5 Reasons to choose a patio over decking for your garden renovation
Creating an outdoor living area is the perfect way to spruce up your garden and make it even better. You end up with a nice little space like decking or a patio to put outdoor furniture, host BBQs, and just generally improve the way your home looks. The benefits of a renovation like this are clear for all to see.
Amongst the many advantages, it’s a smart way to raise the value of your home and sell it fast. So, if that’s your goal, this is a cost-effective move to make. Or, if you just want to make your home a more enjoyable place, it’ll still be a genius move.
Before you start the renovation, there’s a critical question to answer. Patio or decking, which one is best for your home? They both have their place in this world, but today’s post will argue why a patio is the better choice. Sit back, relax, and view all the reasons to choose patio over a deck:
A longer lifespan
As with all home renovations, you want to get your money’s worth. Price comparison of patio and decking is hard to make sense of as the values fluctuate so much. In some instances, the patio will be cheaper depending on the materials used and the ground it’s installed on. In others, the patio will be far more expensive – loads of different factors come into play, so we won’t talk about that.
Instead, you have to look at the longevity of your purchase. Either way, you’re spending a lot of money on your renovation. As such, you want to be sure that it sticks around for a long time! Why fork out loads of cash on something that only lasts for a few years? The good news is that both options will last for more than a couple of years.
However, a patio will undoubtedly outlast decking nine times out of ten. It’s incredibly rare for a deck to last longer without showing signs of deterioration. In fact, a patio will last for over 25 years without deteriorating or losing its value. By comparison, even with regular maintenance, a deck will be in far worse shape during this same time.
Therefore, you get a longer lifespan from a patio, making it a more cost-effective option!
Easier and less frequent maintenance
Nobody wants to spend hours a day out in their garden handling different maintenance tasks. It takes up too much time, and you expend a lot of effort. For most people, this is where a patio really has an advantage over a deck. No weeding for me is one of the most important reasons!
With decking, you have lots of ongoing maintenance to keep it in perfect condition. Obviously, the exact material of your deck depends on how much maintenance is required. Still, you will need to powerwash it, seal it, and possibly oil it quite regularly.
Then, a lot of decks sometimes end up with weeds growing between the boards, which can be a right pain to get rid of. De-weeding becomes an almost weekly task, and you want to clean it as often as possible too. The dirtier a deck gets, the worse the wood will become. So, this means it doesn’t last long, and you’ve wasted lots of money.
A patio is much easier to deal with. Once installed, you have barely any maintenance to worry about. As long as the patio tiles don’t have gaps between them – which they really shouldn’t – you won’t have to deal with weeds or other problems of the like. Then, all you need is to powerwash your patio every so often. We’re talking maybe once a year – if even that! Sweep any debris from your patio with a brush, and that’s the only maintenance you need to worry about. Complete these tasks and your patio will last for decades while maintaining a day one quality.
Far more durable
It comes as no surprise that the longer-lasting option is also more durable. Some of you may wonder what the difference is between longevity and durability. Well, both go hand-in-hand, but we can make clear discrimination between the two. Longevity is more about how long something will last if left on its own. Durability focuses on how well something stands up to external factors. In this case, a patio is far more durable than decking as it handles loads better and is less prone to breaking.
Some decks can’t handle a lot of weight without weakening and breaking. This means you may be unable to place heavy furniture on it, or you can’t use your big BBQ. Obviously, this is far from ideal as it restricts what you can do with your decking. You’ve spent a lot of money on something that will break if put under too much stress. All you can do is sit on some deckchairs and enjoy your garden. For some of you, this might be all you’re hoping to do, so it isn’t that much of a problem. But, a patio has no weight-bearing issues to worry about at all. It will handle any loads, regardless of how heavy.
Similarly, if you drop heavy things on a patio, it’s less likely to damage the patio material. Sure, in some cases you might see cracks. However, you need to drop something really heavy and hard to get this effect. If you did a drop test with two of the same things falling onto a patio and a deck, the deck would end up worse off.
A patio means less chance of wildlife
Most patios are secured low to the ground with no gaps underneath. Granted, this requires more work and preparation than a deck. You will have to get a company in to excavate your yard a little bit, providing an even surface for the patio stones to be placed.
This will provide you with a couple of advantages. The first is quite minor, but it means your patio can be lower down than a deck would. Decks tend to be raised up above the ground, which can provide a few privacy issues and may mean you have to invest in a taller fence around your garden.
That’s not the problem we’re looking at, however. Can you envisage an issue with a deck that’s raised slightly above the ground? What could possibly happen to space underneath it, between the bottom of the deck and the floor? Yep, you guessed it, animals can make this their dens! It’s strangely common for rodents and other pests to make nests under your deck.
Furthermore, a patio doesn’t provide this problem at all. With no gap between the patio slabs and the floor, creatures can’t make nests underneath. If you want an option that doesn’t bring some unwanted pests to your garden, this is it.
More design options
Pretty much all of the previous points have centered on practicality. So, it makes sense to round things off by talking more about the style differences between a patio and a deck. Let’s start by looking at your decking options, of which there aren’t many.
I mean, you can choose the different materials and colours, but that’s about it. A deck will look fairly similar no matter where it is. There simply isn’t much you can do with planks of wood to play around with the design. I’m not saying decks are ugly – far from it! They’re very beautiful, but the design options are limited.
In comparison, look at some of the patio design ideas out there. A quick Google search will show you a wide variety of options to suit many different styles. Instantly, you have the advantage of choosing between so many different materials.
There are no rules on what your patio is made out of, and this is reflected in the diversity of styles on display. Then, you have patterns to take into account. The way you style the paving stones can create different effects that enhance the style of your patio.
Finally, you can choose from a plethora of colors as well. Patio stones are available in many colour schemes to suit your exterior design requirements. All in all, you have way more options when it comes to playing around with patio design. Yes, a deck does have plenty of options, but they are far more limited when you compare the two. So, there’s more chance you’ll find something that suits your desires if you opted for a patio.
Overall, these are the main reasons to consider a patio over decking. Does this mean patios reign supreme? Well, they do have some disadvantages as well. If you’d like to see a counter article that looks at reasons to choose decking over a patio, then let me know in the comments below.