Natural Timber Decking

The most commonly used natural woods for decks are pine, larch and teak. These woods are resistant to weather and insects. However, many people hesitate between softwood and exotic wood. So what is the best wood for an outdoor deck? The answer depends on your priorities.

To choose the best wood for your project, ask yourself these questions:

• What is my overall budget?
• What aesthetic effect am I looking for?
• How much time am I willing to invest in maintaining my deck each year?
• Does the origin of the wood matter to me?

From an ecological point of view, for example. European woods, including many softwoods, have the advantage of generally being more affordable than exotic woods. If the ecological impact of your project is important to you, you may want to consider European or even French wood. Exotic wood, on the other hand, is generally more expensive but is more resistant to weathering.

As you can see, each type of wood has its advantages and disadvantages. Don’t hesitate to discuss this with your supplier, who will be able to guide you towards the best choice based on your aesthetic, financial and ecological criteria.

The height of your deck will depend on the available space (between the ground and your glass door thresholds, for example).

To calculate the height of the pedestals you will need, it is important to take into account: the thickness of your wooden decking boards, the thickness of the joists (or joists in the case of cross joisting), the thickness of the invisible fasteners if you decide to use Fixego, for example, but also the thickness of the joist protection strip.

Then simply subtract all these heights from your reservation height to find out how much space you have left and choose the right pedestal height. Are the pedestals still too high? You can lay your decking on wedges. The most important thing is not to lay your joists directly on the ground, as they could get damaged very quickly.

We now offer a wide range to meet all your needs, from 8 mm to 230 mm and more, by adding extensions to your Jouplast® PVC pedestals.

We generally recommend a distance of 70 cm between each adjustable pedestal (depending on the type of wood and the cross-section of the joists). For joists, we recommend a centre-to-centre distance of 50 cm if your decking is made of natural wood boards. Please note that the rules are not the same for composite decking.

Jouplast® pedestals have a crush resistance test rating of over 1 tonne. However, the weight that a wooden deck on pedestals can support does not depend solely on the strength of the pedestals.

Each type of wood has its own strength. We therefore advise you to check with your wood supplier for more specific information.

More generally, if you plan to place a heavy item on your decking on pedestals, such as a spa, for example, we recommend that you opt for our PROFILDECK® solution (aluminium joists), which will allow for better weight distribution across the structure of the wooden decking on pedestals.

The best times to install a wooden deck are spring and autumn, as the temperatures are milder. However, installing a wooden deck on pedestals requires little ground preparation. It is therefore entirely possible to install it in winter.