Laying simple, ground-level decking may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. With careful planning and preparation, you can lay decking that you’ll be proud to show off to neighbours, family and friends. Here are a few tips to get you started. Plan carefully Draw out a plan, to scale, on paper. This will help you to know how many boards you’ll need and ensure that you don’t end up having to cut anything to fit. Prepare the area Measure out the site according to your plan and hammer a peg into each corner, then tie string around each peg to help you see what you’re working with. If you’re not laying on existing slabs, dig into the ground, lifting out turf if it’s there, and check that the site is level. Then add concrete slabs for more stability or lay weed-control fabric over the ground and cover with gravel to further prevent weed growth. Build your sub-frame Since a lot of people ask this, we’ve got a more detailed guide in the FAQ below. Lay your deck boards Start in one corner of the sub-frame and position the first board across the inner joists. You want the deck board in the opposite direction to the inner joists, ensuring that it’s flush with the frame. Position any end-to-end joins between the deck boards halfway across an inner joist so you can screw both boards into the joist for stability. Make sure you keep a gap of between 5-8mm to allow for expansion of the wood. Begin to screw your deck boards to the joists. You’ll need to secure the deck board to every joist is covers along your deck frame. Use two screws for every joist. Mark where you’re going to add your screws, ensuring that they are at least 15mm from the end of the board and 20mm from the outside edges. Drill pilot holes for the screws, being careful to only drill through the deck board and not the joist. Then screw the decking screws into the holes. Continue to screw in the deck boards, ensuring you leave the correct expansion gap. You can stagger the deck board joins across the deck for more strength. Sand down any cut ends if you need to before applying decking preserver to protect the timber from rotting. Although this is a simplified set of instructions, it’s enough for you to see whether you want to attempt to lay decking yourself – and if you don’t, you can get in touch with professionals who will be happy to give you a quote.

Wooden Decking in Dorchester

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Wooden Decking in Dorchester

Wooden decking is an increasingly prevalent option for providing outdoor seating areas in gardens. Because of the natural beauty of wood, they can be very beautiful spaces which can be used year round with the help of outside heating and lighting. Wooden decking is frequently installed in locations in front of patio or French doors where they can create a smooth transition between interior and exterior spaces. Wooden decking can come in any size or shape to fit any area. Curved designs or large areas connected by pathways can create a striking effect. Wooden decking is reasonably easy to install and causes little disruption, especially when compared to alternatives like patio or paving. It can even be installed over the top of a pre-existing patio. It is critical however to be certain that your wooden decking is structurally sound and able to take the load of any furniture or plants that you want to use on the decking. There is a selection of types of wood that can be used in wooden decking. Typically decking is made of hardwood, but there are softwoods available that fulfil the durability requirements. As hardwood decking will demand maintenance, which typically consists of yearly cleaning and staining for weather proofing, composite woods are becoming popular for use in wooden decking because they are stronger and require significantly less maintenance.

Average Wooden decking cost in Dorchester

The typical cost of Wooden decking is £1500. Costs can change based upon the materials and the firm hired. The upper price range can be as high as £1725. The material costs are commonly approximately £375

Average price per Wooden decking job in 2024

Avg. price low	Avg. price low £1,125
Avg. price	Avg. price £1,500
Avg. price high	Avg. price high £1,725

£1900

£1425

£950

£475

£0

Prices based on actual Wooden decking costs for Dorchester, as reported by local LeadsDoWork members.

Wooden decking installation cost in Dorchester 2024

	Labour cost	£1,050
	Material cost	£375
	Waste removal	£75

Time frame: 1-4 days

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Dorchester

Dorchester is a historical market town and the county of Dorset in England. It is situated between the towns of Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. Situated on the banks of the River Frome, in the Frome Valley, it is south of the Dorset Downs and to the north of the South Dorset Ridgeway separating the region from Weymouth. The town centre is approximated to be between 55 and 80 metres above sea level on gradual sloping ground by the River Frome's south bank. It is nearly 7 miles north of Weymouth, 18 miles from Yeovil in Somerset, and 20 miles west of Poole. The land to the south and west of the town comes under the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In accordance with the 2011 Census, Dorchester has a population of 19060, with 8449 homes. Within this population, 48.35 per cent of residents were male and 51.6 per cent were female. A little under the 18.9 percent for England as a whole, 17 percent of occupants were under 16 years of ages, and 22.4 percent of citizens were over 65 years old, being a little above the 16.4 per cent for England as a whole. Research provided for 2012 exposed that there were 17500 people employed in Dorchester, of which 51 per cent were working full time. There is a total of six industrial estates in Dorchester, which consists of The Grove Trading Estate, Poundbury Trading Estate, Marabout Barracks, Great Western Centre, Railway Triangle and Casterbridge Industrial Estate. The Brewery Square redevelopment project has made it possible for regional and countrywide shops, restaurants and bars to be in simple reach of the town's residents. For all of your house upgrades, make certain to make use of credible professionals in Dorchester to make particular of quality.

