Decking in Broadstairs.

Where decking works in Broadstairs

Broadstairs has plenty of decking-friendly gardens: split-level plots on the streets that step down towards the seafront, sea-view terraces overlooking Viking Bay and Stone Bay, and hot-tub bases in holiday-let rear gardens across the town. The decking substrate is typically level chalk once you excavate the topsoil, which gives you a nice firm base for concrete pads under the joist supports.

Materials

Softwood decking (tanalised pine, standard 145mm or 120mm boards) is the workhorse material. £150 to £190 per square metre supplied and built. Life expectancy 8 to 12 years with normal maintenance. Hardwood (Iroko, Ipe, Balau) is the upgrade: £200 to £280 per square metre, 20 to 25 year working life, no annual staining. Composite (Trex, Millboard, Fiberon) is the premium: £220 to £320 per square metre, 25+ years, no maintenance beyond a pressure wash.

Substructure

Joists on concrete pads or on a treated timber ledger fixed to a wall. Standard joist spacing 400mm centres for softwood, 300mm for narrow-board hardwood. Weed-suppressant membrane under the deck, ventilation gap around the perimeter, and enough fall (typically 1:80) to move rainwater to the front edge.

Salt-air fixings

On any coastal Broadstairs deck we use A4 stainless deck screws as the standard fixing. Galvanised deck screws corrode in five to eight years on the salt-air belt and the boards start lifting. Stainless is the answer, adds about £2 per square metre to the material cost, and doubles the working life of the fixings.

Turnaround

Standard 12 to 20 square metre garden deck is a two to four day build depending on substructure complexity. Sea-view roof terraces or split-level jobs run longer: five to eight days is typical. Fixed price once we have seen the substrate and worked out the joist plan.