outside Deck or patio, what materials to use

[SpectrumAudio]

Planning to build an outside deck:

In my former home in USA i have always used pressured treated wood flooring 6in wide. and wood post that are 6x6 square posts all using decking screws

I hated that i had to resand every few years and restain...

any new technology out here in BKK i could do?

Also is it a good idea to tie into the house or let it be free standing.

Do I need to dig out pillars and port a concrete slab to hold my main posts?

any opinions and knowledge would be appreciated

[passingas]

First of all...if you could find treated wood it would be quite expensive. Secondly...this is the tropics. Lots of wood eating insects (not just termites, but them too)...they don't/can't eat teak, as it has an oil in it that they don't like. Having said that...go price some teak...if you can find it. Here in the good ole tropics...it is concrete. Cheaper than wood and will out last you and possibly your offspring. Good luck. pg

[SpectrumAudio]

Concrete made looking wood, is this something that is available easily?

or is there hybrid plastic/wood planks also here?

or just sheera wood which is made from concrete..

or just use metal, what are the best for building here in the tropics.

I was not intending to use wood or hard woods as they are so so expensive.

[55Jay]

Are you not on level ground, or building an elevated house?

Nice to connect to the house for when it rains and convenient if you shuttle food/bev from the kitchen(?).

Not the stuff of Home&Garden magazine, but we added a concrete patio outside the main, ground floor kitchen entrance and covered it with a roof extension from the house. Tiled with the slightly roughed exterior tiles with a bit of color pattern. It is easy to clean and not too slippery, although I added some non-skid strips at the 2 common access areas to ensure the first and second footholds are good if wet/raining. Have a fish pond off the front garden corner, so the flowing water sound makes a nice ambiance to sit around in the evening.

In hindsight, I would of taken the roof extension out and down a bit further to attempt keeping rain blown in by strong winds. I do like to sit on the patio and watch a thunderstorm but if strong wind is blowing rain in from the open side, we usually have to evacuate for a while.

[Showbags]

depends if raised or ground level....but plenty of wood lookalike products about now, even the wood lookalike that is ribbed like normal decking.....can use concrete beams, or steel, steel cheaper and quicker I think.

[casualbiker]

http://www.artowood.com/index-en.php

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[casualbiker]

http://www.biowoodthailand.com/English/en_home.html

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[douginbkk]

I am currently putting in wooden decking at my house. I would not use the fake wood products such as smart wood, conwood, etc because they can easily snap under minimal weight. I used the product made by Siam Cement for fence planking and it doesn't even look that great for fencing purposes because it does not take well to wood filler (to cover over the screw holes) and sanding. I was able to snap a smaller piece of this planking in one hand using my thumb, it really is that brittle!

I am using "Mai Daeng" (ironwood) which is a hardwood and supposed to not be susceptible to termites although I plan to coat it with an anti-termite solution anyway. This type of wood is quite expensive, but is supposed to last at least ten years. Some say it will even last up to 20 years. It's better to invest in expensive wood right now which will save you more in the long run.

My wood decking will be placed over a metal frame which is attached to the concrete base of my house on one side and the base of a concrete fence on the other. My decking is raised above the ground by 30 cm. A lot of Thais use a cheaper type of wood planking called "Mai Tueng" (not sure what the name is in English), but I was told by the lumber mills that this type of wood will look OK when treated and stained, but will only last about two years before having to be completely replaced. It is also susceptible to termites and other insects. This stuff is about 35% of the price for the same amount of Mai Daeng (ironwood). So far, I have only gotten the fish pond and metal frame in place and expect to have the wooden planks in place about a week from now. I can upload some photos if you like. I am not doing this work myself, but have hired a professional to do it for me.

[JusMe]

I don't know the name of the wood used for my deck, but it wasn't expensive. I gave it a thorough coating of chaindrite and have had no problems with insects whatsoever. Four years, and it's just like when I had it built. Put on a coat of good stain for protection, which I have repeated once, as it's weathered some from rain and wind under the roof over it all.

But to reiterate, I've had no termite or insect problem at all, having used the chaindrite.

[IMHO]

Concrete made looking wood, is this something that is available easily?

or is there hybrid plastic/wood planks also here?

or just sheera wood which is made from concrete..

or just use metal, what are the best for building here in the tropics.

I was not intending to use wood or hard woods as they are so so expensive.

Several brands make fiber cement planks that look just like decking, but are cheaper and last longer: Shera, Smartwood, Conwood etc.

We have used the Smartwood planks for decking several times before - the only tricks are:

1) Make sure your supporting beams are no more than 40cm apart, otherwise they can crack. At 40cm they will take pretty much any normal load/drop though.

2) Use the correct paint/stain for them - Shera and Tra Chang (smartwood) both have a range of colors specifically designed for fiber cement flooring.

Maybe a decade or so ago, I recall Tra Chang were experimenting with hybrid wood/composite-plastic planks, and even installed them around their BKK campus. They were warping after a couple of years in the weather though, so never made it to market.

Metal flooring? are you nuts?

[IMHO]

I used the product made by Siam Cement for fence planking and it doesn't even look that great for fencing purposes because it does not take well to wood filler (to cover over the screw holes) and sanding. I was able to snap a smaller piece of this planking in one hand using my thumb, it really is that brittle!

It's much better as it gets thicker - the 25mm think stair/decking planks are perfectly fine if supported no more than 40cm apart. In one of our family houses we have a 12M long x 1.5M wide bridge we constructed using 20 x 2.5 cm smartwood, and it stands up to motorcycle and foot traffic NP.

[eyecatcher]

Agree, its the thin ones you see broken, usually outside a fancy looking coffee shop....

I used 25mm myself, the biggest headache is actually cutting them and drilling them they are tough.

I wanted a but of character with mine, created two levels with curves. It took me hours with a jigsaw to cut a shape in 20 boards.

Worth it in the end.

[casualbiker]

I saw some hybrid plastic decking at global house a few months ago

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[eyecatcher]

I saw some hybrid plastic decking at global house a few months ago

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Yes I looked at the price and thought who in their right minds is going to pay that.

It wasn't even attractive and comes in two shades and one length.

It was plastic, not a hybrid, just plastic!