Challenge Fencing are pleased to offer Smartboard Composite Garden Decking, the future of eco-friendly decking.
Alan Titchmarsh is believed to be the person responsible for bringing garden decking to the forefront of British summer time gardening. Ground Force debuted on BBC 2 in 1997 and needless to say, nothing was the same after.
He has since “apologised” for creating such a huge buzz… but we here at Challenge Fencing don’t think he has anything to apologise for.
After all, because of Mr Titchmarsh, we have sold a lot of timber to people looking to build their own decks. It is and always has been a wonderful addition to any garden. That’s why we are pleased to announce the sale of Smartboard panels; a durable, good looking and eco-friendly composite that is the perfect alternative to traditional timber.
Decks are wonderful, they really are… but they can be hard work sometimes.
Maintaining a healthy-looking and usable deck requires very regular upkeep, checks, cleaning, the list goes on. It’s a lot of work on something that should be relaxing.
Smartboard decking helps to get rid of all of those nagging jobs by simply being good to go all year round. Easy to clean, less likely to rot, less likely to splinter, more durable and, above everything else, good for the planet.
SmartBoard is the future of composite garden decking. The boards are made from residues of engineered oak flooring combined with recycled hard plastic such as shampoo bottles, meaning it is a wonderfully eco-friendly alternative to timber.
It combines all of the benefits of wood plastic composite technology while being designed to look exactly like the wood you would use to build your deck. Save the planet, build a deck!
Well… yes. This is the kind of revolutionary material that will become the go-to choice for deck-builders in the coming years.
If you are conscious of the footprint you leave on the planet, opting for Smartboard composite decking will help your efforts to reduce the damage by a considerable way. Smartboard is a reversible decking with an appealing, tactile brushed matte finish creating a more natural surface than most composite alternatives.
What’s more… it just looks fantastic. Colour-coded and specially designed screws* create an almost completely invisible finish that really ties the whole deck together.
Smartboard decking is available in 3 colours (grey, brown or slate) at Smartboard Composite Decking
Take a look at our Smartboard installation video on YouTube
We also stock Concrete Decking Posts which are an excellent way to build a deck over uneven ground. Add Smartframe C24 decking frame & you have the ultimate garden deck.
Posted on August 13th, 2021 Posted In: Decking
As summer fades to autumn, the weather gets a bit colder, a bit wetter… let’s be honest, a bit worse.
After an incredibly dry few months, the history books are pointing to what could be a very wet September and October. With this risk on the cards, what can you do to prepare for autumn?
It’s not easy keeping your shed in tip-top shape, let alone all of the tools it might house.
Luckily for you, it’s really easy to solve. Rust that forms after water damage can cause long-term problems if not looked at properly so a quick wipe-over with an oily cloth will help to combat this.
Certain paints and sprays can freeze throughout the winter, often permanently changing their consistency.
If your shed is properly insulated, it is best to keep these liquids in your home.
Should your shed ever suffer water damage, any electrical items that were left on the floor may be permanently damaged. One of the best solutions to this is as simple as keeping your tools in air tight boxes above floor level.
This will help protect them for years to come.
Spring cleaning in autumn? Why not?
You can maximise your shed space by having a clear out. Take an inventory of all of your tools and throw out anything you don’t use. Be ruthless – do you really need five different rakes?
This can go some way to making sure your shed is at top quality and functional all year round, not just in those tricky colder months.
Short of that, Challenge Fencing has a spectacular range of sheds available to buy so you can always treat yourself!
Posted on August 24th, 2018 Posted In: Seasonal
Tags: gardening, gardening tools, shed tips, sheds
Over the past few years, we have seen some incredible ways to show off your flowers with DIY displays and planters of all shapes and sizes. Upcycling old materials, using scrap wood… you name it. There have been some absolutely genius uses of thought-to-be-useless items:
There has also been this…
Right now we want to take you through six of the best planters and displays that we have come across in our extensive research:
Starting off, this is one of the simplest yet most wonderful ways to add a bit of colour to your home. Pick your favourite flowers and display them with a beautiful, minimalist “vase”. We love how eye-catching it is, despite how little there is. Call it reductionism, minimalism, modernism, whatever you want, it’s one of our favourites!
