The wooden terrace is a real decoration of every home. It is timeless, well suited to all home arrangements, and its construction can be an interesting challenge for you. How to make a deck and what should you remember about?
How to build a deck?
Wooden terraces are eagerly built, because their implementation is not too laborious. However, it requires the selection of a suitable wood species and careful assembly. For this we get a durable, effective terrace and one that you can walk barefoot on even colder days.
Bangkirai, cumaru, badi, ipe, Karelian pine, Siberian larch, spruce, oak – these are just some species of wood that tolerate harsh conditions on the terrace well, without the need for prior and serious protective measures. However, because they will be outside and will be exposed to sunlight, moisture, snow, variable temperatures – it is worth protecting them, for example, cover them with oil (without this treatment they will gray out over time).
Deck – preparation
The wooden terrace can be built on a hardened earth structure, or placed on concrete posts and joists, to which boards or panels are attached. To make a hardened ground terrace with a wooden surface, start by making the right foundation, which also has a drainage function.
Construction should begin with the excavation of a predetermined shape (increasingly moving away from symmetrical terraces, putting on irregular forms that blur the boundaries between the house and the garden) and a depth of about 40 cm, in which first you need to lay a 15-cm layer of gravel, and then a 10 cm layer of sand.
How to lay terrace boards
When you analyze the construction of the terrace step by step, you need to devote the most attention to the arrangement of the boards. The final effect, durability and efficiency of your work depends on it. You can buy ready, properly cut boards and balustrade elements. If you want to do everything yourself, use a saw to cut successive elements and arrange, starting from home, going to the opposite side.
Fasten each board with screws or nails. Pay attention to the optical effect you want to get. If the terrace is to look long, arrange the boards perpendicular to the house. Do not forget about expansion joints, which allow the wood to work and avoid problems with further operation.
After installing the wooden terrace
The terrace boards must be thoroughly washed with a mild leaching agent and rinsed with a pressure washer. If we want to protect them against patination, after drying, apply the appropriate impregnate, and then oil. You can opt for an oil preparation containing coloring additives and thus unify the color of the wood. Regular care treatments determine whether the terrace will be beautiful after a few years. The simplest and most important of them – sprinkling boards with water – must be carried out on warm, sunny days. Twice a year, thorough care is needed. The terrace should be washed with a pressure washer, and then apply oil.
