All You Need to Know About Decking in Singapore (Updated 2023) (2023)

So why do people do wood decking in their homes?

Wood decking not only adds a garden feel into your home but also a touch of class and elegance. In addition, because of its non-uniformed look that wood flooring generally offers in comparison to composite decking, it also gives your wood flooring a much more natural look.

Many people opt for outdoor wood decking as it makes you look like you have your own miniature outdoor garden, giving you that zen feel.

Of course, choosing to install a wood decking is a major renovation and decision and as such there are a considerable amount of things to consider when doing wood decking for your home.

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Different Types of Wood Flooring You Can Choose For Your Deck and Their strengths:

1. Wood Decking

Some of the most common and popular choices to choose as materials for your outdoor wood decking are chengal wood, ironwood, timber and teak. These are natural wood and are the go-to choice of material as wood decking flooring due to them being able to keep cool and how they give you the most natural-looking wood flooring.

Among the mentioned few wood materials, Chengal is arguably the most popular option for most homeowners.

Chengal wood can be seen in most wood furniture and even in the building of homes back in the good old days. Chengal wood is highly sought after as it is seen to be a good and worthy investment should you want to incorporate wood elements or furniture into your home.

Classified as a heavy tropical hardwood, Chengal is a hardy material known for its durability. It will not rot easily when exposed to harsh weather conditions. As such, it is an ideal material to be used for outdoor decking.

However, it should also be noted that the durability of the Chengal wood material is also largely dependant on the maturity of the tree before it is manufactured to be used as a material.

Most of the time matured Chengal timber is preferred due to its dimensional stability over that of a younger Chengal and thus, ensuring better longevity.

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2. Eco-wood Composite Decking

Eco-wood composite is considered to be new material or invention. As the name suggests, it is manufactured in an eco-friendly manner comprising a mix of wood and composite that strengthens and increases the durability when compared to the conventional wood material.

Other benefits of using Eco-wood composite:

• It is better protected against the sun’s UV rays

What this means is that when exposed to a harsh and prolonged period of UV rays emitted by the sun, the odds of your wood flooring colour dulling would be lower compared to traditional wood decking, due to the material technology used in creating the Eco-wood composite.

• It is heat resistant

With most outdoor decking, be it at your balcony or at the poolside, the odds of it being sheltered is low. With Singapore being a hot and humid place, it is crucial to pick a material which is able to keep your flooring as cool as possible. The natural wood that it has is able to keep your flooring cool even on a hot sunny day.

3. Resilient Tiles Decking

The use of this material is usually seen in commercial places. This outdoor decking option is simple made up of designed tiles. They have a relatively decent level of durability and resistance to rain and shine.

However, the disadvantages of using them as your outdoor decking flooring are that under strong exposure to strong and prolonged sunlight, its colour will dull. When this happens, your outdoor decking will not look as elegant and nice, due to the inferior strength of durability tile decking has compared to the other much resilient materials.

Tiles are also not slip-resilient. Having this feature is crucial as in the light of strong and heavy rain, your decking floor will be damp and wet. If you have kids or elderly, they might slip and fall when they go out to the deck. Likewise, when considering your deck flooring for an outdoor pool, the odds of having puddles of water is high and you might want to prevent any chances of falling accidents.

In this case, tiles may be more suitable for the interior design of your home.

4. Conventional Composite Decking

This is also a common choice as an outdoor decking material. There are many different grades when you are looking at composite decking and this corresponds to their quality. At times, it may be difficult to determine which composite decking material is of a higher quality.

A reason why this material is a common choice as decking material is because it is relatively easy to produce. As such, as it is easy to mass-produce this material, it is crucial to choose a reliable supplier to provide you with a good quality composite decking material.

5. Treated softwood Decking

Softwood has gotten stronger and much more durable with chemical treatments. However, in comparison to the other above choices, it pales in comparison. This is because softwood is much more susceptible to wear and tear with high human traffic or overtime against harsh weather conditions.

Advantages and disadvantages of wood decking

Wood decking adds a certain kind of flair and design to your house without having to do up an extensive layout or design concept. It is simple and it can be affordable with the right choice.

Advantages

1. Requiring relatively low maintenance

Looking at wood decking (material), they are known for being strong and durable. However, with all things, they still need to be cleaned and maintained regularly to ensure their longevity.

Disadvantages

1. Depending on the type of material you choose, as mentioned above, some materials are not slip-resistant and can be dangerous.
2. It can be costly. If you are not on a tight budget then it might be wise to do away with creating a deck. Sourcing for the materials and designing and building it will add additional burden and restrictions on your budget. Further, if you were to go with inferior quality flooring, it may not last long and you will have to spend additional money replacing it.

How you intend to upkeep and maintain your wood deck

Being exposed to different weather conditions or the hot and humid weather in Singapore. You cannot expect your outdoor decking to last without doing regular cleaning or up-keeping.

When you are looking to clean and do a maintenance routine for your wood deck, it is crucial to either find a professional or if you prefer to do it yourself, being diligent.

With wood decking, it might be inevitable for your wood flooring colour to fade, stain or even have mould. As such, it is wise to wash your wooden flooring every now and then.

You will also need to re-stain your wooden flooring occasionally to maintain its colour and brightness.

If you chose to use composite as the material for your wood decking, then the good news is that it will require lesser effort to maintain your flooring. It is also less prone to have splinters than traditional wood options.

Cost of Other Home Improvement Areas

You can try speaking to a fewreliable interior designersor toprenovation contractorsfor more designs ideas.

You can check out the cost of hiring professionals for other aspects of your home improvement project. Some of the general cost guides can be found below:

• Interior Design Cost Guide
• Bedroom Design and Cost Guide
• Kitchen Interior Design Cost Guide
• Walls and Ceiling Cost Guide
• Flooring Installation and Repair Cost Guide
• Handyman Cost in Singapore
• Painting Cost in Singapore