Source: InHabitatEverything about this makes us feel like we’re on holiday in Italy. Although a little bit more work than the Wall Hang, the end product is still absolutely wonderful! Repurposing empty wine bottles into hanging herb gardens not only saves space but will give your garden a beautiful, rustic feel. Perfect decorations on a summers evening.
You would think that a chair without a seat is good for very little. Well, we’ve got some news for you! If you have a garden chair that you are on the verge of throwing out, we urge you to try out the chair planter. Put your most prized succulents on a throne… where else would they deserve to be put?
A very similar project to the hanging wine bottles, this is a great way to repurpose your old kitchen utensils. The colander offers a number of benefits, not only because of them being so easy to personalise but also because they offer great drainage by their very nature! Above all else, the handles on the side will make a colander the perfect hanging planter for your garden.
A heavy duty, no-nonsense planter. A great way to hold a lot but take up minimal space is to build up. The website we found this planter on has a very helpful guide on how to build it, getting the dimensions right etc. But if you’re thinking ‘I don’t have any pallets so how can I do this?’ don’t worry. You can pick up pallets for free from any of our branches! Just give us a call and ask a team member to give you a hand.
We don’t want to sound biased when we say this but we have some of the best planters on the market. Not quite as “DIY” as the others, they aren’t upcycles but Challenge Fencing produce planters that look spectacular and are built to last.
Posted on June 22nd, 2018 Posted In: Seasonal
Whether it’s the perfect watch or the right bag, an accessory can make or break an outfit.
The same also applies to gardens. Too much and it becomes busy and difficult. Too little and it becomes boring and plain. But with the right amount of adjustments and additions, you can add a whole lot of character to your garden. Here are some of the best garden accoutrements available for you at Challenge Fencing:
Easily one of the most versatile items we offer. We have seen these used as steps for people who wanted to add levels to their garden, we’ve seen them make up flower beds and we’ve even seen them be used to make a swing.
We wrote about some of the best uses that our customers had found for their railway sleepers, not too long ago. Check it out here!
Buy your railway sleepers here!
It’s not just good looking, it’s also really helpful for your wildlife. Give climbing plants the support they need with our great selection of panels.
Not just for the plants, though. A trellis panel can act as a divider between separate outdoor spaces, meaning you’ll have your space to grow your vegetables and your children have another place to play.
The perfect addition for spring and summertime but still wonderful all year round! Both offer similar things to trellis panels but they work in very different ways. While the trellis panels, arbours and arches all offer support for wall-climbing plants, arbours and arches provide more of a focal point for your garden.
An arbour gives you a great place to sit outside and enjoy the peace and quiet. An arch, though, can be the addition that really completes your garden. Both work well, but which is best for you?
If you think of yourself as something of a Gatsby, parties are probably going to be one of your biggest interests. As such, it’s important to offer your guests a place to sit.
Challenge Fencing has a very wide range of furniture for you; picnic tables, rocking chairs, garden benches and much more! Long-lasting and versatile, you’re guaranteed to find something that fits your needs and wants!
Your garden is your garden so you can put whatever you want in it. But we’re confident that we’ve given you some good guidance and advice for you to take your garden to new heights and create a space that you and everyone that visits it will thoroughly enjoy.
Posted on May 30th, 2018 Posted In: Advice
Some things in life are tough. Difficult to understand, hard to get right, difficult to break down, it’s not easy. But when it comes to Challenger Sheds, there is no competition. Nothing is tougher than them. We’ve got 5 ‘tough’ things that pale in comparison to the Challenger.
Is it up, is it down? Do you buy now, sell later? Trading ‘cryptocurrencies’ is the hottest trend right now but getting started is confusing and scary. All of these numbers and complexities, it’s too tough.
You know what is tougher though? A shed made of premium quality Scandinavian Redwood that is 100% pressure treated to protect it against wood decay and insect attack for up to 25 years.
