How to Treat a Wooden Deck

 

A wooden deck is a place where you can have a moment of relaxation not only with your family, but also with your friends. Normally, a wooden deck is built on your yard or garden or even near a shaded tree. It provides you with a sitting place with wood furniture or outdoor decorations to enjoy your garden landscape surrounding. However, maintaining wooden decks need to be done regularly because its appearance will deteriorate over time due to receiving direct sunlight and other weather elements. If you treat your wooden deck the right way, your wooden deck will last longer. Some of the treatments that need to be done to the wooden deck are checking if there are any loose boards, protruding nails, cleaning and resealing, such as removing the any dirt, algae, moss or other organic matter. The last chore for you to do is to apply a clear or semi-clear liquid sealant to all of the wooden deck surfaces.

To treat a wooden deck, you need:

  • Hose
  • Respirator (mask)
  • Goggles
  • Belt sander
  • Sandpaper
  • Broom
  • Deck cleaner
  • Deck sealer
  • Stripper solution
  • Wood brightener
  • Paint roller
  • Roller tray
  • Paint brush

Treating a Wooden Deck

How to Treat a Wooden Deck

  • First thing to do is to
    • Trim any nearby trees, shrubs or bushes so that you can clean your deck easily in future
    • If you notice any boards on the deck that is loose, you should nail them down or replace the damaged boards with a new one.
    • Clear all outdoor furniture, grills, tables or chairs from the deck to other areas.

When you treat your wooden deck, it is better to do it when there is no rain. Check the weather forecast to see if it would be sunny day for the whole week. You need at least three days to finish doing the task of cleaning and sealing the deck.

  • The next step is the sanding process by using sand paper.
    • You need to sand the entire surface of your wooden deck by using pole sander. This is to enable you to remove rough edges including the one that you see on the sides of your deck. The sanding process will ensure that the deck is nice, smooth and free of splinters.
    • Once done, you have to take a broom and sweep all the sawdust or debris off the wooden deck.
  • After that, you need to take a pump sprayer so that you can apply the wood stripper
    • You must ensure that the wooden deck is covered evenly.
    • Once you finish applying the stripper solution, you have to leave it to dry for at least 15 minutes
    • Next, you need to spray the wooden deck using your garden hose
  • The next step is to apply the wood brightener
    • The solution can be applied also by using your pump sprayer
    • Once you finish applying the wood brightener, you also need to leave it to dry for at least 15 minutes before you can spray the deck with a garden hose.
  • After you finish doing both of the above steps, you need to allow your wooden deck to dry thoroughly for 2 days
    • Then, you need to cover any of your house section that touches the wooden deck with a painter’s tape.
    • Take your stain containers and pour it into a bucket before mixing the stain together using your stir stick until you manage to form bubbles.
    • Use the roller tray to pour some of the stains before you start to apply the stain on the deck using a paint roller
    • Apply two or three thin coats of stain on the wooden deck.
    • As for areas where it could be hard to use a paint roller like the railings or steps, try to use a paint brush.
    • Once finished, allow the stain to dry thoroughly for 24 hours.

If you do not maintain your wooden deck properly, the wood will get rough very fast, create splinters and slick surfaces. The dirt that accumulates on the wooden deck due to untreated deck will cause algae and moss to grow thus resulting to the deck becoming very slippery when it is wet.

  • You can also do weatherproofing on your wooden deck so that the deck will be protected from weather elements like snow, ice, sun and heat.

    Always remember that when you start to clean and seal your wood deck

    • Make sure that you protect your garden shrubs, plants or grass using plastic tarps protecting them from chemical damage.
    • Always wear goggles and respirator for safety measurement when you are doing the sanding task or repairing damaged boards.

Image Credit:
Flickr CC