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This landscaping project was very special to us. We love working with cedar wood decking boards, it's not very often that we get chance to do that either. Cedar wood is expensive, but it really is the 'Rolls Royce' of decking woods.

Cedar wood is the best wood to deck with, it's perfectly suited to the outdoors and doesn't require much looking after at all. The colours in cedar wood decking are fabulous - orange and red tones, very warm and inviting.

Mark asked for a decked area at the rear of his property - quite a large garden in Darlington, Cleveland, Teesside. We talked about exactly what style and design of decking he was looking for. Mark explained that he was keen to have a very different type of decking board. He wanted an up market feel to his decking.

Mark wanted a deluxe decking retreat where he could enjoy his garden and read on his days off and weekends. We ran through a few options and looked at several samples of decking boards. Eventually Mark decided that cedar wood was the decking wood for him. I can understand this, Cedar wood decking is stunning. Once you've seen cedar wood it's hard to want anything else. With the deck boards chosen we moved onto the style of the decking. Mark wanted to use the full lengths of the cedar wood to show off to a maximum the woods grain and colour. He also requested a 'picture frame' edge over hang on his decking.

The frame was constructed first using pressure treated deck joists. These were screwed in to place using treated posts and concrete. The decking frame was fixed with a slight fall away from the house. As with all decking the deck frame needed to be constructed with absolute precision, your decking frame is what will determine the end result of how your decking will look when completed. It absolutely must be 100% square and 100% flat.

Cedar wood decking, although a little more expensive than more common decking woods, looks absolutely spectacular when fitted correctly. It also has the most amazing smell which will always be present. It's rich and woody and makes you feel warm and comfortable.

Cedar wood needs no pressure treatment, it is the most durable and hardy wood in the world. Ideal for outdoor use and perfect for decking, as you can see from the pictures! Mark was thrilled to bits with his decking and has and still is enjoying the look smell and feel of his cedar wood decking!

Testimonial

" Thanks for the fantastic job you and your team did with my decking. I couldn't have hoped for anything better, it's absolutely stunning. Your attention to detail is outstanding. I love everything about it. I'm mesmerised every time I come out onto my decking. Wow - the wood is truly stunning, I definitely made the right decision going for the cedar wood.Thanks Again."

Mark Stratford

Middleton St. George, Darlington, Stockton on Tees, Cleveland, Teesside.

This is a beautiful raised wooden decking area which we designed and constructed for Alan and Becky Carney.

This family wanted a child friendly design which they could use as an outdoor eating area.They also wanted a place to entertain their friends on warm Summer evenings. We suggested a raised, wooden decking area for Alan and Becky. Decking areas are much more child friendly than patios. Wood is a softer material to sit on or play on, especially for children. Decking also tends to be more inviting to people due to the smell, colour and texture of wood.

We raised this decked area to make it a more prominent feature of the garden. Two hand rails were built into the decking with newell posts and spindles. Railings were used so that there was no danger of the children falling off or through the decking area.

Railings are a great idea for elderly people too, they lend some support when standing looking at your landscape or when moving around the deck itself.

A large step was constructed going upto this decking, this was so that the children would find it easy to navigate and climb on to the decking. Children and elderly people find larger steps easier to climb.

This decking was completed with an overhanging edge and a deck board fascia, this left the decking looking neat with a professional smooth finish. Light coloured deck boards were chosen by Alan and Becky, wanted the option to change their decking colour at a later date with a deck staining product.

Testimonial

" Dear Andy, Thank you so much for our fabulous decking - we absolutely love it, so do the kids! We've had lots of friends over this Summer for drinks and barbys on our new decking, it's been great! Sam and Louise love playing on the decking. It's a massive relief for me knowing they can play safely. I don't have to chase after them every five minutes. We were really impressed with how quickly you completed our decking and how hard and tidily you all worked and cleaned up after yourselves. Thank you again from all of us! We have already recommended you to our friends who want some decking doing too. "

Alan and Becky Carney

Mandale Road, Acklam, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, Teesside.

This was a quite a large landscaping job. It involved a lot of landscaping design, planning and construction. Andy and Ali also wanted us to help them accessorise the completed landscape with pots and hanging flower baskets.

Andy is a very keen gardener and has a great knowledge of flowers and plants. We really enjoyed working with him on this landscaping project. We bounced lots of ideas off each other throughout the process. He was equally as enthusiastic as we came up with some stunning ideas.

After carrying out a brick match with the property, we built a new wall around the front of the propery with pillars linked by wrought iron railings. We had the railings and the gates made by a local iron monger, they were stunning quality. The new railings were built into the brick wall.

We constructed larger brick pillars on either side of the block paved driveway entrance. These were to hang their new wrought iron gates on. Andy and Ali's house is an end house. We felt it was a better idea to have more secure gates for their property. Also large iron gates give a grand and more private feel to any property.

We block paved the path around the whole of the property using brindle block paving with a flowing charcoal block paved edge. The block paved areas were laid in a 90 degree herring bone pattern, which is a traditional block paving pattern.The large driveway was also block paved using the same herring bone design in the same colour paving blocks as the paths.

We shaped the block paving at the front of the property to incorporate a flowing curve, which allowed me to give the front lawn a more interesting shape when we laid the new lawn turf.

Square turf lawns always look dull and sterile. We would always recommend giving curvaceous shape to newly laid turf where possible, it is more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. New turf was laid at the side and rear of the property too.

We constructed a connecting decking area from the block paved driveway to the rear garden. This decking incorporated handrails and steps. This broke up the hard feel of the block paving and gave a more interesting look and feel to the overall design of the landscaped garden. The decking area also stood out as a feature of the newly designed and landscaped garden.

We designed various feature areas for Andy's plants and pots. We supplied Andy and Ali with a variation of my beautiful and bespoke pots for their garden. We have a wonderful selection of pots and garden accessories. They were spoilt for choice.

We fixed brackets for hanging baskets on the outer walls in various places around the property. We also built  several small feature areas in the front lawn for bedding plants and shrubs to help make the garden come alive.

When this landscaping project was completed even we were astounded. It was a total transformation of their previous garden. It looked stunning. We regularly pop past Andy and Ali's as they change their flower displays each season and really it is a superb example of how a garden can look if landscaped by a professional who knows what they are doing. I am very proud of this landscaping job and was delighted to hear it had won the garden competition they had entered.

Testimonial

Dear Andy,

My husband and I wanted to thank you and your team at Green Onion landscaping for doing a fantastic job of our block paved drive, lawn,decking, garden pots and baskets.

We absolutely love it. We can’t believe how different and beautiful it all looks. You and your team worked closely with us every step of the way and we appreciate that.

Since the job was completed, our garden looked so impressive we were actually entered into a local best garden competition and we won!

Thank you once again for all your time and commitment.

Yours sincerely,

Mr and Mrs A. Portious.

Mitford Cresent, Bishopsgarth, Stockton on Tees, Cleveland, Teesside.