If you’ve ever been to your local rink, it’s hard enough just standing upright without the complete lack of friction throwing your body all over the shop like a ragdoll! But compared to a Challenger Shed, executing a perfect Salchow and double Lutz is a walk in the park!
If you ignore the ridiculous shoes, bowling is fantastic. But bowling well? That’s a different story. We’d be lying if we said we don’t still need the barriers and that slide thing to get the ball going down the lane.
However, we have had a good, long look at the Challenger Shed. We reckon we have more of a chance of bowling a perfect game than we do of the Challenger Shed losing a fight against nature.
300? It’s been done.
You’re making a sandwich, it’s going brilliantly and then you think about adding some cheese to it, assuming that you can cut a perfect slice of Emmental off no problem. What happens next? You end up with differently sized slices because knives don’t do what they’re supposed to.
A Challenger Shed, however, is supposed to improve the appearance of a garden while acting as a shelter for garden tools and other items you have. And what does it do? Exactly that.
Allegedly one of the most difficult books to read that was ever published, Ulysses uses a number of different styles, voices, languages… You need a working knowledge of Latin, Greek, Shakespeare, Catholic theology, all manner of subjects!
We read a few pages and it was tough but not “Challenger Shed tough.”
The Challenger Shed is among the finest quality garden buildings on the market. Made with Scandinavian Redwood, and treated to last for years to come, you can find yours here.
Posted on April 17th, 2018 Posted In: Sheds
If your garden is a theatre, your garden deck is the stage!
There are a number of advantages of having a garden deck from the social bonus to the aesthetic benefits. Let’s have a look at what a garden deck could offer your house:
Group brunch on the deck? Maybe a barbecue with drinks in the evening? A deck offers you an area of your garden designed to host events! Or perhaps you’d rather sit outside with a good book? Either way, you’ll feel like royalty in maximum comfort.
If you are considering selling your house in the future, it’s worth knowing that adding a deck to your garden can increase the value! The state of a garden plays a huge impact on a buyers decision, so imagine a potential buyer seeing a perfectly constructed deck.
They are family-friendly spaces and could be what swings their decision…
Your deck is your deck. It can be as wide as your whole garden, as narrow as a catwalk, it can be as short or as long you want! An extra something in your garden that you can customise and decorate with all manner of deck accoutrements will make your gardening life so much more enjoyable.
Add your own personal touch to your deck with Challenge’s wood-care products which can be found here!
To re-use the stage metaphor, you can create a scene on your deck that allows you to assign set spaces to your furniture, your barbecue, ceramic flower pots, whatever you have. No longer will these things be strewn across your patio where you are unsure where they actually belong.
By keeping all of these extras off of your lawn, you will have more room and opportunities for landscaping. Planting some flowerbeds maybe?
Compared to a new bathroom or re-doing the kitchen, a garden deck is one of the most cost-effective ways to add value to your house. Of course, a larger deck is going to be more expensive, but as long as your deck is made with finest timber that Challenge Fencing has to offer, you will have the best deck for years to come!
Because a deck is such an easy extension to put together, you can change it as often as you like!
Decking boards can be purchased on the Challenge website here!
Whether it’s adding extra appeal to your property or concealing unsightly drains and other necessities in the garden, there are a whole host of advantages to building yourself a garden deck.
Posted on April 13th, 2018 Posted In: Decking
With the Bank Holiday coming up on the 30th March, you have got a long weekend to relax, do some pottering around the garden, just about anything you want to. We have a few suggestions on how best to spend the time:
If your shed is a mess, this is your chance to make a difference! You don’t have to keep putting off sorting it out – you have the long weekend to have a clear out, tidy up, do some real spring cleaning. If you are wondering how best to tackle it, you might want to look at our organisational tips.
If your shed has seen better days and you think it is beyond help, don’t worry! In April, Challenge Fencing may be running a promo for our Challenger sheds… so keep your eyes peeled.
If you’ve got garden gnomes or other ornaments, this is a great outdoor activity for you and your children.
Take pictures of your figures in different situations and begin crafting your story. Sherlock Gnomes comes out in UK cinemas in May so be sure to watch it and see how much better your own short story is!
