Advice on Decking – Laying Decking on the Ground Post your questions and find answers on all garden related topics and areas

[cantily]

I am trying to do my garden myself and being female that is not an easy task. I came across deck tiles in Argos and need to cover 25 ft x 10 ft approx. I am not sure what is involved in fitting these. Do they need support/screws to join etc.? And are they suitable for that size of coverage?

My dog has dug my garden up it looks like I have moles and have barely any grass left. I was going to lay slabs but it is to expensive to get them fitted and I doubt my capability of laying them myself.

I plan to kill off the grass underneath and flatten the soil then put down weed fabric under the decking. Does anyone have any advice on this?

Any advice is gratefully received.

[ALDA]

I ASSUME YOU WANT TO LAY THE TILES DIRECTLY ON THE GROUND AND NOT OVERLAY A PAVED AREA?

YOU WOULD HAVE TO GET THE GROUND FLAT AND LEVEL BECAUSE ANY DISCREPANCIES WOULD BE OBVIOUS WHEN LAYING THE TILES.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE EFFECT WOULD NOT LAST LONG THOUGH, AS THE SOIL MOVES OVER TIME DUE TO FOOT TRAFFIC, RAIN, DROUGHT, ICE AND EVEN WORMS UNDER MINING THEM.
SO THE TILES WOULD VERY SOON BECOME WOBBLY.

THIS IS WHY TOPSOIL IS REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH COMPACTED HARDCORE TO GIVE A SOUND BASE TO LAY PAVING ON.

THE MOST SUITABLE WAY FOR TIMBER TILES IS TO MAKE UP A TIMBER FRAME TO WHICH THE TILES ARE SECURED WITH NAILS OR SCREWS.
THIS ALL ADDS TIME, WORK AND EXPENSE TO THE PROJECT.

IF YOU STILL WANT TO GO AHEAD WITH YOUR PROJECT IN THE MANNER YOU DESCRIBE AND CAN LIVE WITH THE PROBLEMS NOTED ABOVE, THEN YOU WILL NEED.

96-50cm X 50cm TILES COSTING APPROX. £430
OR
24-1m X 1m TILES COSTING APPROX. £120

FABRIC APPROX £20

TIMBER FRAME SMALL TILE OPTION APPROX £150 TOTAL=£610

TIMBER FRAME LARGE TILE OPTION APPROX £75 TOTAL=£225

DECKING SCREWS OR NAILS £10

GET BACK TO ME IF YOU NEED ANY FURTHER ADVICE.

[TheDoctor4]

Good advice from ALDA there.

If viewers are looking for general advice on this subject then we would direct you to our DIY decking category pages which has a bunch of useful tips and tricks for whether you are building or fitting plastic decking, composite decking, wooden decking or just wanting to nail a few decking boards to a couple of timbers.