Tips for Restoring Wood Decks

Simply building a good quality deck to enhance the beauty of your home won't be enough; to make it more durable and constantly beautiful, it also has to be maintained by restoring it. Since the deck is made of strong wood, there will be less structural problems from continuous use, but exposure to the elements without proper care will cause the deck surface to weather after a few years.

The Restoration Procedure

Regardless of the type of wood used for its construction, restoring a deck involves a simple procedure: cleaning as the first step, diagnosing and treating any discoloration as the second step and protecting the deck with a durable finish as the final step.

Cleaning will remove invisible barriers like wax or mill glaze from the wood surface, opening up clogged wood pores to allow trapped moisture to escape. This will minimize cracking and splitting of the wood before and after the coating is applied. A mild and gentle cleaning product should be used to avoid dissolving the wood structure or bleaching the surface. The existing wood coating is then removed with a wood stripper, and depending on the type of look and protection level you prefer, the surface is applied with a clear or tinted water repellent sealer, pigmented stain or wood preservative coating.

Water repellent coatings can minimize cracking, warping and other types of structural damage by preventing water and moisture absorption. Stain coatings that contain pigment give the wood a finished look by providing color and UV damage protection. Preservative coats are specially formulated to protect the wood surface from fungal attacks as well as contain insecticides to protect it from termites and other wood-destroying insects, whether on ground or water.

Care and Maintenance of Wood Decks

1. Cleaners like phosphoric acid, trisodium phosphate, bleach and pressure spraying can also be used by mixing certain percentages of them with other gently cleaning chemicals.

2. Water-repellent coating effectiveness will be reduced by calcium chloride salts.

3. Pressure-treated wood will often have pitch stains or crystallized sap found around their knots. These can be removed using turpentine or can be simply scraped off.

4. Avoid using a metal shovel when removing snow from a deck.