Maintainance help preserve decks
Spring has sprung and now attention can be turned to home projects including your outdoor spaces.
All outdoor decks should be cleaned every spring and wood decks should be refinished with a fresh coat of stain on a regular basis so they last as long as possible, local experts said.
鈥淎ll decking has to be cleaned 鈥� pressure washed,鈥� said Pat Ballon, owner of Brownsville Do It Best Hardware in Redstone Township. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care what you鈥檝e got, you鈥檝e got to pressure wash all decks.
Regardless of whether a deck is made of wood, composite material or vinyl, they cost thousands of dollars to build and require regular maintenance to make them last, Ballon said.
鈥淧ower washing is very good for it,鈥� said Gene Wright, vice president of Steven Wright and Associates Inc. of Hopwood. 鈥淚t knocks off any lose pieces, anything that蘑菇视频 flaking or chipping. It removes any mold or mildew.鈥�
Cleaning can be done early in the spring in late March or early April.
Step one in cleaning is applying a deck cleaning detergent such as trisodium phosphate, which removes dirt, algae and mold that accumulates over winter, Ballon said. Detergents keeps mold and algae away longer than bleach, he said.
The label on detergent will say how long to allow the product to lay on the surface before using a brush to scrub. Power washing is the last step, but wood decks require a day or two to be dry enough for a coat of stain.
Unless a home is in an area subject to a lot of airborne dust or dirt, a deck can be cleaned one weekend and then stained the following weekend, Ballon said.
Stains help seal wood from water penetration. Less expensive stains last one or two years before another coating is needed and more expensive stains last three to five years.
Hardware and home improvement store staff that receive training from product manufacturers can explain the different types of cleaners and stains, Ballon said.
Paint should not be used on decks because it doesn鈥檛 penetrate or seal wood or withstand foot traffic.
鈥淲e recommend stain instead of paint. Stain penetrates wood better and lasts longer. It acts as a sealant,鈥� Wright said.
Pressure treated wood is impregnated with preservatives, which prevent stain from being absorbed as deeply as it is in untreated wood, but a light stain will help protect it, Ballon said.
Most decks are made of pressure treated lumber, Wright said. Pressure treated wooden decks can last 10 to 15 years if they are properly maintained, he said.
Sandpaper should not be used to remove stain that flakes on pressure treated wood, Wright said. Cyanide, a toxic chemical used in the pressure treating process, could be released if treated wood is sanded, he said.
Wood brighteners can be used in between staining applications if the finish begins to fade and clear sealers can be used to waterproof wood decks a year or two after stain was applied and the finish still looks good, Ballon said.
鈥淔or every problem, there is a product out there,鈥� Ballon said.
Before stain is applied, any nails that lifted over the winter in older decks should be removed and replaced with wood screws, Ballon said. Screws are used in most recent deck construction because they don鈥檛 loosen, he said.
Stainless steel or ceramic coated screws should be used with pressure treated wood because the chemicals in treated wood will deteriorate older wood screws, he said.
Cement patios also should be cleaned with a detergent, power washed and sealed, Ballon said.
Small cracks that develop over the winter should be addressed to prevent them from growing larger.
Vinyl-based calking can be used to fill small cracks and patching material should be used to fill larger cracks, he said.