All good things must come to an end, so the saying goes, but the timber decking trade is determined that nothing will burst its rising sales bubble.
Like mobile telephones and digital television, interest in timber decking has soared in the past two years, and those businesses responding to the incredible surge in demand are taking action to ensure decking is more than a short-term fashion fuelled by popular TV gardening programmes.
The Timber Decking Association (TDA) – working closely with TRADA – has spent the past few months addressing some difficult issues and has refused to be distracted by the success of this booming new market.
There was some repeat last year of the stock shortage problems experienced in 1999, although the situation was vastly improved because manufacturers were not taken so much by surprise. In February the first of the TDA’s 18 manufacturer member companies received DeckMark quality assurance accreditation, a scheme based around ISO 9000 and British Standards.
The TDA has also introduced a membership scheme to encourage professional decking installers such as builders to join and work towards DeckMark. It is offering a three-year membership rather than asking for an annual subscription, and installers pay a joining fee of £500 and then 36 instalments of £165, with the first year’s contributions going towards earning the DeckMark stamp of approval.
DeckMark is the TDA’s safety net: it attempts to reduce the risk of poor installations or the use of inferior quality boards that could generate the kind of bad publicity the industry fears would threaten decking’s strong market position against rival products.
Need for guidance
‘In everything we do we have to remember that the UK decking industry is still at an embryonic stage and we have seen 10 years of sales growth take place in just two years. The business still needs guidance and innovation to grow and that is where the TDA comes in,’ says TDA secretary Steve Young.
‘We are keen to recruit many new members, and would like to get more timber merchants involved, as well as more installers. The TDA cannot grow the decking sector on its own, so as an industry we must work collectively.’
The TDA estimates the market for decking is worth between £50-75m and the Excellence in Marketing honour it picked up at the TTJ Awards last year was arguably just reward for its ongoing promotional activity.
The TDA repeated its national consumer research last year canvassing, 2,000 members of the public selected across all ages and social demographic groups. The results demonstrated that, since the first survey in spring 1999, spontaneous awareness of decking has grown from 59% to 85%, while the numbers who are genuinely interested in the concept of decking and wooden structures for their own gardens grew by 30%, although the TDA keeps the actual figure under wraps to help it mould future marketing strategies.
‘Growth has come from the consumer end and from the housebuilding sector where decks are being incorporated into original designs to increase the perceived value and appeal of a property. Commercial property developers are also turning to wooden decking as leisure features in commercial projects,’ says Mr Young.
One of the TDA’s key aims this year is to address the regions where decking has yet to make a major impact. The research revealed that the highest levels (93%) of spontaneous consumer awareness of decking existed in the south-west and the lowest (57%) was defined in the north. The highest percentage (28%) of people who were actively interested in installing decking lived in Scotland, followed by the south-east. The Welsh were the least committed at 15%.
The partnership between the TDA and TRADA has strengthened and around 400 copies of their joint Timber Decking Manual launched last April have been sold and 2,500 copies of An introduction to creating quality decks, which promotes the manual, have been issued. The 78-page manual outlines the history of decking, with advice on planning and siting a deck and materials and fixings. It also gives details on the recommended heights for guard rails and how to ensure British Standards are met.
The manual is being updated: a revised edition is expected to be published before the end of the year and will include more advice on preserving and maintaining a deck. A CD-Rom version will also be available with video and stills photography taken during the construction of a best practice demonstration deck built at TRADA’s headquarters by TDA members last summer.
Emphasis on training
TRADA Technology‘s head of timber technology Dr Paul Newman says the emphasis on training and accreditation will continue throughout 2001 and joint seminars will be held with the TDA aimed specifically at installers. TRADA already holds popular decking and cladding seminars but these tend to attract design professionals.
‘We have seen phenomenal growth for the timber industry and sales opportunities from new markets like this do not come along very often. The key now is to sustain that growth, if not at quite the same dramatic rate, and to concentrate on training and quality assurance with initiatives such as DeckMark so we do not get any disasters,’ says Dr Newman.
BM TRADA Certification operates the DeckMark scheme and the first company to receive the award was timber merchant, importer and distributor Howarth (Timber Importers) for its Arbordeck brand of boards and components. It was closely followed by Arch Chemicals and BSW Timber, and now all TDA members have applied.
The DeckMark scheme has two elements, one covering supplied materials and components such as timber fixings and finishes and the other design and installation where best practice methods must be used.
Howarth’s marketing manager, Terry Blackwood, says the company expects to double its turnover from decking to around £4m this year and that the DeckMark logo has been included on the company’s brochures and products since January.
‘When we set up our decking department we knew DeckMark was coming so everything we did had best practice in mind. We will be stressing the award in all our marketing to consumers as it gives us and our stockists an advantage at a time where there is some concern over the quality of some of the boards being used in the market,’ he says.
Good practice
BSW Timber will use DeckMark to promote its Timeless Timber decking where sales also doubled last year. ‘It is important we can differentiate ourselves against inferior products on the market and to build confidence in decking with the consumer and the professional installer. It is even more important a deck is installed properly and we are promoting the good practice installation guidelines in our new brochure. This is a perfect way for installers to differentiate themselves,’ says a spokesperson for BSW.
Richard Burbidge is one of the TDA members awaiting its DeckMark accreditation to be processed. In the meantime it has expanded its decking activity with the unveiling of a new balustrading range. It has also updated its website and published a book entitled Decking – the essential guide to planning and designing a deck featuring 12 deck designs with a full parts list and technical plans.
The company also offers a bespoke deck planning service and has relaunched its decking video with new sections demonstrating how to install balustrading.
‘The book was prompted by discussions with our stockists who had customers coming into their branches saying they wanted a deck but they did not know much about it. Retail staff were spending a long time explaining what a deck is and how to go about installing one,’ says Richard Burbidge’s product manager Fiona Bowyer.
Arguably the biggest factor in the growth of decking in the UK has been the use of decks on TV gardening programmes which the manufacturers say have generated a large number of enquiries from stockists keen to work with the TDA and TRADA. For example, TRADA Technology helped to prepare the technical details of a new decking system for Jewson, launched this spring. It is a modular system whereby standard modules in hardwood or softwood can be customised to create the deck required.
Modern appeal
Rachel Innes-Lumsden, executive producer of the BBC‘s Home Front and Home Front in the Garden, says the desire for a deck is the shows’ most requested feature.
‘A deck screams modernity and style. It provides the low maintenance choice to a large lawn and due to its relatively light weight, it is perfect for balconies and roof terraces and, now that it can be bought in kit form or in pre-formed squares, just about anyone can have a go at installing it,’ she says.
The decking manufacturers are grateful for the publicity that shows such as Home Front generate but suppliers are critical that these programmes do not always inform the public about the types of decking available.
The Outdoor Deck Company Ltd has supplied numerous decks, made mainly from grade one southern yellow pine, to television and managing director Mike Wilderink says TV shows can give a false impression of how much a quality deck costs. ‘There could be trouble ahead because we are getting a lot of business replacing decks that have not been installed for very long. Often the problem is the boards have been badly treated or not treated at all.’
The Outdoor Deck Company’s own sales have doubled in the past year and it has expanded into France and Spain. It has been split into three divisions – consumer, trade and wholesale – and its commercial work includes the installation of a 2,900ft² deck at L’Oreal’s London headquarters.
