options available for your outdoor flooring

Think about how you'll clean it too. Unsealed pavers can look a bit ratty after a while, so can timber decking if it isn't regularly maintained. A concrete slab is probably too hard to do yourself. Astroturf – I know a few architects who are mad for the stuff. I assume you need some sort of solid floor under it though. I don't know how people clean it either – hose or vacuum? Cheap outdoor floor

I'm planning to build a similar sized floor and have decided to go with hardwood. Not looking forward to the maintenance but at least it ought to be easy enough for me to build with minimal tools. I checked out some low-maintenance recycled composite (timber+plastic) boards last weekend but the feel was nasty and rubbery. It will be jarrah or karri. Any suggestions on treatment would be welcome – or can well-finished planks be left natural? It's for a sunny, uncovered courtyard.

These are the most basic elements of your outdoor entertaining area and the elements that you most need to get right as it can be very difficult or costly to change these once they are in place. There are a myriad of options available for your outdoor flooring – you could opt for a stylish deck, paving, natural stone, concrete, brick, or even tile. When selecting your flooring, look to the style of your home, so that you are able to choose something complementary. The goal of the outdoor area is to have it flow seamlessly on from the indoor areas in your home.

Shelter is also vital as you want to be able to use your outdoor area no matter what the weather is doing. Some options for shelters include a pergola, gazebo, shade sails, and shade umbrellas.

The furniture you choose for your outdoor entertaining area will depend on factors such as the number of people that you choose to entertain, what budget you have, and how much maintenance you are prepared to undertake to keep it looking its best. The most popular materials for outdoor furniture are timber, metal, glass and plastic. At a minimum, you will need a dining table, enough chairs to seat all your guests, and some smaller folding tables that you can use to place food or drinks upon. Other outdoor furniture options include daybeds, chaise lounges, hammocks, and comfortable couches in durable fabrics. But if you are planning on going simple, your outdoor seating could be as simple as making some timber boxes with comfortable seat cushions on top!

Wet room flooring problems can be more than an inconvenience when it comes to basement flooring, mud room flooring, your laundry room floor and some outdoor floor surfaces. Wet rooms can be dangerous to you and damaging to your belongings, which is why waterproof flooring is so essential. Outdoor waterproof floor

If your wet room flooring problems have ever included a flooded basement floor, you know how long it takes to get rid of that musty mildew smell. With waterproof flooring, that's not an issue. If you've ever had flooded courts, you know what an inconvenience it is waiting for this outdoor floor to dry. Again, that's not an issue with our weatherproof flooring. And with mud room flooring, wet rooms are downright disastrous.

A Versadry™ Dry Clip is hooked onto the first plank and flipped into a vertical position connecting it to the the first leg that will be up against the wall. Another Dry Clip channel is then connected to the other plank leg in the standard horizontal position. The top of the first vertical positioned Dry Clip is then screwed into the wall and covered with self-adhering rubber tape flashing, sealed and overlapped with siding. The horizontally positioned Dry Clip is then screwed down to the supporting structure (the next plank to install will connect here). The first plank is now installed and you are ready to install the second and all the intermediate planks.

Consider the nature of exit and entry to the home. Keep the size of the deck in proportion to your home and garden. In England new planning rules now apply o the size of decks in relation to the existing property or garden. For example, surfaces including decking are not permitted to cover more than 50% of a property's garden.

The height of the balusters and handrail depends on how far the deck surface is off the ground. For 'low level' decks up to 600mm from ground level, the height should be 900mm. For 'high-level' decks over 600mm high, the height should be 1100mm.

Your own deck planning will start with measurements of the drop from the bottom of your homes access doors to the ground, this will help you determine how high or how low you need to build and what type of deck footings will be suitable for your deck foundations.

You need to allow for a step down onto your deck of at least 1" to 2" to make sure that your deck is below the level of your ground floor so that any rain water doesn't flood off your deck into your home. Free outdoor deck board plan