Air dried oak decking

English oak boards are regularly used for internal flooring, but designers are increasingly specifying them for external use as well. The warm and tactile appearance of oak is highly attractive while the natural durability of the wood, together with its toughness, makes it the ideal specie for upmarket decking installations.

Oak decking is the ideal choice for designers who want to specify a hardwood deck but feel uneasy about using tropical species. Although oak is not as hard or durable as species such as opepe or balau, it is well suited for use as decking where it will be elevated off the ground.

The air dried oak deck boards supplied by Vastern Timber are manufactured in-house from English oak logs sawn in one of our two sawmills in Wiltshire. This enables us to monitor quality and moisture levels carefully to ensure the deck boards are suitable and safe for decking installations.

Vastern Timber offers a range of standard sizes and profiles for the air dried oak and can also accommodate bespoke requirements.

Tannic Acid

One feature of oak decking that must be considered is the high tannin content. During the first few months after the decking has been attached, tannin will exude from the boards, resulting in streaks and stains where it comes in to contact with masonry or render . Tannin also corrodes ferrous metal, so it is therefore important to use either Stainless Steel fixings. Additionally care should be taken to keep other ferrous metal such as scaffolding away from the decking to avoid staining of the boards.