By the Timber Decking and Cladding Association

Decking can help transform any space into a practical and stylish spot for entertaining, dining, or simply relaxing, whether it be a large country garden, small town garden or compact terrace.

A decking area is ideal for entertaining, dining, or simply relaxing. Image credit: Timber Decking and Cladding Association

A decking area is ideal for entertaining, dining, or simply relaxing. Image credit: Timber Decking and Cladding Association

The design experts at Richard Burbidge have come up with a few handy design hints to help deck builders.

Planning permission

The position of a deck area can depend on planning permission limitations. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of securing planning permission, then it’s important to make sure it’s neither higher than 30cm above ground level nor occupies more than 50% of the garden area together with other extensions and outbuildings. If a deck area is more than 30cm above ground level, planning permission should be sought, and outdoor balustrades should be utilised as an essential safety barrier.

Location, location

Before designing a deck area you should consider where the sun will be at different times of the day. Also, will the deck be protected from prevailing winds, by fences, walls or buildings? Finally, will the decking interfere with any household services; in particular will it affect access to drains or vents? If so, access to these may need to be built into the design.

Size matters

As with any home extension, you should try to make the improvements look as though they were part of the original house. Therefore, size should be taken into consideration when designing a deck area. A small deck on a large house may look like an obvious addition, rather than an organic part of the house. Similarly, oversized decking on smaller houses or in compact outdoor spaces can look equally out of place. Richard Burbidge offers a wide range of decking balustrade in a variety of styles and finishes, as it’s also important to choose the right balustrade to make sure they are in keeping with the overall look and feel of the garden.

On the slopes

One of the best ways to make the most out of a garden with a slope, especially one that slopes away from the house, is to fit multi-level decking and outdoor balustrade. Not only can this add interest to the garden design and break up larger areas, it also makes uneven or sloping gardens more useable and safer.