THE-DIY-SITE.COM

In most cases, a deck is a desirable location for many outdoor activities. Decks are great for family get togethers, children’s birthday parties, cookouts among many other possibilities. Decks can add a lot of character to a yard and provide a place of meditation to help relax while drinking a hot cup of joe. But let’s be honest here…how much character does a deck add to a yard when its wood is faded, sun dried and rotted? In a lot of instances, folks do not have decks simply because they do not want to maintain one. It’s not that difficult and it is very inexpensive, it just takes a little time and elbow grease to keep the deck looking like you just finished building it.

Materials Needed:

There are a couple of decisions to be made pertaining to the deck before you run out and buy anything. First, you need to decide if your deck needs to be sealed. This is determined by a simple test, referred to as a splash test. Just take some water and pour it on your deck. If it beads up, you do not need to seal your deck. If the water soaks in to the wood, it is time you got down and dirty to help preserve your deck!

Second, you must decide on a color. Some people prefer the natural wood color. Assuming your deck is already this color, you will just need a clear sealer. If your deck is not currently this color, but it’s the color you desire, then you will have to get a stronger deck wash, sometimes referred to as a brightener. This is usually some combination of a cleaner, acid and/or bleach. In my situation, I didn’t do this due to time restrictions, so I cannot speak intellegently about it. I do know there are tons of resources for this, however. The second option is if your deck is slightly tinted from a natural wood color, you can buy a tinted sealer that is likely close to the one you currently have. My deck is tinted a bit, the color is a little bit red for my liking. But, due to time restrictions, I did leave it the same color.

The next consideration when thinking about cleaning up your deck is the weather. The seal that you choose will likely have its own set of directions, but a good rule of thumb is to do your deck at least 24 hours before or after rain. This was part of my personal time restriction when I was working on the deck. It seemed that it rained nearly every day for two weeks, so my timing was critical so that the rain didn’t foil my attempt to liven my deck back up. Also, you will need to wait 24 hours after cleaning the deck before you actually apply the seal to the wood.

After these simple, but crucial decisions are made, you are ready to start. In theory, doing this is very easy. But do not underestimate the task. It is daunting work and will require some real effort. You’re likely to sweat, get sunburned and get blisters. So, try to take all the precautions you can to make the experience as comfortable and painless as possible.

First, you’re going to clean the deck off. You need to remove all items off the deck. Most of the washes that you can choose from have harmful chemicals and could discolor items that are painted. Also, once the items are moved off, if they are plants or something that is painted, it might be best to take a drop cloth or old sheets or something and cover them up. The chemicals in the wash could kill the plants. Next, I started by spraying the deck with water to get some of the build up off. I next took a regular shop broom and pushed off all the loose leaves, dirt, etc. Now, you’re ready to apply the wash. There are many different kinds and there are many different methods for washing the deck. I used a mild wash called Mold Armor. It has an inline hose attachment so that idealy, you could hook up to a hose, spray, rinse and let dry. It’s not quite that easy, but it still worked just fine. The idea is to bring up all mold and hard to clean dirt. So, it’s likely you would have to take a deck brush and put your shoulder into it. I did this selectively, only in a few areas. When all was said and done, you could visibly see the difference where I scrubbed and where I didn’t. So, I would recommend doing this to the whole deck so that it’s even. It took me approximately three large bottles of this deckwash to do the job.

Give the deck about 24 hours to dry out completely after washing it. Your deck should at this point look its age. It should have all the old seal and any mold or the like cleaned off. It may look a little white washed in some areas, as well. Now, the final step is simply applying the seal. Like the wash, there are several ways to do this. You can use paint brushes down on your knees, you could use rollers with an extension or you could even use a pressurized bug sprayer to apply the seal. I personally used rollers with an extension. It applied evenly and did so without me breaking my back to apply it. Depending on the seal you get, just follow the instructions. After you’re done, you will have accomplished two things. First, you will have made your deck look great and like new for the time being. Also, you just added life on to your deck and the prevention of wood rot or sun damage. It may seem as though I over-simplified the process…but like I said, this is easy to do, just don’t underestimate the job.