Laying simple, ground-level decking may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. With careful planning and preparation, you can lay decking that you’ll be proud to show off to neighbours, family and friends. Here are a few tips to get you started. Plan carefully Draw out a plan, to scale, on paper. This will help you to know how many boards you’ll need and ensure that you don’t end up having to cut anything to fit. Prepare the area Measure out the site according to your plan and hammer a peg into each corner, then tie string around each peg to help you see what you’re working with. If you’re not laying on existing slabs, dig into the ground, lifting out turf if it’s there, and check that the site is level. Then add concrete slabs for more stability or lay weed-control fabric over the ground and cover with gravel to further prevent weed growth. Build your sub-frame Since a lot of people ask this, we’ve got a more detailed guide in the FAQ below. Lay your deck boards Start in one corner of the sub-frame and position the first board across the inner joists. You want the deck board in the opposite direction to the inner joists, ensuring that it’s flush with the frame. Position any end-to-end joins between the deck boards halfway across an inner joist so you can screw both boards into the joist for stability. Make sure you keep a gap of between 5-8mm to allow for expansion of the wood. Begin to screw your deck boards to the joists. You’ll need to secure the deck board to every joist is covers along your deck frame. Use two screws for every joist. Mark where you’re going to add your screws, ensuring that they are at least 15mm from the end of the board and 20mm from the outside edges. Drill pilot holes for the screws, being careful to only drill through the deck board and not the joist. Then screw the decking screws into the holes. Continue to screw in the deck boards, ensuring you leave the correct expansion gap. You can stagger the deck board joins across the deck for more strength. Sand down any cut ends if you need to before applying decking preserver to protect the timber from rotting. Although this is a simplified set of instructions, it’s enough for you to see whether you want to attempt to lay decking yourself – and if you don’t, you can get in touch with professionals who will be happy to give you a quote.

Wooden Decking in Caterham

Discover Wooden Decking Prices in Caterham

Wooden Decking in Caterham

Wooden decking is an increasingly fashionable choice for providing outdoor seating areas in gardens. Due to the natural beauty of wood, they can be very fashionable areas which you can use year round by using outside heating and illumination. Wooden decking is commonly installed in locations in front of patio or French doors where they can create a smooth transition between inside and outside spaces. Wooden decking can come in any size or shape to suit any area. Curved designs or large areas connected by pathways can produce an impressive effect. Wooden decking is fairly quick to install and causes minimal disruption, especially when compared to alternatives like patio or paving. It could even be installed over the top of a pre-existing patio. It is crucial however to be certain that your wooden decking is structurally sound and capable of taking the weight of any furniture or plants that you want to use on the decking. There is a variety of varieties of wood that can be used in wooden decking. Often decking is made of hardwood, but there are softwoods available that fulfil the durability requirements. As hardwood decking will demand maintenance, which usually involves annual cleaning and staining for weather proofing, composite woods are becoming popular for use in wooden decking because they are more robust and require significantly less maintenance.

Average Wooden decking cost in Caterham

The typical cost of Wooden decking is £1500. Costs can change based upon the materials and the firm hired. The upper price range can be as high as £1725. The material costs are commonly approximately £375

Average price per Wooden decking job in 2026

Avg. price low	Avg. price low £663
Avg. price	Avg. price £2,050
Avg. price high	Avg. price high £3,363

£3500

£2625

£1750

£875

£0

Prices based on actual Wooden decking costs for Caterham, as reported by local LeadsDoWork members.

Wooden decking installation cost in Caterham 2026

	Labour cost	£1,050
	Material cost	£375
	Waste removal	£75

Time frame: 1-4 days

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Caterham

Caterham is a town within the Tandridge District of Surrey. For administrative purposes, the town is split into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which contains the main town centre. Caterham is located 21 miles from the county town of Guildford and 15.5 miles south of London. The total population of Caterham, in line with the 2011 census, is 21090 inhabitants from 8543 households, which illustrates a development of households by 130 in 10 years. As a result of its practical access to London, Caterham is largely a commuter town. It does have its own enterprises of both small and medium size, but there are few specific business or industrial parks for this to expand considerably. Nevertheless, Caterham is home to a considerable area devoted to retail and restaurants in Caterham Valley, along with many pubs spread out across the town. The town consists of two high streets, serving substantial and affluent communities, with a railway station in addition to a mixture of modern day and more historic buildings. The town also has two youth football clubs, Caterham Pumas F. C. and Queens Park F. C. The Old Caterhamians Rugby Football Club, established in 1928 and shares its facilities with Caterham Cricket Club, formerly played in Queen's Park. You can find lots of possibilities for involvement in the arts or watching performances, particularly at the theatre situated within the old Caterham Barracks as well as the Miller Centre in the town centre that frequently shows amateur performances and films, as well as hosting numerous clubs and community groups. For all your residence upgrades, be sure that you employ trustworthy experts in Caterham to make sure you get the best quality.