Sadly you’ll just miss the awards season but hopefully come next year you will get the Oscar nod!
Did your fence take a big hit during the treacherous weather a few weeks ago? Take the time to repair the damage using our concrete repair spurs. You can add years to your fence’s life with one of these. Have a read of our blog if you want to know how to use them!
Or maybe your fence survived the weather but just needs a bit of TLC. Give it a makeover with something from our excellent range of woodcare products.
A personal favourite, the Savill Gardens at Virginia Water and Windsor Great Park is one of the most beautiful places to visit on the weekend.
As Spring slowly comes out to play, see the flowers begin to bloom, have tea in the café, visit the Totem Pole, it is a wonderful day out and we can’t recommend it enough.
https://www.windsorgreatpark.co.uk/savillgarden
We are open to 4:00pm on Good Friday and Easter Saturday so you are more than welcome to come down and have a look at all of the great timber garden products we have to offer.
Do you want to get a head start on your busy summer of garden parties? Come on down and get your hands on some of our excellent garden furniture.
Well… it is Easter.
Easter bank holiday is a great time for relaxing so whatever you do, make sure you have a lovely and enjoyable time doing it. Whether it’s spending time in your garden, planting some flowers or just enjoying the time away from work, destressing should be your number one priority.
Posted on March 23rd, 2018 Posted In: Seasonal
The Concrete Repair Spur – Challenge Fencing are proud to announce the saviour of fences. Why replace when you can make an easy and long-lasting repair in less than half a day?
Your garden fence has been through a lot over the past year – very strong winds, endless torrential rain and other such terrible British weather. Even if it’s survived over the last few years, there’s still a high chance that it may have lost a lot of its stability. This doesn’t mean however that you need to replace your whole fence!
Setting up your concrete repair spur is incredibly easy, made even easier with our handy guide:
First, you need to make some space for your new spur. We recommend digging a hole around half the depth of your selected repair spur next to the fence post that needs the support. You may have to chip away some of the existing concrete around the wooden fence post so your concrete repair spur sits flush with the wooden post. While you’re there – it’s a pretty good idea to give your fence & the newly exposed post a coat or two of wood preservatives to help prevent any future decay.
Give your fence a new look with our range of shed & fence treatments in these attractive colours – Dark Brown, Evergreen, Harvest Gold & Red Cedar.
Once you’ve placed the spur into the new hole and you’ve checked that it fits well, you can work out the height and distance between the points where you will be drilling. The screws will be what keeps the spur in place, so it’s very important to get this as accurate as you can.
We recommend holding the fence post straight with some wooden braces whilst you mark out the holes for the repair spur.
Once you’ve double and triple checked to make sure that your measurements are all correct, it’s time to drill! Make a pilot hole using your drill for the coach screws. These will go through both the spur and into the fence post to ensure maximum stability.
Ensure your screws are tight and now comes the fun part! It’s time to secure the spur and the post with concrete. If you’re not sure what aggregate will be best for your fence, you’ve come to the right place. Say goodbye to a long boring job, our post mix is pre-mixed for ease of use – no more mixing ratios and mind-numbing mathematics! You just need one bag of post mix per fence post under normal soil conditions. An extra couple of bags is always handy to have just in case!
Once you’ve got your spur firmly in place, fill the hole with your post mix and allow it to settle. After some time, the spur will be in place and as steady as a rock.
So, let’s recap: rather than spend £100’s on two new posts, gravel board and a fence panel, you now have a solid fence that’s as good as new for less than £15 plus a bit of concrete and some fixings!
Normally a damaged fence has to be replaced in its entirety, but not anymore. The Challenge Fencing Concrete Repair Spurs can fix the problem for years to come and with an ergonomically designed back weather top, your steel reinforced spur won’t lose any durability from rainy weather.
Pick up your spurs today and get to fixing that fallen fence in your back garden this weekend!
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If you would like to contact our team by telephone, please call your local branch.
If you would like to contact our team online, you can do so by filling in our contact form.
Posted on February 9th, 2018 Posted In: Fencing
