What We Do & FAQs

What ECW Specialise in?

  • Supply, delivery and installation of decking and decking materials
  • Residential, insurance and commercial work
  • Home extensions, BBQ areas and home improvements
  • Free measure and quotes
  • Deck plans and material lists
  • Site analyses and property enquiries
  • Garden and planter beds
  • Removal of existing decks, renovations, remodelling and replacing decks
  • Supply and installation of wall cladding and fencing
  • Project planning
  • RUBICAB Eco-Cabins and Granny Flats (see: eco-cabins.com.au)
  • Personalising your design to suit your existing property, requirements and surroundings
  • Additional living areas, home offices, bedrooms
  • If required we can take care of council approvals, prelodgement meetings and notifications as well as engineering and referral agencies

Where we service?

  • Installing throughout the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast, Tweed Heads, Byron Bay, Toowoomba, Darling Downs, Surat Basin and Northern NSW.
  • We deliver anywhere throughout Australia.

Planning Considerations

First you need to identify what activities will take place on the deck and what are the reasons for having one? Some examples are:

  • Increase the value of your home
  • Entertain outdoors
  • Enhance the look of your home and garden
  • Extend living area
  • Safer place for children to play
  • All of the above in most cases

Site, environment, safety and structural considerations

Depending on the existing structure and slop of the land can dictate how much on site work is required such as filling and levelling the existing site.

Do you want added protection, reduce maintenance and block or minimise the amount of direct sunlight on your deck? Then a roof or pergola would restrict the harsh sun and allow you to take part in decking activities without being bothered by the annoying hot sun.

Also depending on the height of your deck you might require a safety barrier such as a handrail or balustrade / fence to be incorporated into your design.

Insurance Quotes

We can supply insurance quotes for rebuilding your damaged or dangerous deck. Please contact us for a free quote from the team at ECW.

Do I need building approval?

Most projects do not require building approval or a BSA license providing that:

  1. Your home
  2. Project is under $11,000

 

If the project is over the $11,000 mark you will need a building permit. This can vary across various Local Government Areas (LGAs) so contact us for more information. If you are looking at a large home or building extension it is best to notify your local council and the BSA of what you intend to do and at what scale. Contact us and we can advise and ask on your behalf. Useful BSA links:

Local Government Areas

Does my Deck Need Replacing?

Do you know what the condition of your deck is? Is it structurally sound?

The main reasons for failure and collapse is due to poor maintenance, termite infestations, rust and inadequate building practices. The good thing about Eco-Composite Wood is that it requires minimal maintenance and is termite proof.

An inspection can help determine how safe your deck is and if it needs immediate fixing or replacing.

What to look out for?

  • Construction methods used
  • Suitable materials for outdoor use
  • Inadequate maintenance and poor condition

What to inspect and identify

  • Timber used
  • Hardware (screws, bolts, nails, plates) / Material used (Gal, SS, Zinc etc)
  • Connection to house
  • Post and footings
  • Post to beam joins
  • Joists
  • Stair, decking and handrail inspections
  • Evidence of termites

ECW would like to make more people aware of the dangers of having a dangerous deck. In fact, 20 people have died and 100s injured in Queensland between 2002 and 2012 as a result from falling from decks or balconies or as a result of deck or balcony collapses (HPW 2013).

Please view the following guidelines by the Department of Housing and Public Works (HPW) 2013: Deck, balcony and window safety: A guideline for the use, inspection and maintenance of decks, balconies and windows

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