THE JOY OF DECKS

Whilst I’ve been busy herding cats, the other half has been sweating his balls off in the garden replacing the wooden deck which has now reached the end of its shelf life. 

Past its best

Wood is good but only for about 5-10 years even after regular treatments.  Imagine your decking was a human face.  After a continual bombardment of sun, wind and rain, it’s going to need more than just a slap of moisturiser to fix.  Sadly there’s no such thing as botox for timber but you can give a decked area a complete facelift with new planking.

Treat the timber beforehand and lay it out to keep flat

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, some bright spark has invented composite decking putting an end to the laborious chore of decking maintenance.  We spotted some SAIGE long-life decking at Christchurch Timber when ordering our replacement planks and it’s definitely something to consider if you want a quiet Cuprinol-less life.

Composite decking - what a marvellous invention!

Composite decking boards are low maintenance, splinter free, anti-slip and the SAIGE boards are also made from recycled materials (wood & plastic) so have good environmental credentials.  They have an expected lifespan of over 25 years and come in different colours. 

I was quite impressed by their appearance as they didn’t look too plasticky and I imagine the charcoal coloured boards would look very smart in a garden.  Composite decking is not cheap to buy but just think of all the time, hassle and Cuprinol you’d save over a 25 year period.  Next time our decking needs replacing, these may be on my shopping list. 

Of course, replacing a complete decked area in the space of a long bank holiday weekend is a ball breaking task but the other half is tackling it with gusto as it means he won’t have to clean out the litter tray or spend the day picking up cat hairs with a lint roller.

Cat hairs?  Wasn't me ...

Those cats are nothing but trouble

Decking is a messy business

Laying down the new planks

Fitting round the newel posts

Decking facelift completed

Seriously though, hats off to the decking dude - he's done a sterling job!

It looks better than ever

CAUGHT NAPPING

It’s been 2 months since my last post and what’s been achieved in terms of bedroom revamp?  Zilch. Nada.  A big fat ZERO. 

It's all too much bother

Two months of waiting for carpentry quotes and taking photos of cute kitties but no wardrobes.  And how expensive is bespoke fitted furniture?  I mean do I really want to spend about £4,500 on clothes storage or would I rather use that cash for a holiday in the Bahamas?  Our neighbours paid £9,000 for some Sharps fitted wardrobes in their bedroom – that’s bonkers!

Needless to say, it’s now back to the drawing board to re-visit all those off-the-shelf solutions that might do the job at half the price.  An IKEA quote for 2 x Pax standalone wardrobes with fancy interior fittings came in at around £800 for both so it looks likely that this will be the way forward.

Nice price, pay twice – a word here about going cheap.  Remember, ultimately you do get what you pay for.  Quality comes at a price and if you don’t want to spend the rest of your days sticking on drawer fronts or dealing with saggy drawer bottoms then it’s always better to splash out on the best you can afford.  Years ago, I purchased some solid pine furniture for a small fortune and it’s still as good as new.

Now that we’ve decided to go down the ‘cheap as chips’ route, there really are no excuses for not getting on with it except there are the distractions to manage – of the 4 legged, furry variety.  

Even as I type there’s a fat tabby purring round my legs, desperate for attention and despite my ignoring her, she’s not taking ‘no’ for an answer.  If I could only train these moggies to update my blog for me, I’d be able to spend the rest of the Easter break sunning myself in the garden with a pina colada in hand.  

No typing - it's play time

I hope you're not thinking of doing any DIY

Keeping cats entertained with bird videos

Neighbourhood moggies now barred from indoors

Latest addition to our moggy mayhem