Decking is going up in the world – literally!

At Decks Direct Ltd nearly 70% of the decks it now designs, engineers and builds are elevated – and almost half are more than five feet off the ground.

And that leads to a matter dear to the heart of company technical director Richard Malpass. He has an engineering background which has stood him in good stead to understand the absolute necessity for stringent safety measures where decking is concerned.

He explained: “One of the biggest problems with decking is structural design. A lot of decks are being built by people who are not necessarily engineers. One would have to question their structural integrity – long and even short term – and particularly with regard to handrails and balustrades.

“There is hardly anyone building decks with handrails that would meet building regulation requirements, which are quite extreme. Decks don’t need planning permission, or very rarely, and then very rarely does the building inspector ask for calculations or check anything.

“We have spent a lot of time working with the NHBC on multi-house contracts, evolving a design that satisfies everyone in terms of its structural capability. It is an issue if you are building a deck several feet off the ground. Imagine 25 people having a lovely party on the deck and leaning against a rail that is not safe.”

He welcomes the Timber Decking Association‘s detailed technical guide to the specification and installation of handrails and balustrades, the first draft of which is due to be published this month.

Decks Direct is a relative newcomer to the market. It was formed in March 2000 and went straight to the Ideal Home Exhibition where it received an overwhelming reception. Mr Malpass said: “It was beyond belief, ridiculous, and left us in a terrible situation as we were unable to serve the demand we had created.

“Our original market was to provide an outlet for the aspirations of people who had seen Ground Force and other makeover programmes. There didn’t seem to be anyone providing a design and build service for them.

“We set out to service the domestic market by going to exhibitions and advertising in newspapers. We even went to the extent of making a television advert. It was a substantial investment – hundreds of thousands of pounds – supported by some outside investors.

Learning the market

“We had an interesting first year, learning our way through the market place. We aimed at the middle to upper market and started off with a minimum price of £1,100 which we have progressively moved up.

“In year two we started putting the lessons we had learned into play, having much improved our performance on all fronts. We recognised there was a substantial market, dealing with builders, developers and landscape designers, and began seeking business in that area where we have done quite well.”

Sixty per cent of Decks Direct’s business is now commercial – a ratio it intends to grow. “We were asked to build a walkway at the Chelsea Flower show and that sort of thing puts you in front of the upper end of the market and is a very good way of securing business,” said Mr Malpass.

The company offers a complete design, engineer and build service and the philosophy has always been to employ its own people, now numbering 30.

Decks Direct will go anywhere for a major contract – but otherwise restricts itself to south of Birmingham down to Devon and Cornwall. Its teams of designers visit clients and use a 3D design program on a laptop to illustrate how the deck will look.

Modifications on site

Mr Malpass said: “Inevitably clients change their mind when they have thought a bit more, but that is one of the beauties of the product as everything is constructed on site. You can modify and tweak decks as they are being built, which is a real asset as the customer gets exactly what they want.”

The company directors went on several fact-finding missions to the US to build up their skills and, using Mr Malpass’s engineering knowledge, went back to first principles to overcome the challenges involved in supplying and building decks.

There has been a deliberate policy of limiting the choice of materials available. “We looked at a lot but chose just four. Our biggest seller is European redwood, which is very cost-effective and good looking. We also offer three types of hardwood – cumaru, ipe and, at the top end of the range, iroko.”

Surprisingly, less than 1% of Decks Direct’s customers express any concern about sustainability – and those that do are from the professional sector. Mr Malpass said: “We have built around 1,500 decks in the last two years and only one customer wanted to see certification.”

Status symbol

However, clients do differentiate between hardwood and softwood. “Decking has gone beyond being a status symbol but you still get a bit of snobbery between hardwood and softwood. There are those who believe hardwood decks are better, although in my view if a softwood deck is built properly it is just as good.”

Decks Direct, which has a £2m turnover, normally has around £60,000 worth of material in stock – averaging £40,000 of redwood and understructure and £20,000 of hardwood – all stored in a 20,000ft2 warehouse in Aylesbury. The company carries four stock lengths and wastage runs at about 5% with some leftover material being used to create planters and other deck features.

An average deck costing £5,000 takes six days to install – from digging the footings to completion. A major part of the construction is the supporting structure. “A lot of people don’t realise there is more timber under a deck than there is on it,” said Mr Malpass.

Despite its short existence Decks Direct has done some extremely prestigious projects. The Royal Box at Wimbledon is one. “They wanted a finish that, if it got wet, would dry very quickly. We constructed a 70m2 deck in ipe which has drainage slots machined into the grooves of the deck board which allow rain to pass through into the drainage system below.”

A favourite contract was at Chewton Glen in the New Forest, one of the UK’s finest country house hotels. Here a 125m2 leisure deck complete with glazing and brick piers was recently completed, along with several other decks and a series of balconies. That contract has led to further commissions from guests impressed by the workmanship.

Currently Decks Direct is looking to expand a potential new market – prefabricated decks which can be installed at exhibitions or sporting events to give guests a clean, dry surface on which to walk or dance. One was installed at Henley for the Royal Regatta.

Mr Malpass said: “We put it down two days before the event and when it was all over we just lifted it up, put it on the back of a lorry and took it back to the warehouse where it was pressure jet washed and oiled ready for the next time. We are actively starting to market the hospitality concept as there is still a lot of life left in decking.”