Looking after a timber deck can be really hard work. When neglected, timber decking quickly starts to deteriorate, discolour and even rot. Eventually, you'll look outside and wish you'd taken better care of it, but without completely replacing the deck, there's very little you can do to salvage it. Here are a few things you should look out for that indicate when it's time to have your timber deck replaced:

• Significant damage to the deck boards 
• Deck boards that are bowing
• Cracks and splinters in one or more board
• Obvious discolouration (either from sun fade or weathering)
• Rusty or missing hardware

If you spot one or more of these problems on your timber deck, then we'd highly recommend considering a replacement deck. Of course, if you want to avoid ending up in this position again, you should consider a more durable, long-lasting option like composite decking. Unlike timber decking, composite decking is designed with a hardy polymer sleeve. This sleeve keeps moisture out of the boards, prevents rot and preserves the colour and finish of the deck boards for up to 30 years! 

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Here in the UK, it can be blazing sunshine one minute and freezing frost the next. As such, the features you have in your garden need to be able to withstand the constantly changing conditions! 

The problem with real wood

The reason why real wood is known for being terrible at coping with changing weather conditions is that it absorbs so much water!

Unless you commit to keeping your real wood decking properly sealed (which takes a lot of work, annually) then you can guarantee that it will take on water and suffer the consequences sooner or later. Once the wooden boards have taken on water, they are susceptible to damage from significant temperature rises and drops.

If the water inside the deck boards freezes, it expands - causing the boards to splinter and crack. In unusually warm temperatures residual moisture in the boards evaporates quickly causing the boards to contract.

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Lockdown has been challenging for people up and down the country, but now, we are in a transitionary phase where restrictions are easing. With that in mind, more and more people are heading into their gardens to see their loved ones. The conditions are perfect, sunshine, fresh air and plenty of space to maintain social distancing.

But how many people can you have in your garden at once? Can you get the whole family round? Well, the guidelines differ depending on where you are in the UK. The restrictions in England look slightly different from those in Scotland and Wales for example.

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Today is the first day of spring and while, for many of us, the following weeks will see the children at home and normal life at a standstill, you can still take advantage of the great outdoors to keep your children entertained.

With lighter evenings on the horizon and temperatures starting to creep up, you should use this time with your children to explore lots of games and activities in the garden. We've put together a list of our favourite garden activities for children to inspire you to keep things interesting at this challenging time.

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Did you see our FutureDek EasyClean Silver Birch composite decking in last night’s episode of Love Your Garden? You can learn all about Kirsty, her remarkable story and the difference that her brand-new garden and decking will make here.

Kirsty’s Story

This Love Your Garden project was in aid of Kirsty and her twins Phoebe and Sam who tragically lost their husband/father Kevin after he suffered a brain aneurysm on New Year’s Day. Kirsty made the brave decision to have Kevin’s organs donated to others in need, and finds comfort in the fact that Kevin has helped save the lives of countless other people.

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