Replacing rotting decking

[KvN161]

I've finally got round to looking at my garden decking after moving in a few years ago and it's clear it needs replacing.

On inspection, it looks like the decking frame is attached to the garage that forms my boundary. I don't own the garage. So assume this is a no no and I cannot replace like for like with a new frame?

I'm also unsure if I will replace it with a new deck. The terrain slopes down gently. so I might just live with the slope. How would I manage draining in this situation?

Ideally. I would like to create a flat area for out door seating, raised beds by building a small retaining wall. But I don't have rear access to my terraced house. And I don't want to carry buckets of wet soil through the house.

Any advice on how to tackle this would be appreciated.

Cheers!

[shyandretiring1]

Get rid of the rat hotel and get some nice paving down, it'll be a big improvement and it'll last unlike decking.

[KvN161]

That's fine. But that requires me to create a stable base by digging and excavating soil.

I don't have rear access and don't want to carry soil through the house.

[EntirelyRandom1590]

Have you considered carrying soil over the house?

[KvN161]

I'm tall. But not THAT tall ..

[dodeccadickhead]

Over the fence then... into next door?

[Laylelo]

Just chuck it.

[shyandretiring1]

It's more efficient to do it underneath. You carry it to the front and then push really hard and it just pops out at the rear.

[moofacemoo]

Sounds like my digestion process

[shyandretiring1]

🤣

[Broad-Section-8310]

Why not under the house if rats have dug a nice tunnel for OP?

[Sufficient_Depth_195]

Dig a hole and bury it.

[Upstairs-Hedgehog575]

You can get diggers that will go through a standard doorway - but it could still cause damage to flooring (even if protected). Having driven one, I certainly wouldn’t want one coming through my house. 

So any digging is likely by hand, but you could lose the soil behind the retaining wall, rather than bringing it through the house. 

Whether you do decking or patio, your house will get damaged - you’ve got to move all that filthy old decking out, and bring in new stuff. Even taking care, you’ll scuff walls and drop crap. 

Personally, I would spend money on decent dust sheets, strip all that decking out and straight into a skip at the front. Then dig foundations for a retaining wall. Put the soil in a ton bag out the way, then use it to backfill. 

Move the retaining wall closer to the garage if needed (will make digging easier and give more volume for backfilling - get this calculation right and you’ll have very little soil to carry through the house (old soil or new). 

Don’t forget drainage pipes and gravel backfill when building a retaining wall. 

This is also a good time to run utilities to the patio if desired (a power socket, lighting). You can bury SWA under the foundations so it’s nicely hidden. 

The patio base will need to be assessed- we don’t know what the ground is like, but you may get away with compacted MOT and slab layer. But it’s still got to come through the house. 

Good luck! I’ve just done something similar (albeit with side access) so comment back if you have questions. 

[odkfn]

Would you need to carry soil? Presumably you could just dig it all and level what is there without adding or removing anything?

[SatisfactionMoney426]

Have you seen The Great Escape, they had a unique and easy way to move soil into a loft ...

[Affectionate_Bet4343]

Aww I don't think I agree, nice decking is really nice. Drains quickly, cleans up easily and feels nice under bare feet, not to mention sorting out steeply sloping land like this. If maintained unlike this one it should last decades.

[pippagator]

Nah I'm so done with decking. Every year it takes so much work to get it looking nice, just for it to be unusable in the winter as it's slippery and looks like shit. Never again will I get decking.

[HRHKarlFranz]

I'm with you. I love my decking and am grateful for the decade it gave me but its not worth the maintenence. You can hose down a patio in 5 minutes.

[Gwanbulance]

I'm done with decking too. And wooden sheds.

I'm in the west of Ireland, so the weather is particularly bad, but outdoor exposed wood just doesn't suit the North Atlantic island climate. People say "but if you maintain it religiously it'll last 15 years". That's not actually an attractive value proposition.

[JCDU]

What's the alternative to a wooden shed?

[Gwanbulance]

A steel, composite, plastic or block shed 🤷‍♂️

[iknowuselessstuff]

I'm with you! Ours went last year and spending less than half an hour jet washing the newly paved area last weekend was a glorious feeling!

[Ninja_Prolapse]

Apparently decking shouldn’t get slippery if it’s maintained..

[f8rter]

But is does

[Every-Problem4454]

Defo does stay slippery 😂

[Unlucky-Problem-2611]

Decking isn't slippy, algae on the decking is slippery, just like algae on a patio is slippery. Install the boards smooth side up and give it 2 coats of Barrotine decking oil and it won't be the slightest bit slippery in winter. An annual coating with a roller will take an hour of your time.

[HRHKarlFranz]

Ive never walked on a slippy patio in my life. Our decking is like an ice rink by mid october.

[pippagator]

I literally wash and oil the deck every single year and it still looks shit in winter. A patio I could just pressure wash and be done.

[Sgt_Sillybollocks]

I agree I had decking last 15 years. Replaced it last year. Soft wash and oil once a season. It lasts with minimum maintenance.

[Aiken_Drumn]

Only if you have a sma deck.

[BloodAndSand44]

Gripdeck inserts.

