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The Ultimate Guide to Composite Decking Maintenance: Cleaning, Winter Care & Restoration
Decking With a Pergola
Adding a pergola to your composite deck space is a fantastic way to utilise your outdoor living area year-round. There are many varieties to choose from, such as an open slatted pergola, a closed pergola, or a versatile louvred roof that can be both opened and closed.
Incorporating a pergola will not only bring you essential shade and shelter, but it also adds a crucial layer of privacy if you wish to create a seating or dining area underneath.
Tradesman Tip: Pergolas are straightforward to build onto an existing decking space, but they must be anchored directly to your timber subframe—not just screwed into the surface boards—to safely withstand strong UK winds. When done correctly, this maintains the clean, seamless aesthetic of your garden.
Closed or Covered Pergolas
Why not add a closed pergola to your decking area? This is a great way to maintain permanent shade and shelter, ensuring your patio can be used all year round—especially during the rainy UK months.
By installing a clear, covered style polycarbonate or glass roof, you still allow maximum light to filter through. This stops the area from feeling too dark or secluded while keeping you completely dry. Just ensure your installer builds a slight pitch (around 5 degrees) into the roof design so heavy rainwater easily runs off the back rather than pooling on top!
Creating Your Outdoor Living Room
Add Furniture
You may wish to create a serene, private seating area for you and your family underneath your new structure. Adding high-quality outdoor furniture means the area can be used year-round under the cover of the roof. Adding outdoor curtains or blinds around the edges is highly recommended if you wish to make your space more secluded and warmer in the cooler months.
Enhance with Lighting
Lighting is another brilliant feature to add to your pergola. This simple enhancement will instantly brighten up your space, providing more use of your garden throughout the cooler and darker winter evenings. Adding warm, festoon string lighting will make your space feel cozy and homely, while sleek, cooler LED track lighting can bring an ultra-modern, architectural feel to the area.
Add a Hot Tub Underneath Your Pergola
Add some ultimate luxury and warmth underneath your pergola by installing a hot tub! A hot tub is quickly becoming one of the most popular features to add to a UK garden, making it the perfect item to place under a protective canopy. You will get the absolute most out of your investment by using it all year round—the pergola acts as a sunshade in the summer and a rain shelter in the winter.
The Tradesman Note: If you opt for a hot tub, you must plan for two things: weight and water. Installation of your boards is key. A filled hot tub is incredibly heavy, meaning your decking subframe must be specifically reinforced with closer joist spacing to handle the load safely. Secondly, due to the heavy moisture that will constantly be splashed onto your deck, choosing a highly water-resistant board is absolutely vital. To ensure you choose the right material for the job, compare our different types and prices of composite boards.
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