Dimensions of decking

Terrace board - one of the most popular materials chosen for finishing a summer house or a private house. Most people prefer it, as it is completely safe for the environment, versatile, suitable for all surfaces. When choosing a specific type, it is important to take into account the raw materials from which the lumber is made, as well as correctly calculate the dimensions. The correct choice of material will affect the complexity of construction, as well as the period of its operation. Let's take a look at the standard sizes used for facing work.

The composition of the raw materials, from which the terrace board is subsequently made, includes a wood-polymer composite, an array of hard wood. Cladding boards are made by many manufacturers from polymer wood and WPC in different sizes. But often their width has a single value equal to 140 mm, which does not depend either on the type of wood or on the raw material included in the composition.... For example, if larch, cedar or some exotic wood is selected as a raw material, then the standard size will be from 1.5 to 6 meters. Boards of this length are most often used for finishing various surfaces used for dancing, as well as for laying piers, piers and other similar places. In rare cases, boards are used, the length of each of which does not exceed 60 cm. In this case, the following tree species are used as raw materials:

• teak;
• rosewood;
• merbau and others.

The thickness of the boards varies from 24 mm to 4 cm. Most often this applies to finishing materials from species such as cedar, larch. But there are also boards with a thickness of 20 mm to 25 mm, made from exotic wood species.

Width varies from 140 mm to 160 mm depending on the material of the floorboards. In this case, the following dimensions are standard: length 3000 mm, thickness 40 mm and 50 mm, width of a bar reaching 15 cm. In rare cases, the thickness of the board is only 18 mm. Since there are no clear requirements for dimensions, manufacturers can produce boards with a width of 300 mm. It is important to remember that, regardless of the type of wood and the raw materials from which they are made, the general characteristics will be similar, that is:

• terrace boards are resistant to moisture;
• have excellent heat capacity;
• practically do not rot.

As for boards made of wood-polymer composite (hereinafter WPC), which is based on materials made of plastic and wood flour, the WPC floorboard most often has the following dimensions:

• length from 2-3 meters to 6 m;
• thickness from 10 mm to 2.8 cm;
• width from 15 cm to 16.5 cm.

Such a board has a significant service life due to the materials from which it is made. Such a floorboard, as a rule, weighs very little, does not need special care after the completion of installation work.

Often, for finishing WPC flooring, a plastic board of the following dimensions is used:

• length 3 m, thickness from 18 mm to 30 mm, width 15 cm;
• length 4 m, thickness from 30 mm to 40 mm, width 16 cm;
• length 5 m, thickness from 40 mm to 50 mm, width 16.5 cm.

The average price for 1 such board varies from 1,500 rubles to 6,000 rubles. If it is a thermally treated pine, then the price for 1 piece can be no more than 4,000 rubles, and if a thermally treated ash or thermally treated oak is used as a raw material, then, depending on many factors, the price for 1 piece can reach up to 6,500 rubles.

Decking is translated from English as an adjective meaning "made of wood." Most often, decking was used for cladding marinas and boat decks. Thus, they began to make floorboards from mahogany, as well as from walnut.They contain rubber, which is a polymer similar in properties to natural rubber. We used it to impregnate the boards before laying, so that moisture does not get inside. Consequently, such boards are not subject to the decay process. Thanks to this property, decking is used when the device:

• country paths;
• baths;
• floor covering;
• piers;
• boat decks and so on.

A wide range of uses is due to the variety of samples presented on the market, differing in size and appearance. In total, there are 3 types of decking on the building materials market.

• Solid wood planks. The raw material in this case is a tree of dense structure with a large amount of resin. This type of raw material is quite safe for the environment and has an average price on the market.
• Thermally treated wood boards. For manufacturing, an array of wood is used, which has undergone heat treatment at a temperature of 125 to 190 degrees Celsius. This allows the floorboards to be laid without fear of cracks after the building has shrunk.
• Composite boards. The raw materials are wood, plastic polymers, cellulose. Special care for such floorboards is not required, but this material does not tolerate the effects of external factors at all, which significantly reduces its service life.

The most popular manufacturers, as well as the parameters of their boards, are presented in the table. From the data given in this table, it follows that today both import companies and domestic manufacturers are engaged in the manufacture of flooring. It is important to understand that laying decking is a very expensive pleasure, and therefore you should be extremely careful when choosing materials. If the price for 1 board is too low, you should think about the quality of the presented sample or the competence of the seller. Therefore, it is best to trust trusted manufacturers, including:

• Polywood - Russian production;
• Dortmax - Russian production;
• LignaTek - Russian production;
• Twinson - Belgian production;
• Werzalit - German production;
• Monodeck is a French production.

Each of the mentioned manufacturers has already established itself as the creator of first-class materials that fully comply with the quality standard. Each of them manufactures products in a huge variety of colors and textures.

Since decking floorboards often find their application in the external environment, that is, they are in the open air, then the material should be chosen taking into account all the properties and characteristics. For example, boards should have a grooved surface to protect people from falls in icy conditions or other temperature extremes. However, there are many details to consider, based on the parameters of the selected samples. Let us analyze how to choose the right width and thickness of terrace boards.

What are the advantages of a grooved profile? Once on such a surface, water particles enter the intercostal space without touching the sole of the shoe of a person passing over the surface. On the other hand, residual dirt, precipitation, leaves, tree branches, and other street debris will always accumulate in the same space. Consequently, a corrugated surface is most suitable for the street, while requiring considerable maintenance to avoid contamination. A garden hose, a strong water pressure, is suitable as a cleaning agent, which easily cleans such floorboards. They should be cleaned as they become dirty, preventing the debris from drying out, provoking a musty odor in the intercostal space. And also it should be remembered that neglected dirt is more difficult to clean, since dried debris not only smells bad, but also hardly sticks off the surface.

Choosing a corrugated profile should be based on where exactly the boards will be located. If this is a street covering of paths, terraces or gazebos, then it is best to choose the frequency that will protect people from falling, but at the same time will not cause discomfort for the sole of the boots. Steps require less frequent and deeper cuts. It will be enough just to choose denser double boards with shallow corrugation.

As a rule, those areas where people walk in shoes are laid with thicker boards to avoid further bending. The total load on the material should also be taken into account. For steps, terraces, decking samples should be used, which have a greater thickness, reaching 48 mm. If these are ordinary tracks, then you can choose a thinner thickness - from 19 mm to 22 mm, as well as an average one - up to 33 mm.

For the steps, a double board is used, the thickness of which must be at least 30-40 mm... If these are street boards, for example, for paths, gazebos and others, then you can choose a less dense thickness equal to 20-24 mm. It is important to remember that the wear resistance of the coating will depend on the selected material, since one of the main indicators is the maximum permissible load on the boards.

Thus, when choosing a finishing material, one should take into account environmental factors, such as weather conditions, seasonal temperature drops, humidity. The human factor is no less significant, namely:

• walking in shoes on the surface of the boards;
• relation to the condition of the coating.

It is important to know or at least understand the characteristics and properties of the materials offered by the sellers. It should be understood that, first of all, the coating must be safe, environmentally friendly, durable in functionality. In no case should you make a choice in favor of appearance or price. A high-quality floor covering for a terrace or street will cost a pretty penny, but it will last a long time, subject to basic safety and maintenance rules. If you still want to save on materials, then it is best to give preference to better quality samples of domestic production.