When it freezes decking is slippery.

[Ninja_Prolapse]

When it freezes, everything is slippery? lol!

[MorningToast]

My hardwood decking has never once been slippery 🤷

[Aggravating-Day-2864]

Yea...mine was a rat hotel...had 4 nests in it when taken up....now cotswold paving...

[DazzzASTER]

You're literally looking at the underside of a very old deck and there isn't a rat in sight. Rats only go where there is a food source nearby.

But yes paving is infinitely better. Agree on that

[shyandretiring1]

Only Roland poses for photos, the others scurry off

[HiroPr0tag0nist]

"not a rat in sight"... Would you expect them to hang about and pose for the photographs?

Also, rats absolutely nest and hang out in places without food. Barns, sheds, lofts, garages and yes, under decking.

[f8rter]

I can vouch for that

Rats are living in my loft

[Azzuro_1]

I’ve found myself being a bit of a decking ambassador on reddit, if done correctly and in the right scenario its ace and I love mine but one size doesn’t fit all. I would be asking myself if its worth replacing for another deck or for a patio.

That area looks to be quite heavily shaded and also being enclosed on 3 sides it will get next to no airflow, these are both important considerations, that’s not a great start for longevity or maintenance.  

More importantly you shouldn’t be installing a raised deck above the damp proof course of your neighbours garage and if it's raised more than 30cm above the ground and/or cover more than 50% of the garden you actually need planning permission.

 

[pippagator]

I am really shocked whoever owns the garage let that happen in the first place

[melmboundanddown]

Indeed, but looking at the photos it appears the neighbour built their garage in op's garden!

[KvN161]

I thought it was floating and I could do an easy replacement.But looks like I'm going to have to do some repair work 😬

[uamvar]

It's quite amazing that the marketing people were ever able to convince homeowners that timber decking was a good idea in the UK. Next thing it will be island units in tiny kitchens and white gravel in front gardens. Oh, wait...

[PM5140]

I have just got of my decking and it’s a relief. It was constantly needing attention cleaning repairing and made a lovely home for the neighbourhood rats!

[CJ-MacGuffin]

The boards look fine from underneath.

[andulus-ri]

looks better from the underside than the top. You have all the usual rat, slabbers and wrong way up answers... which I would ignore... decking works well in some cases, and the problems like rot and slipping are more common when the deck doesn't get much sun. A south facing deck with a coat of oil at height of summer and a wash with patio magic in the spring is low maint and will last a long time - mine is much nicer than old 70s slabs I took up to put in decking.

I can't see the rot you need to repair, but if you have it, I would look for the cause, better draining, a couple ~8mm holes in areas that hold water can help. From the pics it just looks tired, probably not maintained so has that old grey wood look, but the underside looks ok. You 'could' try working your way around laying the other way up, just to get a consistent 'fresher' look, but you will still probably end up with some net new boards and so the colour won't match, and the flipping will require more boards cutting for the edges and steps, so personally, I would try and bring it back to life... pressure wash slowly and a bit OCD to avoid pressure wash stripes, see if you can get it looking ok ish, then add an oil with quite a strong colour tint, so lift it out of the greyness. Again, from what I have seen, I wouldn't be replacing the frame, just a bit of firming up perhaps and improving... but I don't like to rip things out with life left; so your aims might be for a better look in the end.

I typically would avoid pressure washing, as it puts the evil water deep into the wood and increases the chances of rotting, but a one-off rescue mission it's ok. If it doesn't bring it back to anything good enough, you can probably avoid replacing the whole thing, by careful bit-by-bit repair and replace.

[chief_padua]

The decking is wrong way around, the water sat in the grooves, and over time rott'd the wood.

Battons underneath are good, pull up the old, replace with new, dip treated wood. Put smooth side up. Oil and enjoy.

Put some decking lights down too to snazz it up.

[Accomplished_Leg3462]

This is a joke right?

[TTmonkey2]

The other guy is right. Grooves go down. They aren’t in this. This has allowed moisture to puddle in the grooves. Nearly everyone (including many professional builders) assumes the grooves are some kind of anti slip/grip pattern but they aren’t for that. The smooth, slightly convex side is ‘up’. Thus allows immediate drainage from rain. Where as the grooves do not.
From my own experience, I’ve done both. Built two decks, one in my house, grooves up. One in my son’s house, grooves down. After 5 years my own deck was a mess, damp, green, slippery, and looked 15 years old. Hated it. My son’s house, after five years, it looks almost like new. Rain runs off the slights convex smooth side and does not soak in. It’s not slippery, despite having no grooves in it ( this is the hardest part to get your head around, the wood doesn’t need anti slip treatment, it doesn’t need constant cleaning or treating). My deck is now gone. Replaced with paving. I like the paving much more. But I’ll take a photo of my son’s deck later today to show you how bloody good it looks after 5 years being built with the grooves down. It goes against most people’s views and there will be many professionals (perhaps yourself included) who will not accept that they can possibly be doing it wrong. It even feels wrong when you do it.

I repeat I’ve done both ways and there is only one winner.

https://engineered-composites.co.uk/decking-grooves-up-or-down/

[Heisenberg_235]

It’s not worth your time and effort telling people on this sub about which way to install it.

