there are no visible fixings (except for along one edge of the final plank) so it looks great.

Like any deck, it can get dirty over the space of a few years - but you can waterblast it without fear of any negative effects at all and it comes up just like new. You can’t do with a wooden deck.

If you’re in Auckland you are welcome to come over and have a look at our two decks - we live on the Shore.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Handle9

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#2487478 21-May-2020 06:25

On our last house we had 140mm x 19mm Vitex. Brilliant stuff that silvered off and was very hard, very stable and easy to care for. We had an approximately 30kg dog and she never marked it. The only downside of Vitex is that it comes in short lengths compared to Kwila or Pine.

It doesn't bleed like Kwila does, there is a tiny bit but it's not significant.

If we built another deck it would unquestionably be Vitex.

MikeAqua

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#2488726 21-May-2020 14:00

The bleeding issue ...

I've had Kwila furniture. The vendor advised us to park a lawn sprinkler on it for a couple of hours each day after work for a week or so. After that didn't bleed. ?Could do the same with a Kwila deck?

Mike

billgates

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#2492969 27-May-2020 16:47

I ordered the Accoya today via Carters as they gave me better pricing including delivery to site than the screenshot of a quote from another timber merchant I posted in the first post which was via the builders account and that would have further added 8% builders margin on top later. I ended up ordering 15sqm more than originally required as we are now also getting a small deck built outside the laundry/garage area and a very small deck outside the main front entry door so 60sqm/430 lineal meters of decking in total. Also opted for oil coating done at the ITI Timspec factory with their recommendation for single coat of Wood-X oil in clean base coat. It is an expensive experiment but reading through Europe and US forums, the Accoya really seems to last for a long time without any issues hence the 50 year guarantee they offer for above ground and 25 years under ground.

Do whatever you want to do man.

mdf

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#2492971 27-May-2020 16:50

I'd appreciate your thoughts/feedback when it's done!

And maybe some d3ck pr0n pics? 😉

concordnz

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#2492973 27-May-2020 16:55

I was looking for this thread last week...
I built a 58sqm deck out of Kwila & Vitex.
I learned a lot!
I used the 140mm wide boards - which were 'crowned' to eliminate cupping & I went with hidden fastenings = looks awesome!

I'll hunt down some pics.
Happy to share advise

billgates

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#2492979 27-May-2020 17:12

Hi @concordnz

Any specific reason to mix both Vitex and Kwilla for your deck rather than just use single species of timber? And which hidden fasteners did you use?

Do whatever you want to do man.

concordnz

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#2492983 27-May-2020 17:18

The mix looks 'outstanding' and works perfectly with the look/colours of the house.

I've got lots of info to share re 'oiling' too - I've spent thousands - and a few 're-do's to get it right.
(Hopefully got it mostly right now)

Got a 4k-8k lighting plan to do - when I get time.... :)

duckDecoy

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#2492985 27-May-2020 17:20

We used Vitex and it hardly bled at all really, nothing like kwila. The bleeding was a rather bright yellow colour which was unexpected, but there wasn't much of it. It silvered off like the other woods, and is still hard. It hasn't splintered which is a known problem with unstained kwila - a few of my friends have replaced their kwila decks after around 10 years due to splinters, although they didn't treat it.

But do note that the lengths of Vitex are small, you cannot get long Vitex planks as far as I know of.

Your other choices sound good, just thought I would let you know about the bleeding part.

billgates

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#2493008 27-May-2020 17:36

One of my work colleagues moved into their new home they have finished building only couple of month ago. After 2 months of installing their brand new Kwilla decking, it has developed a lot of splinters which they are not happy with and of course they found out that this is not something really covered under any warranty because it’s timber and Kwilla specifically which is more prone to this.

Do whatever you want to do man.

concordnz

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#2493188 27-May-2020 21:50

Ok, here goes, (forgive me if I post too much I don’t want to take over your thread – but there is lots of handy info Im keen to share)

Ill post a couple of pics to help (a pic says a 1000 words)
(Lets hope I don’t mess it up – I haven’t posted pics here before)
Ive got about 400-600 pics of the build process, - but Ill only share a few relivant ones.

And from what I hear now, the whole neighbourhood found my Deck a great talking point, as they watched it being built over 18 months.

I was going to get it built in 3 stages, over 3 years. - (as I could afford it)
1) Base Deck,
2) Pergola & Spa enclosure
3) Balustrade & Seating
Unfortunately – or fortunately, due to some design choices,
Including Shadow Deck hidden fasternings
& Needing to install Pergola & Balustrade posts from the start – (the problem would become, that these would ‘warp’ if left free standing for 2-3 years….)

I ended up having to get it built all in one ‘session’ (over an 18 month period)

I designed it all myself, - to building code or better, with a bit of input/tips from another Engineer & the Builder,

concordnz

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#2493191 27-May-2020 21:53

Best to start with original plan.
Pic 1 = layed out basic design on lawn –

The Footing/basement (and chimney) of my house has the same Red/brown brick, that you can see in the neighbours wall, on the Left
Rather than having a “solid Red/Brown” Deck, (that might be quite dark), I wanted something that ‘matched in’ with the existing toneing/style of the house. – to weatherboards, are a ‘pastal/soft yellow’.

(As a side bonus is, I managed to eliminate mowing of 1/3rd of my Lawn.)

Note – There is a main ‘entertaining deck’ on the Right hand side,
With a smaller deck ‘set down 300mm’ for a Spa/enclosed pergola – in front of the Left hand window)

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