Decking Out The Hillside
Southern Pine, the most versatile and durable of American Softwoods, is proving its suitability as an ideal decking timber for rural as well as urban locations.
In the wilds of Yorkshire amid the rolling hills formed by Mother Nature over millions of years, one farming family is enjoying the dramatic landscape from the comfort of a level deck.
At this small working farm high in the Pennines a spacious Southern Pine deck has been built as a multi-purpose leisure amenity. As well as their main farming business the owners of the property use the farmhouse annexe as a B&B/Guesthouse.
Measuring 12 metres long by an average width of three metres, the new deck provides a natural flat extension from the back of the farmhouse in an area notorious for anything but flat ground. This valuable level surface will enable the owners and their visitors to enjoy the proximity of their splendid views, and there is plenty of space for barbecues in the better weather.
In the past, many rural homeowners have had to overcome the difficulties of ground variations by building banks and levelling sloping sites with retaining walls of natural stone or slate. This can often prove to be an expensive course of action. A more practical and economic solution is a natural timber deck.
The deck was built on site by Deckor Timber in three days and cost around £3,000. The Yorkshire-based business, established in 1989, is one of more than 30 importers and suppliers of American Softwoods in the UK. Their decks are built to order and the pressure-treated Southern Pine, the strongest of all softwoods, is harvested from the managed forests of North America.
This particular application shows just how well Southern Pine's aesthetic qualities blend with the farm's scenic setting, and how sympathetic the timber is to a natural environment. A further, practical advantage is the ability to incorporate safety features such as handrails and steps. Trying to achieve these features in brick, stone or slate with metre-high barriers could be impractical and visually unappealing.
According to the European Marketing Director of American Softwoods, Eddie Pearce, decking is increasingly accepted in the new build market. Some housebuilders in the UK even regard it as a standard design feature in their new developments. What is now even more widely understood are Southern Pine's properties as a primary building material, and its suitability for decking with older properties in any location.
"The durability, treatability and design versatility of Southern Pine has earned it the reputation of being the 'Supreme Structural Wood of the World,'" said Mr Pearce.
"Its exceptional strength and extreme ease of treatment combine to make it the perfect timber for outdoor applications such as patios and boardwalks, and for heavy industrial work, as well as for flooring, roof trusses, furniture and finishings.
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