The Wild Deck Company General Brochure 2018

BESPOKE TIMBER STRUCTURES IN NATURAL SETTINGS BIRD HIDES, BOARDWALKS, BRIDGES, VIEWING PLATFORMS, CARVINGS, SEATING, AND MORE

www.thewilddeckcompany.co.uk info@thewilddeckcompany.co.uk (+44) 01485 544 114

General Brochure 2018

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CONTENTS About Us 04

Our history, what we stand for as a company, and how the company was formed.

Design Process 06

We have a simple ordering process that begins when you get in touch with us to tell us about your idea.

New For 2018 08

A selection of our creations from 2017, showing a little bit of what we’ve been doing.

Our Past Creations 10

GENERAL BROCHURE 2018 Copyright © 2018 THE WILD DECK COMPANY LIMITED

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From bird hides and information centres to boardwalks and pavilions, we can make anything.

Contact Us 24

If you’d like more information about us or our creations, or you would like to discuss a potential idea, please get in touch with us today.

General Brochure 2018 Hello and welcome to The Wild Company Limited downloadable brochure. We produce custom made timber structures in natural sett, covering everything from bird hides and information centres through to boardwalks and pavillions. If you need a custom built timber structure, we can make it for you. This brochure is an ’informal hello’ if you will, showcasing a selection of our past creations in order to demonstrate what we can do. For extensive pictures and information on our creations, please visit our website, www.thewilddeckcompany.co.uk. To give you a little overview of our company, here are a few points about us and what we offer.

Bespoke Design

Environmental Consciousness

Everything that we make is hand made, hand finished, and completely bespoke, meaning that your structure will be tailored to your exact requirements.

At The Wild Deck Company, we are passionate about the environment and, from sourcing timber through to working and travelling, we endeavour to work efficiently and recycle or re-use everything we can.

Dedication to Quality

Ongoing Service

We are proud of what we do and believe in quality, not quantity. We work tirelessly to produce timber structures of the highest quality that will be around for years.

When you buy something from us, we see it as an ongoing commitment, and offer maintenance plans to help you keep keep your new structure in the best condition possible.

40 Years of Experience

High Profile Clients

Russell Bowlby, our founder, has been involved in the design industry for over forty years and we have a team of highly skilled craftsmen whose combined experience exceeds centuries.

We have been lucky enough to have worked with some of the UK’s most prestigious organisations such as the RSPB, the National Trust, and many family estates, as well as with private clients, schools, and private businesses.

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ABOUT OUR COMPANY Meet Russell, Our Founder Meet Russell Bowlby, the founder and lead designer at The Wild Deck Company. Russell began his design career as an engineer for Lotus Cars before transitioning to specialist, historic building restoration.

When he had his first son in the late 80s, he built a two storey, Tudor Cottage playhouse that signalled the birth of Flights of Fantasy, our sister company, that makes bespoke play equipment. Working with organisations such as the RSPB and and Essex Wildlife Trust, we were able to transfer our design and carpentry skills to the creation of bird hides and boardwalks, signalling the birth of The Wild Deck Company.

A Career Driven By Passion The Wild Deck Company begun life organically, drawing on years of experience and a love of creating bespoke designs from natural materials. Our workshop boasts a team of highly skilled craftsmen with a combined experience of over a century of working with wood.

Coupled with Russell’s forty years of design experience and the desire to delight, we have found the perfect formula for making bespoke timber stuctures in a variety of settings.

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WHAT WE STAND FOR AS A COMPANY A company defines itself not only by the products it produces, but also by the way it conducts itself and its accountability. We believe in what we do as a company and our commitment to quality, service, safety, and the environment.

Quality Construction & Bespoke Design Everything that we make at The Wild Deck Company is completely bespoke. We don’t make stock products and if you come to us with an idea, no matter how challenging the brief may be, we will endeavour to bring it to life. With all of our creations we work with the best materials to produce high quality structures that will be around for many years to come.

Environmental Responsibility At The Wild Deck Company we are passionate about the environment. From sourcing timber through to working and travelling, we endeavour to work efficiently and recycle or re-use everything we can. Where possible, we minimise our road travel to help reduce congestion and avoid excessive fossil fuel use.

