Repairing Wood Decks

Wood decks make a beautiful addition to any home. To keep wood decks constantly in good condition, proper repair and maintenance should be done on a regular basis. Frequent wood deck repairs not only ensures their durability and strength, it can also prevent more difficult and costly repairs later on.

Simple Deck Repairs

Before starting, carefully inspect the wood deck; check if the railings are properly fastened, if the surface has algae growth or if any part of the deck needs to be replaced. Some simple repairs include the following:

1. Scrub the deck - Algae growth can be removed by thoroughly cleaning the deck surface, while a garden hose with power nozzle and an old knife can be used to remove dirt between the cracks. To restore the original wood color, use deck cleaners and restorers, which can be either sprayed or scrubbed and then simply washed off.

2. Secure the nails - Some nails might pop out above the wood surface due to expansion and contraction; these nails need to be hammered back below the surface.

3. Sand the wood - Rough surfaces, particularly splintered areas and handrails, need to be sanded with a power sander or belt sander.

4. Secure the boards - Fasten any loose ends of boards by drilling holes and using nails or screws.

5. Repair the stairs - Damaged stair boards should be replaced with new boards then properly secured with nuts and screws.

6. Secure the railing - Clearance holes should be drilled through the post and secured with stronger and longer bolts, as small nails and screws will not be sufficient.

Repair Tips

Repairing decayed wood is not that difficult as long as you carefully follow handy repair tips. For example, epoxy tends to dry fast and is hard to remove, so it should be cleaned up as it is being used. Some more tips can be found below:

* Deep holes should be built in layers around 1/2 inch thick and surfaces should be slightly overfilled.

* The proper tools for contoured surfaces and corners should be used for shaping the filler.

* For flat and contoured surfaces, use different types of rasps.

* If a lot of hard, dried material needs to be removed, rasping is recommended, since it is less time consuming than sanding.

* When driving nails into large, damaged areas, let the heads stick up a bit so they can be embedded in the filler but still remain below the surface.