Luke Stocks, Marketing Manager
We talked with Luke Stocks at The WJ Group the UKs leading timber engineering and treatment specialists…
NACO: Can you give Parklife readers some background about WJ Group and your experience within the holiday parks and park home industry?
WJG: We’re are a leading UK timber engineering and treatment specialist with sites in Hull, Kirkburn and Rochester. We are an NCC approved supplier to the leisure home industry and have been supplying roof trusses, I-beams, glulam beams and flues to a majority of the leading leisure home manufacturers in the UK.
NACO: What sort of decking products and services can you offer owners of park homes, lodges and caravans?
WJG: We have designed and developed modular timber decking areas for leisure homes made from a choice of timber species. The development has come after feedback from end-users and park owners discussing a lack of choice and the need for solid construction which is often lacking in existing uPVC leisure home decking surrounds. The beauty of our product is the fact the decking is modular, built off-site and delivered to parks for faster assembly.
NACO: We’re intrigued by the modular, off-site build aspect of your decking, can you explain more about this?
WJG: Our decking areas are built off-site in modules that simply fix together on site to create any size or shape decking area our customers require. We provide a CAD drawing to the customers decking design and module placement for their decking area. This gives customers a visual idea of their deck and opportunity to make changes before their final sign-off.
The modular design benefits parks given our installation is extremely fast and gives a range of layout options to suit many different spaces and budgets. Our modules are manufactured in our factory in Hull and delivered directly to site. The only thing that we don’t pre-build are the glass balustrades; these are installed on site on the day. Our decking modules are complemented by steps, access ramps, gates, balustrades and skirts.
NACO: Why choose timber for a caravan decking area?
WJG: Firstly, timber is a more sustainable material than the current plastic used in decking. Using timber our decking is a noticeably stronger offering with little to no movement of boards or balustrades, an issue we see regularly with plastic decking. Timber is a timeless building material which has continued to remain a key material both structurally and for aesthetic use across the world. Timber stores carbon offering park owner’s huge opportunities to meet their carbon and sustainability goals. Timber comes in many different species, each with their own properties, we have a selection of expertly chosen species for customers to choose from which can be paired beautifully with a range of caravan and park home colours.
NACO: Sustainability is becoming more of a concern for consumers, is timber a good choice when thinking about the environment?
WJG: Timber is the sustainable building material of choice. Something uPVC and composite just cannot compete with. Our timber caravan sun decks are constructed using FSC sustainably sourced timber, from forests with clear and rigorous re-planting schemes in place. There’s a misconception that using timber is causing deforestation. This is simply untrue. If timber is sourced correctly and responsibly, it continues to be a fantastic, natural, and sustainable material we can use for generations to come. Timber also stores carbon, along with its sustainability as mentioned before, park owners can benefit from easily meeting any sustainability or environmental goals just by switching their decking material.
NACO: We read about a variety of timber species – tell us more about these choices:
WJG: Not all timber is the same, it’s a natural product that comes from a variety of tree species. We offer a range of expertly selected softwood and hardwood decking options, each come with their own properties to suit our customer’s budget and requirements. As well as pressure treated timber that you will see being used for timber decking areas in gardens and commercial areas, we also offer hardwood and modified timber options. Modified timber options such as Lunawood and Abodo, are a darker shade without coating due to its thermal modification process. Alternatively Accoya, a lighter colour timber which has been modified to increase its durability and remove any swelling when exposed to moisture. We have lots of options, we encourage anyone to get in touch with our team to discuss how we can help.
NACO: We often hear concerns about fire risk at parks – we read a little about your fire-retardant options – can you explain more?
WJG: Absolutely, a common question we receive is about fire-rated decking. Our standard decking is Euroclass D rated which is the same as the current BS specification for leisure homes manufacturers to meet when building a caravan. However, some parks stipulate their decking must be fire-retardant. As part of our wider WJ Group, we have a high-pressure fire retardant treatment tank which treats timber to Euroclass B, s-1, d0. This is absolutely an option we can offer customers.
NACO: What’s involved when it comes to maintenance of your decking products?
WJG: Maintenance is a necessary process for any decking area, plastic or timber. We’re a member of the Timber Decking and Cladding Association (TDCA) and we would always refer anyone to their complete timber decking maintenance guidelines. A huge benefit to our decking is our anti-slip decking boards. These decking boards are supplied as standard with our decking modules and have a Pendulum Test Value score of 71. To be considered a ‘low slip risk’ the threshold is a score of 36. We far exceed this and in fact, far exceed plastic alternatives. This reduces any risk with algae on the surface of the decking.
NACO: You guys also manufacture an anti-slip board, tell us more about the option…
WJG: This is standard for our caravan and park home decking modules. DeckWright is a brand of decking board designed for safety. Given decking areas are often used as the only way of accessing caravans, we have this as a core feature of our modules for safe access, year-round.
Contact details:
[email protected]
www.wj-group.co.uk
