The benefits of having decking installed in your property
The home improvements market is one of the most burgeoning industries in the world. We all spend so much time in our homes, spotting things every day that we would like to change or enhance, but sometimes we have to show restraint and patience in order to make such improvements at the right time.
Of course this extends to the garden; an outside area that we probably don’t spend as much time in as we’d like to, but when we do, it’s important that we have a retreat in which we can unwind and a functional space that adds value and practicality to our home.
A great solution to this is decking. Some people call decking a ‘cheap extension’ and while that is not an entirely accurate description, it captures the spirit of one of the best and most value-for-money home improvements you can make. Decking does extend the space available in your house; in the summer months you can use if for extra storage space, and you can use it for entertaining when there isn’t enough space for all your guests inside. You can also use it as a play area for the kids. So yes, decking allows the flow of people and activity to naturally drift outside and extend your home.
Decking also provides great scope for design ideas, with a flat, expansive and essentially blank canvass upon which to implement features and detail which can very easily paint an elegant picture in your garden. Decking allows all your outside space to be utilised, and any size and shape can be easily incorporated to provide multi-levels and make use of ‘dead’ areas. Also, pots, ornaments and subtle lighting can all enhance your space and are very easy to install on decking, as opposed to the sometimes strenuous labour involved in digging up flower beds and borders.
One of the greatest benefits of decking, however, is the relatively trouble-free and inexpensive nature of it, certainly in comparison to other similar home improvement solutions. Decking can be installed yourself if you have just a limited DIY knowledge, but the cost savings also come from the low maintenance nature of it. Decking needs to be stained and protected annually, and while this is essential care and attention that will prevent you fighting a losing battle with ugly deterioration, it also enables you to revitalise or change the look of your decking completely with just a couple of hours of work.
The biggest financial impact that decking can have is more of a long term thing, and essentially surrounds the fact that installing decking can add a value to your house that comfortably exceeds the cost of installing it in the first place. Therefore, decking is widely accepted as being the most cost-effective home improvement you can make.