Benefits Of Timber Decking For Your Caravan or Park Home In 2024?

In recent years composite decking has been the go-to choice for caravan and park home decking surrounds. While the decking is classed as composite, they still all mostly use a timber frame for the sub structure underneath the decking. Timber frames are used because they are ultimately the strongest and most reliable way to build decking. So why not use solid timber decking boards and balustrades too?

What are the benefits of timber caravan and park home decking?
Timber is a solid building material, durable and dense, all ideal properties for a solid, quality decking area. With the correct installation and craftsmanship, timber decking is far stronger than a composite or uPVC counterpart. uPVC decking is hollow and malleable often offering a ‘bounce’ in the decking or slight bow when walked on. 

Timber caravan decking is sustainable. Something uPVC and composite cannot compete with. Our timber caravan sun decks all use sustainably sourced timber, from forests with clear and rigorous re-planting schemes in place. There’s a misconception that using timber is causing deforestation, if timber is sourced correctly and responsibly, it continues to be a fantastic, sustainable material. Much like timber’s sustainability is its carbon storage qualities. When timber decking is manufactured carbon is stored indefinitely.

While composite decking suppliers will often use a selling point that their product is ‘made from recycled plastic’, it still doesn’t escape the fact it’s plastic and damaging to the environment. Should a timber deck fall into the ocean, it would eventually decay naturally, a composite or uPVC deck would remain there forever. Composite and uPVC are also heated to be moulded into timber-like decking shapes, the process of which uses large amounts of energy, not to mention the chemicals used to bond the recycled plastic fibres together in composite decking. 

Timber has a stunning natural look. It’s a timeless building material which has continued to remain a key material both structurally and for aesthetic use. While composite comes in a range of colours that may appeal to some, timber can be coated or stained in the same fashion. We use thermally modified timber for our park home decking offering easy coating applications. Alternatively, it can be kept without coating for a striking dark brown appearance. Timber is a lot more versatile than plastic decking, providing scope for stains or coatings of all types. While many believe that staining a deck is a negative due to maintenance, we believe this to be a huge advantage. If stain begins to fade, with timber decking you can just re-stain the boards, with composite and uPVC, when they fade due to UV exposure, you just have to accept a miscoloured deck.

We use timber decking boards with anti-slip technology. The DeckWright anti-slip technology that we use is rated at a Pendulum Test Value (PTV) rating of 71. To be considered a non-slip product the PTV has to be over 36. Most composite ‘non-slip’ only rate barely above this. Our timber decking for caravans and lodges is true, anti-slip that lasts over timer. Offering safe use of your caravan deck through each season. As we understand, access to caravans or park homes is usually using a deck, we know how vital it is to ensure that the decking boards can be used in every season of the British weather.