decking boards ,groove side down now ?



No one thinks anything less of you because you’ve used scaffolding boards as decking rather than buying the proper stuff with grooves. Just let it go man.
Look at the countries that have used decking a long time tears before they come to England not a groove in site even around swimming pools a wooden Jetty on a lake is even smooth side up
A neighbour has a concrete patio with an area of decking outside his conservatory. The contrast of wood and slabs with different levels looks very nice. I thought about doing similar or going over all of it with decking. He put me off the idea when he told me that when it's frosty the patio is hardly any different to just wet. But frost on the decking turns it into an ice rink. I didn't want the Mrs going over when she put the washing out so I steered clear. Obviously ice or snow turns anything slippy but we don't get a lot of it these days. Frost though we get loads.

They put grooves in composite decking. Is that meant to be smooth side up?
Yes !
Composite decking has grooves in the underside
 
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A neighbour has a concrete patio with an area of decking outside his conservatory. The contrast of wood and slabs with different levels looks very nice. I thought about doing similar or going over all of it with decking. He put me off the idea when he told me that when it's frosty the patio is hardly any different to just wet. But frost on the decking turns it into an ice rink. I didn't want the Mrs going over when she put the washing out so I steered clear. Obviously ice or snow turns anything slippy but we don't get a lot of it these days. Frost though we get loads.

They put grooves in composite decking. Is that meant to be smooth side up?
You might want to tell her that hanging washing out when it’s either wet or icy isn’t very productive.
 
You might want to tell her that hanging washing out when it’s either wet or icy isn’t very productive.
I was talking about frost. This morning was frosty but now it's great drying weather. As long as you're out of the shade.
Look at the countries that have used decking a long time tears before they come to England not a groove in site even around swimming pools a wooden Jetty on a lake is even smooth side up

Yes !
Composite decking has grooves in the underside
A lot of it has grooves both sides. Fine grooves for the top and deep grooves underneath. Which is what I said earlier about wood decking having fine grooves cut in it. They are meant to be up.
 
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Where's all this airflow underneath the boards coming from? Shirley there's like millions of percent more airflow above the boards. Grooves will create more surface area but that would be relatively ineffective underneath compared to efficacy if facing upward. Airflow's a red heron.
I think it would be more a case of the water sitting in the grooves in the top
 
I was talking about frost. This morning was frosty but now it's great drying weather. As long as you're out of the shade.

A lot of it has grooves both sides. Fine grooves for the top and deep grooves underneath. Which is what I said earlier about wood decking having fine grooves cut in it. They are meant to be up.
No decking abroad has groves facing up your talking crap what about boat jetty’s then surely they would use grooves up to prevent people slipping when it’s wet ?
I think it would be more a case of the water sitting in the grooves
Water isn't running down a 1 in 100 gradient down dirty moss/algae filled grooves.
Ironically, it would run off far far better on flat wood. i.e. if you lay it the correct way.
You can also sand and treat or strip treatment off the smooth side easily it’s a no brainer
 
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How does that work with scaffy boards then? Have you machined the grooves in and put them to the underside?
I didn’t bother it’s a temporary thing not worried about the upside as I can sand them and retreat any time easily it’s impossible to get old treatment out of the grooves if it’s facing up
 
No decking abroad has groves facing up your talking crap what about boat jetty’s then surely they would use grooves up to prevent people slipping when it’s wet ?


You can also sand and treat or strip treatment off the smooth side easily it’s a no brainer
You aren't getting this but I'll say it again just incase.
Things evolve and decking is now made with fine grooves which are meant to face up. These fine grooves are not there to stop cupping which is the main reason for grooving the back of a wood plank. They are there because that's how we like decking in this country. That's why they put them in composite decking as well.
So nobody is talking crap apart from those saying it's wrong to put them groove side up. You can put them up any way you want to it's personal choice.
 
You aren't getting this but I'll say it again just incase.
Things evolve and decking is now made with fine grooves which are meant to face up. These fine grooves are not there to stop cupping which is the main reason for grooving the back of a wood plank. They are there because that's how we like decking in this country. That's why they put them in composite decking as well.
So nobody is talking crap apart from those saying it's wrong to put them groove side up. You can put them up any way you want to it's personal choice.
No question - demand drives supply. People WANT grooves up. So the industry made a product that supports this.

But even with that product, the normal sized grooves go down ;)
 
You aren't getting this but I'll say it again just incase.
Things evolve and decking is now made with fine grooves which are meant to face up. These fine grooves are not there to stop cupping which is the main reason for grooving the back of a wood plank. They are there because that's how we like decking in this country. That's why they put them in composite decking as well.
So nobody is talking crap apart from those saying it's wrong to put them groove side up. You can put them up any way you want to it's personal choice.
The TDCA agrees with you. Seems to pretty much cover it all in this article.

 
The TDCA agrees with you. Seems to pretty much cover it all in this article.

Yeah, that's the article I posted earlier in this thread.
It tells you a bunch of reasons why it should be grooves down, but then also says "but its up to you".

>grooves or reeds on a decking board are designed to allow for airflow underneath the boards to stop moisture and mould build up

>a grooved board offered no advantage over a smooth one in terms of slip resistance. So let’s be clear, a grooved or castellated board as it’s sometimes referred to, is not designed as an antislip measure.

>If you are using long board lengths e.g. greater than 3.6m, the grooves are always going to hold water due to surface tension properties. In this case it is much better to use a smooth board
 
No question - demand drives supply. People WANT grooves up. So the industry made a product that supports this.

But even with that product, the normal sized grooves go down ;)
That's how they are meant to be but again if you like the look of the big grooves on top then put them that way. Personally I don't like the big grooves showing but I'm also not keen on the no groove look. I'd buy it with fine grooves and put them upwards.
 
You aren't getting this but I'll say it again just incase.
Things evolve and decking is now made with fine grooves which are meant to face up. These fine grooves are not there to stop cupping which is the main reason for grooving the back of a wood plank. They are there because that's how we like decking in this country. That's why they put them in composite decking as well.
So nobody is talking crap apart from those saying it's wrong to put them groove side up. You can put them up any way you want to it's personal choice.
Wonder why the rest of the world has never clicked onto this then?? it’s f***ing ridiculous putting wood with grooves in the wettest country in the world facing up no the wonder it doesn’t last
 

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