Shelter first, then the deck
The question we ask first in Hartlepool isn't which boards you'd like. It's where you'd actually sit. A deck in the open on the Headland or the seafront at Seaton Carew can be wonderful on a still July evening and almost unusable on a breezy May afternoon. So we look at wind direction, where the house and walls give shelter, and where the sun falls, and design the deck around that.
Often the answer is to tuck the deck into a corner by the house, add a slatted screen on the windward side, or create a sheltered nook with built-in seating. Our guide to decks for windy gardens goes into detail.
Hartlepool's homes and gardens
The Headland has old stone and brick houses with walled yards, close to the sea on three sides. West Park, around Ward Jackson Park, has some of the town's grandest Edwardian and Victorian houses with big, leafy gardens. High Throston, Clavering and Wynyard Woods have modern detached homes with open, often windswept gardens. Out in Hart, Elwick, Dalton Piercy and Greatham, cottages and village houses look across open fields.
Strong, solid and fixed down
In exposed gardens we build heavier: deeper joists, extra bracing on raised sections and fixings chosen to stay tight. Capped composite boards are heavy, stable and held down with clips and screws, and near the sea we use stainless fixings. For real wood, we build timber decks fixed firmly to a well-braced frame.
Screens and balustrades
A balustrade keeps you safe on a raised edge; a screen keeps the wind off. We build both, from glass that keeps the view to slatted timber screens that filter the wind rather than block it. See balustrades and screens.
Questions answered
Can a deck stand up to the winds off the bay?
Yes. A well-built deck sits low, has a braced frame and is firmly fixed. The bigger question is comfort, which is why we plan shelter into the design.
Will a deck work in a walled yard on the Headland?
Very well. Walled yards are naturally sheltered. A low composite deck makes a small yard feel bigger and is easy to keep clean.
Do you build screens to shelter a deck?
Yes. Slatted timber or composite screens filter the wind and give privacy. We fix them to strong posts bolted into the deck frame.