It is our policy not to use materials that do not have authentic sustainability credentials. We avoid the use of treated softwood as it is not durable and we use PEFC oak and UK sourced sweet chestnut which is equivalent to FSC. We focus heavily on the use of UK sourced products including oak, sweet chestnut, willow panels, and cold grown larch deckings.

Natural Structures in Natural Settings We believe in using natural timbers to create structures that blend seamlessly into their environments. This is of particular importance on wildlife reserves and when building nature hides, but we endeavour to make natural structures in all settings. Over time, our structures will weather down and take on soft, silvery hues, really integrating with their surroundings - such as you can see in our dual purpose bird hide and information centre to the left. This particular photo was taken several years after the initial construction. The oak and sweet chestnut used here are both rated durable and are superior to treated softwood, weathering down naturally rather than becoming slippery and dirty.

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THE DESIGN PROCESS We like to make it as easy as possible to order from us. Below is an outline of our simple, three step ordering process. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to discuss your idea as everything starts with the initial contact via phone or email.

Step One: Tell Us About Your Project Contact us for an initial discussion about your ideas and requirements. We’ll talk you through some different options and if you like the sound of what we have to offer, we will arrange a good time to visit to discuss things further. We can also give you a cost estimate and answer any initial questions you might have.

Step Two: Site Survey Our surveyor will visit your site to discuss the project in more depth and take note of details such as dimensions, positioning, and requirements, as well as climatic and landscaping constraints – we have installed structures in diverse locations, working under challenging conditions, but we like to know what we are in for!

Step Three: Proposal A full, written proposal including design specifications, plans, costs, and time-frames will be prepared. If required, we can provide multiple costed options to find the best solution for your needs. We work hard to find a solution that works for your budget and specification.

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OUR PLANS Depending upon your needs, we offer a range of hand drawn and computer generated plans.

Concept Sketches

Hand Drawn Plans

A hand-drawn concept sketch showing different perspectives gives you a good idea of what we have in mind for your project and allows changes to be made before we proceed to the construction phase.

Our hand-drawn plans give a clear idea of where everything will be located without going to the high precision levels of computer generated plans. We often combine these with concept sketches.

2D Computer Generated Plans

3D Rendered Computer Visualistions

We have the technological capabilities and expertise to produce high quality, scaled plans.

The ultimate in realism, our 3D rendered visualisations will give you an idea of what your finished structure will look like before we have even started building it.

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NEW FOR 2018 2017 was a busy year during which we continued to expand our portfolio, making unique creations across the UK. Whilst we don’t have the space to showcase all of those creations in this brochure, here is a selection of creations from last year.

Durrant’s Village Lakehouse Durrants Village is a retirement village set in 30 acres of parkland near the hamlet of Faygate.

We built a lakehouse, grow boxes, seating, and floating duck houses to offer a place of relaxation for the residents.

Giant Animal Sculptures We wove thousands of lengths of willow around steel frames to make these huge animal structures at Rushden Lakes. We made a triptych of starlings on a bird table, two swallows racing, a swan, and a hare as well as several wooden animal carvings and a heron nest play area.

Animal Carvings We created a colourful assortment of animal carvings that now live in the nature around Rushden Lakes for visitors to enjoy. They range from foxes and bats through to snakes and water voles.

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Forest Food Hut Snuck away in the forest of Wallington Hall, we created a food hut to refuel weary visitors. The food hut has weatherproof shutters and serves both hot and cold food, drinks, and snacks.

Gift Shop We built this wooden gift shop for Dreamland in Margate. Inside it has lots of wooden shelving and cupboards, showcasing different gifts that they offer.

Picnic Shelter Along with a wooden bridge and a pond dipping platform, we built a covered picnic shelter at Rushden Lakes that offers families a chance to relax.

Quercast Sawmilling We’re very excited to announce that we have opened our own sawmill specialising in handling hardwood. Whilst the primary purpose will be sawing wood for our own use, we will also be offering our sawmilling services to others. Find out more at www.quercast.co.uk.

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OUR PAST CREATIONS

Everything that we make is completely bespoke. Over the next few pages you will find a small collection of our past creations. Use these as inspiration for your project and take a look at our website for further ideas.

