ith the Australian dollar crashing to five-year lows, more people will look to stay at home instead of taking overseas holidays, seeking environ ments in their own residence for a 'get away'. This means an emphasis on size and creating outdoor areas which are usable in sunny and wet weather.
According to Angus Kell, state manager NSW and the ACT at Archicentre, "It's all about making sitting outside feel like sit ting inside. This is done using rolling doors, retractable roofing or light wells and an energy-efficient design. A compli mentary style of flooring creates the illu sion of seamlessness."
Decks are increasing in size, so signifi cantly that according to Stephen Scott, director at BriteDeck, it is the most impor tant aspect, with design and style factors lower in priority.
Evelyn Gao, business development man ager at InnoWood, says the use of sliding, bi-folding and stacking operable shutter panel systems in aluminium, timber or glass (or a combination of the three), has also become distinctive in Australia.
"Opening or operable louvre roofs are also coming to the fore as they evolve to become more waterproof to complement the 'outdoor room' requirements," she says. "Australian architects have trended towards a combination of modern minimalism and eco-friendly design by utilising lightweight aluminium structures and products (mainly silver colours and anodised), offset by 'warm' timber beams and decks."
Materials
The traditional material of choice in Australia has been timber, but composite decking products are fast gaining market share as a result of people looking to more eco-friendly alternatives. The material was first introduced into the US in the 1980s, according to James Grandison, market development manager at ModWood, with ModWood launching in Australia in 2000.
The popularity of composite decking has also been driven by its low mainte nance nature - it does not require paint ing, staining or varnishing. It also does not crack, splinter or rot. BriteDeck even offers a 15-year limited warranty against this in domestic dwellings and a 10-year warranty in commercial applications.
BriteDeck's composite decking product has no PVCs and no recycled or degraded plastic. It is primarily a wood fibre and polymer product, with the wood fibre reclaimed and the polymer (HDPE) 100 per cent virgin material.
BriteDeck manufactures three colours in its products - grey, redwood and cedar. "Also, because our lengths are 5,800 mm long, the waste factor is close to zero per cent. It is fixed using a patented concealed fastening system and can be installed four times faster than 'traditional' decks," Scott says.
In the past year, BriteDeck has launched Latitude decking, a solid decking which comes in the size 138 mm x 22 mm x 5,800 mm and comes in four colours - redwood, cedar, grey and walnut.
Ninety per cent of ModWood's decking product is manufactured from reclaimed radiata wood shavings and recycled milk bottles. And while Grandison says installa tion is the same as a timber deck, compos ite decking does require an end butt gap to allow for the expansion and contraction of the boards due to moisture and temper ature changes.
InnoWood's decking is extruded from wood plastic composites (WPCs), which are comprised of a mixture of wood and (thermo) plastics - 70 per cent hardwood timber waste, 23 per cent PVC, CAC03 and others at 7 per cent. "Another feature of Innowood decking also lies in the con cealed joints, which makes the installation much faster and more convenient."
InnoWood's InnoDeck is supplied with a UV stabilised coating as an agent against natural oxidation occurring, giving the product a virtual maintenance-free life expectancy of three to five years before recoating may be required.
Installation
Like other industries, process times have increased for faster and easier installation. For example, hidden fastener systems is a growing trend, which Gao says allow for the ease of installation, and for the end- user, "nail-popping" through decking planks becoming a thing of the past.
According to Grandison, the availability of wide boards as well as narrow boards has allowed more flexibility in terms of decking board designs. Also, the use of concealed fixing systems, which means no top fasteners, has been another change in the market.
"Decks are being installed to give greater outdoor living space, and also with water restrictions, it is being utilised for more landscaping designs. Time poor peo ple see the benefits in having a deck as it allows them to be outside more and not have the maintenance associated with gar dens, etc," he says.
What's next for decks? Kell predicts the next big trend will be outdoor kitchens. He says: "They will no doubt become an even bigger deal in the next few years, as it's another excuse to spend more time in the great outdoors."