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Wooden decking pros in Caterham

Surbiton landscaping and building services in business since 1999 very professional run, family Business that takes pride in their work

Latest review

Paul M., GU2

Garden Decking in Guildford

Friendly, knowledgeable and got the job done on time. Thanks

Tree surgery services also avaliable Find us on Thomson local and Google

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Michael F., HA8

Garden Decking in Edgware

The job was well done, some of the finishing could have been better

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FAQs

There are two ways to lay decking on uneven ground. We’ve explained how to build a raised deck in our FAQ ‘How to build a raised deck’ above, and that’s great for uneven ground or sloped gardens. But there’s another way that you can lay decking on uneven ground if you don’t want a raised deck: you can create a level supporting base. We’ll go through the basics here. Materials you’ll need

Paving slabs – old or cheap ones are fine
Timber for the frame and legs
Type 1 MOT hardcore

How to lay decking on uneven ground

Mark out the area as we explain in ‘How to lay decking’. Then, dig to 200mm below where you want to surface of the decking to be.
Add a 50mm layer of hardcore and make sure it’s compact.
Build the decking sub-frame as we describe in ‘How to build a deck frame’.
Lay out paving slabs along the edges and in the centre of the area. This will help to spread the weight of the decking.
Set the decking frame on the slabs, checking for high or low points and adding off-cuts of timber where needed. Don’t forget to sand and seal these off-cuts with decking preservative.
Add your joists and then the deck boards, leaving the recommended gaps of expansion of between 5-8mm.

Building your decking on top of paving slabs is a good way to get it level, but you still may not be able to get as good a finish as if a professional did it. If you’re in any doubt, get in contact with some decking specialists and see what they would recommend.

How much decking you need will – of course – depend on how big you plan your deck to be. There is an equation to help you work out how many deck boards you need. It’s a little complicated until you’ve been shown how it works, but once you know how to do it it’s easy to work out how much decking you need for any project. The equation takes into account the recommended 10% wastage and includes the expansion gaps that are required, which is between 5-8mm along the length of the deck boards (EGL, or expansion gap length) and 3mm along the ends of the deck boards (EGW, or expansion gap width) for timber. It also assumes you’re laying your decking horizontally, as if you’re looking for a diagonal or chevron design you’ll need more deck boards. Let’s go through an example, assuming you have a 10m x 6m area that you want to cover with decking made from timber boards that are 2.4m long and 144mm wide. We’ll use the EGL of 5mm and EGW of 3mm.

Calculate the surface area for your decking Multiply the length (L) of your decking area by the width (W): L x W = Decking Surface Area (DSA) in m² 10 x 6 = 60m²
Work out the coverage of your deck boards Add your deck board width (DBW) to the expansion gap length (EGL), then add the deck board length (DBL) to the expansion gap width (EGW). Then multiply these numbers. (DBW + EGL) x (DBL + EGW) = Single Board Coverage (SBC) 0.144m + 0.005m = 0.149m 2.4m + 0.003m = 2.403m 0.149 x 2.403 = 0.358m²
Calculate the number of deck boards you need Multiply the SBC by 1.1 to allow for 10% wastage. Then, divide the DSA by the SBC. DSA / SCB x 1.1 = Total number of boards required 60m² / 0.358m² x 1.1 = 184.36 boards – so round up to 185 so you’re not left short.

If that all seems a bit complicated for you, let a professional do the maths – they will be able to give you an idea of how much decking you’ll need in no time.

Yes, although you should make sure that the terrace or decking is able to support the weight of a hot tub. Usually, you will need to have a structural survey carried out on the area. Seek the advise of a hot tub retailer or installer about the logistics of installing one at your property.

Laying simple, ground-level decking may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. With careful planning and preparation, you can lay decking that you’ll be proud to show off to neighbours, family and friends. Here are a few tips to get you started. Plan carefully Draw out a plan, to scale, on paper. This will help you to know how many boards you’ll need and ensure that you don’t end up having to cut anything to fit. Prepare the area Measure out the site according to your plan and hammer a peg into each corner, then tie string around each peg to help you see what you’re working with. If you’re not laying on existing slabs, dig into the ground, lifting out turf if it’s there, and check that the site is level. Then add concrete slabs for more stability or lay weed-control fabric over the ground and cover with gravel to further prevent weed growth. Build your sub-frame Since a lot of people ask this, we’ve got a more detailed guide in the FAQ below. Lay your deck boards

Start in one corner of the sub-frame and position the first board across the inner joists. You want the deck board in the opposite direction to the inner joists, ensuring that it’s flush with the frame. Position any end-to-end joins between the deck boards halfway across an inner joist so you can screw both boards into the joist for stability. Make sure you keep a gap of between 5-8mm to allow for expansion of the wood.
Begin to screw your deck boards to the joists. You’ll need to secure the deck board to every joist is covers along your deck frame. Use two screws for every joist. Mark where you’re going to add your screws, ensuring that they are at least 15mm from the end of the board and 20mm from the outside edges. Drill pilot holes for the screws, being careful to only drill through the deck board and not the joist. Then screw the decking screws into the holes.
Continue to screw in the deck boards, ensuring you leave the correct expansion gap. You can stagger the deck board joins across the deck for more strength.
Sand down any cut ends if you need to before applying decking preserver to protect the timber from rotting.

Although this is a simplified set of instructions, it’s enough for you to see whether you want to attempt to lay decking yourself – and if you don’t, you can get in touch with professionals who will be happy to give you a quote.

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Customer Reviews

Overall rating:

Caterham Wooden decking pros are rated 4.5 out of 5 on average: 28 rated pros, 310 reviews, of 66 pros covering the area.

The LeadsDoWork rating and review is an overall rating based on verified reviews and feedback from the customers with Wooden decking projects that have been connected with Wooden decking pros to help them. All Wooden decking contractors All Caterham Wooden decking contractors

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Wooden Decking in Caterham

Discover Wooden Decking Prices in Caterham