Terrace boards: types and features of the material

Terraces and open areas for recreation today are increasingly found in the suburban areas. After all, the modern dacha is no longer a place for growing potatoes and cucumbers, but a place of rest from the bustle of the city, a place for friendly meetings and family gatherings. Where else to spend warm summer evenings with a cup of tea and cakes if not on a cozy and beautiful terrace?

Immediately make a reservation that confusion in terminology should be avoided - although the veranda and the terrace are similar, they are still different buildings. We will rely on the definition of SNiP 2.08.01. -89, where the terrace is called an open or closed space, which may or may not have a fence, which is an extension to the building. It can be placed directly on the ground, be a platform between the basement and the first floor or be located on supports.The veranda is considered to be a glazed unheated room that is built in or attached to a building. Before starting work, decide whether you need an open terrace or a glazed veranda, because the choice of materials for construction will depend on it.

The choice of finishing materials for open areas is not easy, besides, manufacturers offer a lot of different options. In addition, we often have doubts about the ratio of the durability of materials and their appearance. Experts believe that decking is exactly the material that will allow you to not worry about the service life of the coating. In addition, it is represented on the construction market very widely and, depending on preferences, you can choose a completely natural or composite material. Both wooden and plastic decking are distinguished by increased resistance to moisture and temperatures, a special non-slip surface and ease of maintenance.

For finishing the floor on the terrace there is a special group of materials - decking. This is a modern finishing material made of natural wood with polymer additives, produced on modern automated equipment.Finished material is impregnated with moisture-proof and other protective agents. All this is necessary in order for the board to serve you as long as possible, because even if your roof has a roof, precipitations will fall on the platform.

Today manufacturers offer:

• wooden board without processing;
• with special treatment;
• from a tree and polymeric materials.

The main criteria that must meet the terrace board.

• Resistance to changes in temperature and low temperatures (as it will be cold on the terrace in winter);
• Resistant to sunlight (some finishing materials may deteriorate or change color under ultraviolet rays);
• Increased moisture resistance;

• Resistance to external damage (a necessary condition, since you will inevitably move furniture, flower pots and other interior items located on the terrace);
• Use for the manufacture of special wood, suitable for the manufacture of this finishing material. Expensive materials include decking made of larch, ipe wood, oak and so on. To inexpensive - products from coniferous trees, and the resin, allocated by them, is a wonderful natural replacement for chemical processing.

In fact, the range of application of decking is much wider than the decoration of outdoor areas for recreation. The terrace board is a finishing material, possessing not only high quality, but also excellent aesthetic characteristics. It is used to finish the floor of living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.

Covering the floor of the loggias and balconies will look great with a decking deck. By the way, if necessary, you can use this material in the decoration of the walls of the loggias. Due to its resistance to temperature changes, the surface of the walls will retain an attractive appearance for many years.

Arrangement of garden paths often delivers a lot of difficulties to owners of summer cottagesas many materials become slippery from the rain.Decking is a great option! It does not slide even with heavy precipitation or frost, as it has a specially treated surface. Due to this property, the material will become a worthy replacement for tile or stone at the sites adjacent to the pool.

If your site is adjacent to a river or a lake, and you are a big fan of relaxing near the water and on the water, then there is no better material for embankments, walkways or moorings than a terrace board. By the way, besides the fact that this material will not let you slip, it also keeps heat for a long time.

Sex in the bath or sauna is being seriously tested - here and high humidity and high temperatures. Be sure, the terrace board will not only withstand such an “aggressive” atmosphere, but will also retain heat perfectly.

Another option for the use of decking is to use it instead of a picket fence. The service life of the fence will increase several times!

The criteria for choosing a decking board are:

• thickness;
• material;
• profile view;
• surface texture.

The thickness of the board can be different - from 1.8 cm to 4.8 cm.

The texture of the surface varies from perfectly smooth to ribbed boards.

By the type of profile, they distinguish a "beveled" board or a stalk and a standard, rectangular one. Bevelled planken is a versatile material and is used in the decoration of arbors, fences and houses. The long edge of this finishing board has a certain angle of inclination (or rounding), therefore when laying the board they “fit” one under the other, which ensures a reliable connection of elements and complete concealment of possible gaps.

The straight is a regular board, sometimes with grooves, sometimes without them.

We can say that it is similar to the well-known lining, but wear resistance indicators are much higher.

Now let's talk about the most important criteria - to choose natural or artificial material?

The choice of natural decking is quite large. These are traditional species, such as oak and larch, as well as exotic ones. For example, a terrace board made of massaranduba will be so strong that it can be called "iron". Amazing strength is different and the board of coumaru, as it contains oily substances. Also, manufacturers offer us today a board from meraboo - a strong and very beautiful board of banker, which can be laid directly on the ground (it can be easily recognized by the presence of small cracks, which, however, does not affect its durability).

