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Protect Your Deck This Summer
Sam Lutz • June 6, 2017
Summer is one of the most intense times for outdoor structures like decks. High temperatures, intense UV rays, occasional rain storms and nearby plant growth can all affect your deck. Keeping your deck clean, sealed and protected from the elements can extend your deck’s service life.
Clean the Wood
Sweep the wood with a broom to remove all dirt from the surface. If the wood has growth from mildew or moss, scrub the wood with a combination of water mixed with oxygenated bleach. If you have no oxygenated bleach, you can also use chlorine bleach, but you’ll need to protect your nearby landscaping with tarps. Chlorine bleach can damage plants.
A pressure washer rented from a local home improvement center can be used to clean your deck. Follow all manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that the wood is not damaged by the harsh spray of water.
Trim the Shrubs
Your deck requires air flow around the wood to help prevent growth from mold, mildew and moss. Keep all plants and nearby shrubs trimmed and at least one foot away from your wooden deck. Avoid planting any landscaping up against the deck. Remove nearby weeds and suppress their growth with mulch.
Replace Rotten Boards
Check your deck for wood rot. Rotten wood will be stained or discolored, may have cracks and splinters, and will be soft. The true test of whether or not wood is rotten is to use an awl to poke a hole in the wood. If the awl can easily be pressed into the wood, it’s rotten.
Pull up all old, rotten boards and replace them with new boards. Use ceramic coated deck screws to hold the new wood in place.
Stain and Seal If Necessary
If you’ve had to replace some of the old wood with new wood, staining and sealing
those new boards will be necessary. The rest of the deck may need to be stained and sealed if the old seal has worn off. You can tell if the old seal needs to be replaced by spraying the deck with water. If the water beads up on the surface of the deck without soaking into the wood, the old stain and seal is still good. If the water soaks into the wood, this is a sign that the deck must be restained and sealed.
You can buy a variety of products to get this job done, including:
- Clear water repellent: Clear water repellent will prevent the wood from absorbing water for the season. This may last about a year, but not much longer.
- Semi-transparent stain: This product will last longer than clear water repellent because the stain provides UV protection. This may need to be replaced every two years.
- Solid stain: Solid stains are more like paint than stain, but some wood grain will show through. Solid stains offer the most protection and last the longest.
To stain and seal your deck, pick the product of your choice, then read the manufacturer’s instructions. Many stain and seal products will need to be applied when the temperature outside is within a certain range. If possible, avoid putting on stain in full sun conditions.
Use a paint roller attached to a long pole to apply the sealer to the large, flat areas of the deck. Use a paintbrush to apply paint to the parts of the deck like the railing. If the stain and sealer you choose calls for two coats, apply the second coat after the first one has fully dried.
Stop In At Ace Paint and Unfinished Furniture
At Ace Paint and Unfinished Furniture, we sell a variety of stains and sealers for people hoping to take care of their deck this summer. We can also give advice that can help you with your project! Stop in at one of our convenient locations today.
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