Timber for decking

[gsport george]

Planning on building a deck as a play area for very young children outside the kitchen window. I dont really fancy using pressure treated timber given that they will probably try to eat it...

Any suggestions for wood to use and a source? I am not bothered about having all the little grooves that they traditionally use, just seems like a place for stuff to build up...

Any input at all appreciated?

George

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Planning on building a deck as a play area for very young children outside the kitchen window. I dont really fancy using pressure treated timber given that they will probably try to eat it...

Any suggestions for wood to use and a source? I am not bothered about having all the little grooves that they traditionally use, just seems like a place for stuff to build up...

Any input at all appreciated?

George

If you don't have all the little grooves that they traditionally use, you'll find your deck becomes a place to slip on...

 

[Nemesis]

How long a tradition?

Deck - a recent US import... before that, the rich had terraces, the poor patios.

 

[shelli]

Planning on building a deck as a play area for very young children outside the kitchen window. I dont really fancy using pressure treated timber given that they will probably try to eat it...

Any suggestions for wood to use and a source? I am not bothered about having all the little grooves that they traditionally use, just seems like a place for stuff to build up...

Any input at all appreciated?

George

If you don't have all the little grooves that they traditionally use, you'll find your deck becomes a place to slip on...

That was what I was going to say until blasted phone rang - there are few more pitiful sights than a 3 year old who has slipped on wet decking and lost top of ice cream to the garden !

 

[biffvernon]

Decking is quite useful on ships. It's what you put the chairs on.

 

[chuckey]

Decking :- I don't think young children will eat this any more then they would eat a lawn or tarmac or paving stones. They will drop small articles down the cracks which will include your house keys, small change and postage stamps. Don't have a liftable section with a sand pit in it, based on a plastic lined box with the slotted wooden top. It turns into a very interesting yellow soup, not really suitable for young children. ( not me but my ex-neighbour).
I don't think decking is a nice surface at all for children, can't play football on it , can't play with any small toys on it, slippery when wet. By definition, must be raised so somewhere there must be a step or steps, so a gate is required up to the age 2 1/2 or so.
The only good(?) thing about it, that you can change the ambience of a faded patio in an afternoon.
Frank

 

[Pford75]

In an attempt to answer the question :wink:

I would first ensure that any timber comes from a sustainable source. I have a personal liking for cedar (smells nice, lovely colour). But your best bet is to find your local timber mill (much cheaper than a timber yard) and seek their opinion. They will find something to your budget, know what is good quality (ie. slow grown) timber and may even cut to size.

 

[gsport george]

Thanks for the responses....

Children (well the oldest at least, youngest is 3 weeks so not started yet) already eat lawn, rocks etc etc, hence the need to build the deck/outdoor playpen. (It is in the shade and easy to monitor)

I am generally against using chemical preservative if there is another way, and this stuff doesnt sound particulalry benign http://www.nclosure.co.uk/pdfs/health_safety_specification.pdf


Cedar seemed like a good bet to me, but one of my local timber merchants told me " I dont think that would be very long lasting in the wet... " wierd that they make shingles out of it then...

The slipping issue had occurred to me, but I was wondering if grooves to hold water nearby would make that worse or better...

Oak seemed like a possibility, but the cost of the fasteners (stainless I assume? would coated steel be OK?) is a bit of a pig...

I WOULD like to use "sustainably sourced" wood if possible, IF the phrase is of any value...

I dont really fancy that Malaysian Yellow Balau (which another local place has offered me) IS...

 

[biffvernon]

Cedar is about the most durable softwood My greenhouse is made of it and it is about 60 years old. If you use oak, stainless steel screws are now pretty standard and not much dearer than non-stainless. There is so much corruption in world it is doubtful whether any tropical wood can really be assured to be 'sustainable', whatever the certification. Children have been brought up on a diet of lawns and rocks since time immemorial. Maybe they won't get asthma if they eat a peck o' dirt.

 

[Lime]

Planning on building a deck as a play area for very young children outside the kitchen window

I wouldn't.
Far better to plan a garden for children to play in.
Decking is an unnatural additional temporary structure in a garden and adds zero to the environment.
Everything the garden and all it's inhabitants do to the decking you will dislike.

 

[Pford75]

I echo Biff's comments. My greenhouse is also made of cedar and is apx. 15 years old, with no obvious signs of rot.

With 3 young children I understand the desire for a flat surface. Having tried decking in a previous house, it might work as a corral for your youngest....but it will be next to useless as a hard surface for things like riding bikes etc.

Unfortunately, I can't let my kids ride outside my house (no pavements and the roads are too busy for their age). Lawn is great for football etc. but learning to ride a bike, basketball etc is more tricky.

 

[gsport george]

Thanks.

We arent ridiculously over protective and do let them eat a bit of dirt now and grass, but left to her own devices the eldest will happily eat earth and stones until she throws up, which is pretty startling...

We do have a good lawned area and trees etc, but these are all subject to full sun, have a number of hazards like stone steps, and cant be monitored from the Kitchen, so need full time supervision . Having the ability to keep an eye on them in a safe shady location while cooking will hopefully make things a lot easier for us and allow them to be outside when it is sunny for much longer periods of time...

In a choice between Cedar and Oak, which would you go for? Which is likely to resist algae/fungal attack etc better?

 

[shelli]

If it's shady area you want and you have trees - what about stringing up a sailcloth shade or making another type of den for them (wooden pallets and travis perkins sandbags make a great den as my 8 yr old son will testify) - or getting a wooden summerhouse?

 

[Pford75]

Our woodworking experts are probably better qualified to comment....but here is my personal opinion

Cedar is a soft-wood and will be cheaper, in my experience lasts well but not forever (unless you want to re-treat it every year)

Oak will be more expensive, but should last a lot longer.

Personally, I'd go with the cedar option since it will certainly outlast your children's requirements and you can then revisit the garden design

 

[gsport george]

Shelli, the suggestion is welcome, and I am sure we will do things like this in due course; but at 16months and 1 month what we NEED is a way to have them in sight of the kitchen, confined to a "controlled" environment, and out of the sun. We could feasibly set up a shaded area on the grass with some kind of elaborate fence and CCTV linked to the Kitchen, but when there is a scruffy under utilised area right outside the Kitchen window it seems silly not to use it. We will NOT be ripping out anything like bushes or lawn or period landscape features to build the deck, just filling in a badly paved "yard" between the house and a boundry wall. The time spent in this new area will be in addition to, not instead of the time they currently spend in the garden proper.

George