Teak floor is also durable, but, of course, quite expensive.As, however, and all planken from exotic breeds. If this does not suit you, we recommend staying on a board made of larch or any coniferous trees. Our ancestors knew about the amazing properties of larch - this wood was used in shipbuilding, made piles for bridges and much more.

Of the larch and conifers often made and the material having the name "deck" board. It does not have the usual for such coatings connection ("lock") at the ends, but, on the contrary, is fixed so that the gap between the elements remains. To keep the gaps even and neat, they use special inserts when laying, and then they are removed. Gaps are necessary when your flooring needs ventilation, or you need to think about the water flow.

Decking has received widespread use in country construction - this is the name of the composite veranda and decking board. Decking is a material that combines wood and polymers and has excellent performance characteristics. The finish looks like natural wood, while the board is quite flexible, very durable, moisture resistant and durable.A definite plus is the variety of colors and shades.

Although composite finishing materials appeared on the construction market relatively recently, many experts believe that plastic boards are best suited for outdoor areas. No fungi and processes of decay, does not change the appearance either under the rays of the sun or in the pouring rain, it will withstand frost and heat.

The plastic board does not need repainting and will last for many years without the need for replacement, because it withstands even constant contact with water and is absolutely not interesting for beetles spoiling wood.

Polymeric (PVC) board is a hollow design with several stiffening ribs inside, which means it is irreplaceable where, for whatever reason, we have to use lightweight materials, avoiding reinforcement of the base.

Such a flooring as a terrace board can be laid with your own hands. There are two ways of laying, both are simple, even for a beginner.

It lies in the fact that along the entire perimeter of the territory where you intend to mount the flooring, it is necessary to install logs that will serve as a mounting structure and a “pillow”.

The terrace board will be attached directly to the logs with the help of screws, which are treated with an anti-corrosion solution. Mounting decking, you need to pay attention to the presence of gaps between the elements. If they are, then with a special rubber hammer you need to knock the board to the board.

The closed method assumes the presence of a concrete base with a small angle of inclination. It so happens that a beginner does not have a base with a slope - in this case, on a concrete base you will have to make grooves with a bias in one direction.

For the installation of a terrace covering, it will be necessary to prepare fasteners - the grooves on the end sides of each element, all fixtures are recommended to be treated with an anti-corrosion liquid. Fasteners (special metal plates) are inserted into the grooves, we impose boards on fasteners and fasten with screws (each of the elements has a hole for this).

Installation of the polymer floor is also not particularly difficult. It is important that the floor base is as flat as possible, it is recommended to perform a concrete screed.The next stage is the installation of lags, and the greater the load assumed on the surface of the coating, the closer the lags should be to each other. So, if you build a terrace where there will be many people at the same time and heavy furniture will be located, then the distance between the lags should not exceed 15 cm.

Lags can be made of various materials. Metal - the most reliable and durable. On plastic boards, there are already special locks for attaching to logs, but you still have to use self-tapping screws - the first board must be fixed by them.

A beautiful view of the polymer floor often spoils the end space - however, manufacturers offer various decorative plugs to solve this problem. Polymer boards are well cut, it does not form chips or cracks, so you can safely use them in the arrangement of areas for the rest of fantasy forms.

It is quite easy to care for both natural and polymer decking boards, and standard care requires only cleaning from dirt if necessary and occasional wet cleaning.Do not use aggressive detergents with chlorine, and also use abrasives or sand for cleaning.

Be sure to clean the snow and ice using plywood shovels, as metal can damage the surface of the floor. If there is a bit of snow, then an ordinary plastic panicle will perfectly cope with the task.

In the summer, wipe the floor of the terrace with a dry cloth if dew accumulates on it.

If the surface is very dirty, it is necessary to use a soap solution and a brush (not a metal one) for cleaning. Most of the impurities, including grease stains, will be handled by liquid soap. By the way, grease stains will be a serious threat to natural decking of larch and other wood species. If you do not quickly remove them with hot water and soap, then it literally “absorbs” into a wooden surface.

Sometimes a thermoboard can be covered with small specks. - this way we can observe a defect called “water points” by specialists. This tatin contained in the composite board comes out because any aggressive detergents or anti-rust agents containing oxalic acid have been used. The points will disappear with time, but they will not work out.

A common problem is crushed berries and spilled wine. Such stains must be removed immediately, as the next day it will be very difficult to do. If traditional soap solution did not help, you can use a chlorine-free bleach.

In extreme cases, if the stains spoil the look of the decking board, it can be painted. Choosing paint in the hardware store, you need to consult with the experts - whether the chosen paint is suitable for exterior works and the floor of the terrace.

An overview of decking from the KDP, see the video below.