A Hardwood Deck in Stratford

The brief

A back garden in Stratford that had never really worked: patchy grass, uneven ground and nothing to actually use the space for. The owners wanted a proper outdoor room they could step straight out into, low on upkeep and big enough for the whole family to sit out on.

Our approach

We took the garden across to a full hardwood deck running wall to wall, with a built-in raised bench along the back to anchor the space and give somewhere to sit that does not need furniture moved around. Corrugated metal edging trims the deck cleanly against the boundaries. One flat, uncluttered surface, sized for the whole family, and nothing that needs watering.

The build

The build ran in a clear sequence: clear and level the site, lay a weed membrane, set out the joist substructure on adjustable feet so the deck sits perfectly true across the whole area, then build the raised back-wall bench and lay the hardwood boards over the top. Adjustable feet mattered here: they let us get a level surface across ground that was not.

The result

A garden that is finally usable end to end. The deck reads as one considered piece rather than a patio and a scrap of lawn, the bench turns the back wall into a place to sit rather than a boundary to look at, and the whole space is set up for years of low-fuss use.