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Five Essential Guidelines For Installing Child Safe Decking
Installing your own decking can prove to be a tough task, especially if you have to consider the safety of your children. Children seem to have an inherent ability to hurt themselves, which means it is essential to provide safe environments wherever possible. Here we look at five great tips that can help you install a safe decking space that your children can enjoy and that will give you peace of mind.
Nailing or screwing
If you watch one of the numerous home improvement programmes on television you usually find that they will use a nail gun when installing decking. This is because they are often working under a strict time limit and the nail gun is a much quicker option than screws. The downside to this is that nails do not offer as much strength and we firmly believe that it is worth taking the extra time to use screws on your decking.
Spacing your spindles
Children falling through the gaps of spindles is what causes most injuries that children suffer in relation to decking. The level of injuries sustained can be magnified when decking is raised. This can easily be avoided by spacing your spindles about 4 inches apart.
Providing a gate
If you have steps going down from your decking then be sure to add a gate at the top of them to prevent your child from taking a tumble. Even if you don’t have any stairs a gate can mean that you have a safe play area in which your children cannot escape.
Closing off the base with trellis
If your decking is raised then you will of course have a space underneath which your children would just love to explore and possibly hurt themselves. This area can be closed off by fastening trellis that covers the ground up to the decking base. You may wish to then plant climbers around the foot of the trellis for aesthetic purposes.
The finishing touches
When you have completed your decking installation there is a good chance that there will be some rough edges. Most decking that is bought from the local DIY store will have a good finish quality, but there could be a few splinters present. Of course there is also the chance that you have left some rough edges of your own when cutting boards or spindles. So your final step should be to take some sandpaper and smooth off any roughness from surfaces and ends.
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