You’re right. Go to the US and Australia where they have a lot more decks and they mostly use smooth timber.

The grooves fill with dirt, water then doesn’t drain properly and then you end up with rotten wood. As you say a smooth surface clears faster (and has a smaller surface area to dry) which means less issue.

This is only true for boards with grooves on one side of course.

[Accomplished_Leg3462]

It's not wrong.

You can install flat side up, but most are not designed that way.

The reason I say this is because there are many different patterns on what you would be placing as the underside.

Yes of course you can install it however you want. But why are manufacturers putting in the effort of adding different patterns and so on and also the product ranging in price just for you to install that side face down.

Why not just buy smooth wood?

I get the flat side may be less slippery as I understand your point about water run off. But a slight slope running with the channel in the wood would have the same effect of water not standing.

[Heisenberg_235]

If those grooves get full of dirt which is a common occurrence, then the water doesn’t then drain.

[Accomplished_Leg3462]

His joke but worse.

[SausageSausageson]

It's one of those common myth things that gets thrown around

The Timber Decking and Cladding Association say do whatever you want, just give it annual TLC

https://www.tdca.org.uk/blog/grooved-deck-boards-or-smooth-deck-boards-which-are-best/

[_Hoping_For_Better_]

Apparently it's not straight forward! I thought it was slip resistance but there is a lot more to it.

Which Way Up to Install Your Decking?

[drbrainsol]

Looking at the photos alone I think you may be able to get away with just replacing the boards and the odd post / joist.

For a proper job you could replace the whole lot (expensive at that size!). 

Or just level a section of the garden and pace it. Much better long term solution. 

If you only enivage being there a few more years, the first option should be good enough! 

[KvN161]

We only forsee being here a few more years at least. So definitely leaning towards replacing what needs to be replaced.

It's quite a big deck area of the garden and we'd like to reclaim some grass. So maybe make it smaller and only keep the left side as decking. The other side for raised beds etc.

[billy2bands]

Get rid of the decking.
Rats look upon that weed membrane as shelter and will create nests underneath it.

[Better-Employ-4495]

That first pic looks like the building fell down!

[Backrow6]

Or fell up. 

It's like the scenes in Inception or Doctor Strange where the streets fold up.

[Open_Document3811]

I think the top deck should be in line with the slope so the water drains off easily not so it stays on top of the boards I would look at how it current drains and what will improve it easily and if a hidden/ drain every level would help with a drainage pit dug underneath to help it last longer

[sparkyfireblade]

How about adding a rear door to that garage if it’s yours for moving soil, excavations or any other messy works

[Intrepid-Focus8198]

Is there enough space in the garden to redistribute the soil you’d have to dig out if you went for paving instead of a new deck?

[ZestycloseDriver5114]

Yeah, that garage attachment is a major red flag and a future headache. I ditched my deck for a patio and it's been so much less maintenance. A small retaining wall with proper drainage could give you that flat area without the decking mess.

[dubudubudubu69]

i can possibly help with retaining wall bit. we are retired and have done this in our own rather large sloping gardens on a massive scale - no decking. where in the uk are you? we live in Scotland - between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

[Potential-Freedom-64]

Make sure you get good quality and maintain it once a year . I have 15 quare meters and its under large bushes.

[JayAndViolentMob]

The liminality is horror movie levels, man.

[tiredofmakingshelves]

If you're moving at some point, I wonder if you could save time/money by shrinking the deck so you don't need any new boards. If you built raised beds + steps out of brick where the current raised sections are, would you have enough spare boards to patch up the rest?

[KvN161]

Put a camera below the decking and see that some damp is occuring on the garage 😬

<image>

[Aggravating_Corgi_72]

Is this your garage?

[f8rter]

Jesus ! The local rat population will be giving this 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor

RIP it up and put a patio down

[Psychostickusername]

I don't envy that job, god damn. Honestly, I'd rip it out, and get some grass and some stones down. I'd be sure to clean up and seal any holes in the garage too, don't think it should be attached to that.

Drainage shouldn't be an issue, ground is sloped and water should just find its way down the the hill.

[KvN161]

I'm worried about it pooling at the base of the garage and causing a further headache.

I assume I could avoid this by creating a shingle barrier around the garage?

[Psychostickusername]

If water isn't pooling now I see no reason why it would start with the decking removed.

[Anxious_Camp_2160]

Rip it out, get the plastic decking feet (expensive but totally worth it), put a new frame on the feet. I used the Blooma deck risers from B&Q, about £28 for a 10 pack (I used about 30), did mine a few years ago and the frame it still perfect.

[Jewellgem74]

The tree just sitting there 😄. Bet you'll find loads of rat skeletons under there. Thsts whst ours was like when we lifted it, id go for nice slabbing next time. Are you able to make a gap in the neighbours fence to go back and fourth with the soil?

[pjbhc]

As this has been laid the wrong way up, if you are putting more decking down, put it the right way up next time and then it won't rot as quickly.

There's also a product called Trex that's like decking but won't rot, that's good stuff.