Service 03 — Watford & 20 miles
Decking & Pergolas
Composite decks, bespoke pergolas and joinery with lighting built into the design.
How we build it
We build decks the way a joiner would: C24 treated subframes at 400mm centres on adjustable pedestals or concrete pads, stainless fixings throughout, and ventilation designed in so the frame outlives the boards.
Composite boards carry a 25-year residential warranty and never need staining. Overhead, our pergolas run from oak and slatted cedar to aluminium louvred systems — with low-voltage LED step and rail lighting wired in during the build, not retrofitted.
Guide prices — 2026
fixed quote after survey
- Composite deck on new subframe
- from £170/m²
- Bespoke timber pergola
- from £2,400
- Aluminium louvred pergola
- from £6,500
- Integrated LED lighting package
- from £850
- Close-board fencing
- from £95/lm
Materials & spec
- Composite decking
- Capped composite boards — woodgrain finishes, hidden clip fixings, 25-year warranty.
- C24 subframe
- Structural-graded, pressure-treated timber at 400mm centres. The deck's skeleton.
- Pergolas
- Green oak, western red cedar or powder-coated aluminium louvred roofs.
- Integrated LED
- IP65 step lights, recessed deck dots and rail washes on a garden-safe transformer.
- Fencing & screens
- Close-board, slatted cedar and acoustic screening to frame the space.
Planning — The 30cm rule
Raised decks over 30cm above ground level fall outside permitted development and need planning consent. We design to the threshold where possible and manage the application where not.
Photography: curated comps standing in for Forged project imagery — see the shot list in the project docs.
Asked often
Decking & Pergolas, answered.
Only if the deck sits more than 30cm above ground level, or covers more than half the garden — then it needs consent. Most of our decks are designed under the threshold; where yours can't be, we prepare the application.
Composite costs more per metre and repays it within three seasons of not sanding, staining or splintering. We still build hardwood decks where the brief calls for the real thing.
Textured capped composite is dramatically better than timber in the wet, and we design falls so the deck sheds water rather than holding it.
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