Can I Build a Shade Over My Composite Decking?

Composite decking will most likely get hot if you expose them to the sun, in all honestly any type of decking expose to the sun for long periods will become hot. This can be get a little uncomfortable, especially if you want to relax outdoors. You won’t be able to walk on the deck with your barefoot. To resolve this issue, you can build a shade over composite decking.

Why Your Composite Decking Needs a Shade

How To Build a Pergola Over a Deck

A pergola build can be incorporated into the design and build of a deck; however, this must be pre-planned as usually in this scenario the deck subframe posts act as the pergola posts too. In this write up, we will cover the installation process of building a pergola over an existing deck.

A pergola usually has a minimum number of four posts that serve as a support for the structure. You can use treated timber or aluminium for the post; however, timber is the most common material used here. Start building your pergola by first making holes in the four corners of your deck (position the holes adjacent to the corners of your deck). To ensure your posts are level, and the area is square, you can set up a string line using nails and string. You will then insert the post inside the holes. Generally, you should sink at least a quarter of the post into the ground and brace your posts to ensure stability. When you have done that, you can pour concrete inside the holes where you place the posts, ensuring that the posts are vertical in this process. Use a stick to vibrate the concrete to remove any air bubbles. You may wish to make the concrete slope away from the post at ground level, to ensure water does not accumulate around the posts. Once the concrete is set, you can remove the bracing. Doing this will provide a firm grip on the post, creating a sturdy pergola.

As the weather in the U.K. is often wet, we would recommend using hot dipped galvanised nails or galvanised screws throughout this process to ensure increased strength and limit corrosion on any fixings.

Now that you have your posts in place, you can begin to construct the top of the pergola. This part of the pergola consists of beams and rafters, so, to prepare the materials you will need to cut the beams and rafters to their desired lengths.

Before installing your beams, you will need to cut your posts to the desired height too. You will need to create a notch/ridge in the top of your pergola posts,  so that the horizontal beams can be secured to the posts in the most effective manner. Installing your beams onto a notch will improve the strength of the pergola. It is common to have notches that are approximately half the width of the post, however, the width of your notches are dictated by the width of your beams.

Now that your materials and posts are prepared, you can install your beams to the notch of the posts using galvanised screws. Proceed to install the rafters to the top of the posts, at regular spacings between the beams. You will need to cut ridges/notches into your rafters so that they fit over the beams, which will provide a level pergola ceiling. Cutting ridges in the rafters is a similar process to cutting ridges in the posts, this is so that the structural components can fit to each other like jigsaw pieces, which increases the strength of the pergola.

Conclusion

You can build a shade over your composite decking to keep the decking from getting hot. The kind of shade you can use on your decking is a pergola and temporary gazebo. You can also make use of a large umbrella.