How To Lay A Decking Board Right?

Which Way Should Surface Finish Should I Use?

If you are new to building decks, laying decking boards might be difficult. You might be confused about whether to face the decking grooves up, down or even wood grain up. Deck installation requires some skill if you want it to last long. As there are many choices of patterns and design for decking boards which surface finish provides the best result? is there a right one?

Lay Grooved Decking Up Right

When installing composite decking boards, you may be confused about whether you should have the groove side up or down. Grooved decking boards are considered a traditional decking appearance they can provide functionality and aesthetics.

Grooved decking boards be wood or composite have a ridged surface as you see from the image on your right. This ridge or grooved finish does provide improve slip resistance when compared with a wood grain finish, ridges can increase traction and prevent the decking from slipping when it is wet, this we have tested as mentioned and discuss in our does composite decking get slippy article.

What’s not mentioned as a further advantage is drainage, grooved decking boards help with water drainage, of course if your boards are laying in the direction of the gradient, as they have a ridge surface water can easily run off through the channels on a grooved board and due to this they do support and help your deck drain.

Are There Any Downside To Using The Grooved Finish?

There are a few disadvantages to installing a grooved surface finish, one as briefly mentioned above is drainage, if grooved boards are installed in the opposite direction to the gradient then water will have to run up and down the ridges, this may seem a minor issue which in all honestly it is, but if they have deep grooves or ridges then this could increase maintenance if the correct gradient is not placed to take this into account.

On the subject of maintenance grooved/ridge surfaces can increase maintenance in other ways, due to there finish if not maintenance correctly dirt and debris can sit in the grooves, this will intern build water and the mix of dirt and water if not clean, becomes a breeding ground for mould and mildew. The grooved part will collect moisture and lead to mould build-up on your decking. Mould can damage decking, especially wood decking boards and composites, mould and moisture build up in wooden decking causes rots and in both cases decreases the life span of your board

If you do opt for grooved finish do note the use, for example for wheel chair access there is advantage and disadvantage, as the ridges increase slip resistance they can make its slightly harder for mobility.

Wood Grain Surface Up

Wood grain surface is a very popular choose especially with composite boards, most customer consider this as the most natural and authentic appearance and with mixed colours recent development, they are indistinguishable to exotic wood in most customer feedback, but how do they perform if you choose to install wood grain surface up?

When comparing to grooved finish after installation they don’t performance as well on slip resistance if you install horizontal to the direction of footfall, but installed parallel there isn’t much difference, so if you are thinking installing grooved side up due to increase slip resistant the direction of the boards laid must be taken into account.

A great advantage to installing wood grain up is they are easier to clean than grooved, as mentioned above dirt debris can get trapped in the grooves and increase maintenance during there life span. As a wood grain surface doesn’t have ridges or grooves this isn’t the case and can be cleaned easier.

Are There Any Drawbacks To Install Wood Griain Up

There a few drawbacks when installing wood grain up, as mentioned slip resistance is better on a grooved finish installed horizontally to the direction of footfall. Another drawback to wood grain surface up in relation to water is water pooling. Grooved finishes have channels and this can enable water to run off much easily than a wood grain and smooth surface. Opting for a wood grain surface you must take this into account and adjust your gradient.

Similar to a grooved surface taking into account your use of the deck is important for example slip resistant may be slightly decrease but if you are installing near a hot tub or pool, a wood grain finish is more comfortable to walk on, so do way up, the advantages and disadvantages first before installing.

Smooth Surface Up

Smooth surface aren’t as common with composite decking as a few years ago, many wood grain pattern was printed on a smooth surface and due to there design the wood grain pattern would disappear, so you will rarely see them on a uncapped composite board, however you may see then on a capped composite board as seen in the image.

From a visually aspect a smooth surface can produced a nice flow of mixed colours and they can look very similar to indoor flooring, enabling them to be a great match for a consistent flow from indoor to outdoor, however how do they perform?

Similar to a wood grain finish they are great for cleaning as there are no ridges or groove surface. They wont hold dirt and debris and cleaning will be easier and even spill for that matter as they will wipe away much easier when compared to groove surface and even a embossed wood grain surface.

Smooth surface finish can also be great for mobility with a like of a wheelchair, unlike grooved and even embossed wood grain there are no ridges or design in the surface and its a smooth plain surface to enable ease of mobility.

A smooth surface will also like wood grain pattern be more comfortable to walk on barefooted, so if your installing a hot tub, pool or anything what would involved you walking barefooted on the deck more than normall then a smooth or wood grain finish will be the best option.

Smooth Finish Drawbacks

A smooth finish does have some disadvantages some may consider them unnatural when compared to a wood grain or grooved finish as these two designs are the most commonly used design pattern in decking.

One drawback would also be slip resistance compared to a grooved and even a wood grain surface, they do perform less in slip resistance and are more slippery, so if slip resistance performance is key when installing your deck, then we would recommend opting for a wood grain or grooved surface finish.

Water pooling is another drawback with a smooth finish, as they don’t have any grooved or channel to support the water draining of your deck, they can hold water, which is not good for long periods with wood or composites and this most be considering if this smooth side is installed. You many need to slightly increase the gradient and test the water run off after installing to ensure no water will sit on the decks surface.

Conclusion

All customer projects and desire are different and the information we provide is to support. The right way to lay a decking board depends on design, performance and customer use of the deck. For example if slip resistance is important then a grooved finish would be recommended for maximum performance, they also great for water drainage but the direction of the boards laid must be taken into account to provide the maximum performance.

A wood grain surface may also be great for a customer with a hot tub as they are considering more comfortable to walk on when entering in and out barefooted on the surface, but consideration much be taken into a account for drainage as they will not drain as well a grooved and you may need to adjust your gradient to support.