Landscape With Decking

Decking is a great way extend a living area outside of the home - bringing the outside in, so to speak. As well as, in effect, giving you an extra 'room', it gives solid surface in the garden for your outdoor furniture and BBQ plus, if around a wet area such as a spa or swimming pool, you can ensure securer footing and more safety. Whatever the purpose of your decking, it should to be appropriately designed, installed, and maintained. And, remember this will add value to your property.

Because normal pine is a soft wood it has never been as hard wearing and durable as hardwoods such as cedar or mahogany, although it costs significantly less. Hardwoods usually originate in tropical climate regions, which if nothing else raises the ire of conservation groups as they are often from places being de-forested. So a first consideration is to look at indigenous hardwoods, then those that are sustainable.

Another alternative is to look for re-cycled wood. A clue for being eco-friendly is to avoid wood treated with chemicals - such as pressure treated woods.

Another route to go is to use composite materials which have increased dramatically in recent years because it's easy to maintain and less costly. It is usually made from re-cycled plastics and wood fibre which makes them more acceptable environmentally.

Decking can be built onto a veranda, patio or as a stand alone. If your budget doesn't allow for decking construction when you are initially building a house, make sure your design is such that a later addition of the deck can be done seamlessly.

This applies to both the house itself and the garden you set up - that is don't plant a tree where you will eventually want to place a deck - unless you plan a design that incorporates the potential shade from the tree. Planning is essential if you want a deck that really meets your needs - both in the design sense and for practical usage. it's not much use having a great looking deck that doesn't serve your purposes for entertainment and so on.

Do you want to learn more about gardening? If so, please download my free e-book on "Better Gardening Ideas." Our new Expert Gardening Solutions is also now available. Peter Ryan is a landscape and gardening expert and can be reached here: http://www.betterhouseandgarden.net/learn-how-to-garden-easily.

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