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i have a garden 13ft+13ft for decking and i need to find out how much it is to do it all can you give me quot - Estimated Service Date: 07/04/2016 - Estimated Decking Area (sq ft): 13ft 13ft - Reason ...

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FAQs

How much decking you need will – of course – depend on how big you plan your deck to be. There is an equation to help you work out how many deck boards you need. It’s a little complicated until you’ve been shown how it works, but once you know how to do it it’s easy to work out how much decking you need for any project. The equation takes into account the recommended 10% wastage and includes the expansion gaps that are required, which is between 5-8mm along the length of the deck boards (EGL, or expansion gap length) and 3mm along the ends of the deck boards (EGW, or expansion gap width) for timber. It also assumes you’re laying your decking horizontally, as if you’re looking for a diagonal or chevron design you’ll need more deck boards. Let’s go through an example, assuming you have a 10m x 6m area that you want to cover with decking made from timber boards that are 2.4m long and 144mm wide. We’ll use the EGL of 5mm and EGW of 3mm.

Calculate the surface area for your decking Multiply the length (L) of your decking area by the width (W): L x W = Decking Surface Area (DSA) in m² 10 x 6 = 60m²
Work out the coverage of your deck boards Add your deck board width (DBW) to the expansion gap length (EGL), then add the deck board length (DBL) to the expansion gap width (EGW). Then multiply these numbers. (DBW + EGL) x (DBL + EGW) = Single Board Coverage (SBC) 0.144m + 0.005m = 0.149m 2.4m + 0.003m = 2.403m 0.149 x 2.403 = 0.358m²
Calculate the number of deck boards you need Multiply the SBC by 1.1 to allow for 10% wastage. Then, divide the DSA by the SBC. DSA / SCB x 1.1 = Total number of boards required 60m² / 0.358m² x 1.1 = 184.36 boards – so round up to 185 so you’re not left short.

If that all seems a bit complicated for you, let a professional do the maths – they will be able to give you an idea of how much decking you’ll need in no time.

Properly installed wooden decking will not need a lot of maintenance. Most manufacturers recommend regularly brushing leaves and dirt off the deck, and a yearly cleaning and staining procedure. This will keep the wood in the best condition. Fluids and treatments are readily available from all DIY shops and stores.

Laying simple, ground-level decking may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. With careful planning and preparation, you can lay decking that you’ll be proud to show off to neighbours, family and friends. Here are a few tips to get you started. Plan carefully Draw out a plan, to scale, on paper. This will help you to know how many boards you’ll need and ensure that you don’t end up having to cut anything to fit. Prepare the area Measure out the site according to your plan and hammer a peg into each corner, then tie string around each peg to help you see what you’re working with. If you’re not laying on existing slabs, dig into the ground, lifting out turf if it’s there, and check that the site is level. Then add concrete slabs for more stability or lay weed-control fabric over the ground and cover with gravel to further prevent weed growth. Build your sub-frame Since a lot of people ask this, we’ve got a more detailed guide in the FAQ below. Lay your deck boards

Start in one corner of the sub-frame and position the first board across the inner joists. You want the deck board in the opposite direction to the inner joists, ensuring that it’s flush with the frame. Position any end-to-end joins between the deck boards halfway across an inner joist so you can screw both boards into the joist for stability. Make sure you keep a gap of between 5-8mm to allow for expansion of the wood.
Begin to screw your deck boards to the joists. You’ll need to secure the deck board to every joist is covers along your deck frame. Use two screws for every joist. Mark where you’re going to add your screws, ensuring that they are at least 15mm from the end of the board and 20mm from the outside edges. Drill pilot holes for the screws, being careful to only drill through the deck board and not the joist. Then screw the decking screws into the holes.
Continue to screw in the deck boards, ensuring you leave the correct expansion gap. You can stagger the deck board joins across the deck for more strength.
Sand down any cut ends if you need to before applying decking preserver to protect the timber from rotting.

Although this is a simplified set of instructions, it’s enough for you to see whether you want to attempt to lay decking yourself – and if you don’t, you can get in touch with professionals who will be happy to give you a quote.

Yes, although you should make sure that the terrace or decking is able to support the weight of a hot tub. Usually, you will need to have a structural survey carried out on the area. Seek the advise of a hot tub retailer or installer about the logistics of installing one at your property.

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Overall rating:

Dorchester Wooden decking installers are rated 3.7 out of 5 based on 4 reviews of 46 pros.

The LeadsDoWork rating and review is an overall rating based on verified reviews and feedback from the customers with Wooden decking projects that have been connected with Wooden decking pros to help them. All Wooden decking contractors All Dorchester Wooden decking contractors

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