Is YOUR decking upside down? Homeowner goes viral with post revealing planks should be placed ‘smooth side up’ – and says the ridges are to stop rot, not for extra grip
- Stephanie Savvides-Howell, 37, from London, said decking is likely upside down
- Shared video of decking in her garden and said ridged side up is wrong way up
- Added ridges ‘encourage circulation and stop the rot’ – and do not add extra grip
A savvy homeowner has revealed why your decking is probably upside down.
Stephanie Savvides-Howell, 37, from North London, took to Instagram and shared a video of the decking being laid in her garden alongside a caption which read: ‘I have a public service announcement for anyone that hasn’t seen my stories. YOUR DECKING IS UPSIDE DOWN! Yep, ridged side up? That’s upside down.’
‘The ridges are to encourage circulation and stop the rot. They do not add extra grip. They are not meant to be seen. OK I’m done now. You’re welcome.’
And it wasn’t long before the post was inundated with comments from amazed social media users – with one even joking the homeowner ‘deserves an OBE’ for sharing the discovery.
Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, Stephanie explained: ‘I’d been sharing the progress of our garden renovation and explained to my followers how I was planning to put my decking “upside down” or ridges facing down as I wanted a smooth finish.’
Stephanie Savvides-Howell, 37, from North London, shared a video (pictured) to show that ridged side up decking is ‘upside down’
The homeowner explained that the ridges are to encourage circulation and stop the rot – adding ‘they do not add extra grip’ (pictured)
The savvy homeowner’s initial post (pictured) was quickly inundated with comments from shocked social media users
‘A couple of followers who live outside of the UK replied to say that’s the “right” way up for them.
‘A simple Google search showed that they were right, and we were all wrong!’
The homeowner went on to say that she shared the revelation with her shocked followers who quickly messaged to say their decking was the wrong way.
Stephanie continued: ‘The ridges actually gather water and the algae that builds up actually makes the decking more slippery, its a common misconception that people have about why the ridges should be facing up when in fact, it’s a complete miss-sell.
‘I’m not sure I’ll ever be invited into a garden again!’
It wasn’t long before the post was inundated with comments from shocked social media users (pictured)
In response to the revelation, one person commented: ‘Omg I did not know this! Looking amazing,’ while a second penned: ‘Whaaaaaat? Stop. I’m dead.’
A third joked: ‘I’ve just having decking laid. I’m almost too scared to go out to the garden to check,’ while a fourth added: ‘Wow that’s amazing.’
Meanwhile, others were already in the know about the handy hack – with one confirming ‘it’s been brilliant.’
‘I got told this when we had ours fitted 14 years ago (in London) and everyone else’s ridges have been driving me insane ever since,’ admitted one.
However, to add further fuel to the fire, others told how they’d bought decking with ridges on both sides (pictured)
A second wrote: ‘Yes!!! I did this with ours a few years ago and it’s been brilliant! Our old decking was ridge side up and impossible to clean the slimy slippery stuff from the ridges, it was lethal! Loads better flat side up.. and looks way better in my opinion.’
A third commented: ‘It’s amazing how many decking you see with the ridges facing upwards,’ while a fourth joked: ‘I love it! It actually looks better too! I feel such a fool.’
However, to add further fuel to the fire, another told how they’d bought decking with ridges on both sides.
‘We are currently replacing some of our decking and I smugly told my husband this…he then pointed out the decking has ridges on BOTH sides,’ she penned.