Composite decking · Algarve, Portugal · 2025
In Carvoeiro, in the Algarve, the podium decks around the prefabricated pools at this luxury residential development were a real technical challenge: a substrate that could not be drilled, with changes in level, and services that had to stay accessible.
Nomad Bay is a luxury residential development in Carvoeiro, in the Algarve, developed by Nomad Capital and designed by Concept Architects. It brings together 74 apartments across 2 floors, with panoramic sea views, less than a kilometre from Carvoeiro beach, on a private, secured site.
The outdoor areas at Nomad Bay include pools, podium decks, landscaped gardens, a restaurant and a bar, all designed for heavy use by residents and their guests. It was on the podium decks around the prefabricated pools that CDECK® composite decking was specified: a surface that had to be slip resistant, able to withstand permanent contact with water and chlorine, comfortable to walk on barefoot, and good enough to look at for a project of this calibre.
These areas came with three constraints that ruled out a conventional installation:
The slab carried existing services on its underside. Any drilling would have compromised them.
The substrate was irregular, with variations in level at several points across the deck. The decking had to be raised and levelled at every point.
The network of services beneath the slab had to be preserved and remain accessible for future maintenance.
Another decking brand had originally been specified for the project. The main contractor chose CDECK® instead, for the balance between its price and its ability to answer the complexity of the installation, in particular the option of installing the decking raised, on falls, with no fixings into the slab.
The installation was carried out using a cross-laid structure of height-adjustable pedestals and aluminium joists, laid directly on the existing substrate, with no penetrations and no additional building work. Adjusting the height at each support point made it possible to take up the changes in level and create a surface that is level throughout. The boards can be opened up and lifted out one at a time, which gives permanent access to the services and the infrastructure below without dismantling the structure.
532.5 m² of elegant, functional outdoor space on the decks at Nomad Bay, fitting for a luxury residential development in the Algarve and built to last, with a warranty of up to 25 years.