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BIRD HIDES & NATURE HIDES

Bird hides and nature hides are at the core of our business, and as experienced timber structure specialists for several decades, it was the construction of bird hides that really kick started The Wild Deck Company and brought it to life. We believe in the construction of high quality, durable bird and wildlife hides, as well as bird blinds and wildlife screens. We can work to your design or we can design a structure from scratch, no matter whether you aim to encourage learning, attract new visitors, or encourage visits from schools, photographers, and nature lovers.

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BOARDWALKS & BRIDGES

We can create wooden walkways, boardwalks, and wooden bridges to get your visitors from A to B and back again. Experienced in constructing timber structures, platforms, and walkways, we can make just about anything – from decked, ground level paths, to wooden walkways raised over water or rough terrain. We link these up using traditional bridges and crossings, as well as stairs and ramps.

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VIEWING PLATFORMS

We are specialists in constructing custom made, wooden viewing platforms in any location and with a range of features. Our designs are made to be durable and are of the highest construction quality and, as with every project made to order, are perfectly tailored for their environment. Whether it’s a raised platform over wetlands, a viewing platform in a nature park, or a wheelchair accessible platform that you need, we can fulfill your requirements.

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CUSTOM TIMBER BUILDINGS

Combining our years of restoration and carpentry experience, we can make pretty much any wooden building to meet your needs. Below is a selection of timber buildings that we have created over the years.

Children’s Information Centre

Pool House

A dual purpose structure that serves as both a bird hide and a children’s information centre. It features double shuttered windows, seating, and an open front.

Built for a private client in the UK, this pool house includes a lounge room, changing rooms, a sauna, and all the necessary housing for the swimming pool mechanics.

Sand Martin Bank

Tennis Pavilion & Summer House

A completely new design, this is a sand martin bank that we constructed for the Abberton Reservoir site that is managed by Essex Wildlife Trust. It offers a safe nesting place for declining sand martin populations.

Built for a private client in the UK, this structure serves the dual purpose of being a changing room for the nearby tennis court and acting as a summer house with a relaxing porch.

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Durrant’s Village Lakehouse

Forest Food Hut

Part of a retirement village, this lakehouse and seating offer a place of relaxation for residents.

Tucked away amongst the trees of Wallington Hall, this food hut refuels weary visitors.

Gift Shop

Picnic Shelter

This gift shop at Dreamland showcases different gift options for sale to customers.

Combining seating with a custom built structure, this offers a protected lunch spot amongst nature.

Noah’s Petting Ark

Growing Boxes

Modelled on the legendary Noah’s Ark, this structure is full of animals, serving as a petting zoo.

These growing boxes offer residents of a retirement home the opportunity to garden whilst standing up

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SCULPTURES & CARVINGS

A sculpture can really bring an attraction to life and will be remembered by children, encouraging them to revisit. We can produce ground mounted or post mounted sculptures and typically produce nature carvings based on local wildlife.

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POND DIPPING PLATFORMS

Pond dipping platforms, wooden decks, and jetties encourage visitors to learn and have fun with the wonders of the aquatic environment. We offer a complete service that encompasses design, construction, and installation as well as planning and consents.

With extensive experience, quality construction, and creative design, we can make a pond dipping platform that will encourage visitors to become interested in nature.

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PICNIC AREAS & SEATING

When you have lots of visitors who want to spend the day exploring your grounds, seating is of the utmost importance. Having a picnic area or benches allows people to stay longer than rumbly bellies and tired legs permit. From themed, carved benches to elaborate picnic areas, we’re able to create park and street furniture for a wide range of locations.

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PLAY EQUIPMENT

As part of our sister company, Flights of Fantasy Creative Play, we can make any piece of play equipment that you desire, no matter how whimsical. From extensive adventure play areas to replica landmarks, play trains to castles, playhouses to tractors, and bedroom furniture to pirate ships, no imagination is too much for our design and carpentry skills, and we relish the challenge of bringing your visions to life. You can see more on the Flights of Fantasy website, www.flightsoffantasy.co.uk.

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CONTACT US

www.thewilddeckcompany.co.uk info@thewilddeckcompany.co.uk (+44) 01485 544114

Thank you for taking the time to look through our brochure. We hope this has given you an idea about what it is that we do at The Wild Deck Company.

Please take a look at our website for more detailed information and if you have a project in mind, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us via phone or email and we will walk you through the design process.

The Wild Deck Company, Unit 2, Fern Hill, Dersingham, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 6HT, UK