Patio/Decking opinions

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leonmahon

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Can I get peoples experiences/opinions/insights on patios and decking?

We will be fixing up some space directly outside our new back door in the near future. C. 12-15 m2, and the ground is currently in a bit of a bad state - concrete that is cracked and uneven.

Appearance and feel is obviously a factor but cost and maintenance is also quite a big issue.

Thanks in advance.
 
I have both.....patio at home and decking on holiday property. Pro and con for both..... Firstly costs... Patio if you want a good stone that weathers well and requires little maintenance can be pricey.... First patio we laid was cheap and after a couple of years didn't look great... Relaid when we built on..., put down better slab and 4 yrs on still looks new and very little maintenance.
Put decking on holiday property mainly as in a scheme and had toddlers do decking perfect for containment!! I love the deck but needs looking after... Ideally needs to be power hosed and re stained every year..... I do it every two which works..., assuming you get the weather... Last year never got the chance to do it as always wet... Did it this year and was a tough job. Decks get very worn looking quickly if not regularly maintained.
IMHO it all a matter of preference ...., if you have small kids the decking good but if not then whatever takes your fancy.... I like both for different reasons!!
 
Decking can attract pests as well. They like to live under it. I would go for a patio but that's just my preference.
 
have both patio circle and deck. deck needs good two days spent on it every year. once done comes up like new and the dark brown colour is fab. somepeople let there deck goto the natural abused colour but id wonder how long the deck will last this way. Id prefer the deck to be honest because it adds height to the garden, a patio can be very flat looking unless youv littles walls inbuilt or steps.

we do get the odd weed in the sand of the patio circle.
 
We have two gravel patios. Really great, no maintenance except a little raking every now and again. You will get a ton of sand grit for about €55 and a ton of gravel for circa €85. Edging slabs about €2.
 
We have both decking and a patio outside the conservatory.

We had the builder build a retaining wall, pour a concrete base and used the same [broken link removed] inside the conservatory and outside on the patio and it looks great - it makes the [broken link removed] (Page 168) when the doors are open.

We also have a deck, which needs quite a bit of maintenance. If we had to do the deck again, we would use .
 
I think I'm leaning towards composite or pure PVC decking. I think we'd have to spend a lot to get a patio right, given the state of the ground outside our house, and we also have our first child on the way. Has anyone used it?

Re: Vermin - I've heard anecdotal mentions of it before but never any concrete evidence to support it. We do live right beside a canal, but I've never seen a rat in the vicinity (although we have had raiding parties of mice on two occasions), and we have two cats.
 
delgirl said:
We have both decking and a patio outside the conservatory.

We had the builder build a retaining wall, pour a concrete base and used the same [broken link removed] inside the conservatory and outside on the patio and it looks great - it makes the [broken link removed] (Page 168) when the doors are open.

We also have a deck, which needs quite a bit of maintenance. If we had to do the deck again, we would use .
Click to expand...

This sounds excellent! It's all working out ok?
 
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