You vacuum your carpets, mop the floors, wash the windows. The list of the chores you complete to keep your home in top shape is endless. But let’s not forget about the outside too. Lawns need to be mowed, gutters cleaned and hedges trimmed. It could be enough to send you to the classifieds looking for a studio space to rent since not a lot of cleaning needs to be done when your home is only a few square feet.
You want to make your home as comfortable as possible, but it’s rare to find a space in your home that doesn’t need constant upkeep. Rare, yes, but not impossible. If you have a deck in your backyard, step out onto it and relish in a space that only needs to be treated once every few years, as opposed to days.
Besides shoveling snow or sweeping off leaves, caring for your deck is pretty simple, explains Ferdinand Steyer, a residential contractor and owner of Mountain Works LLC. In fact, adding a deck to your home is a great way to provide extra space for outdoor gatherings without adding another task to your weekly cleaning routine.
Cleaning
Once your deck is a few years old, you will begin to notice that nature’s elements have begun to take their toll on the wood. In order to ensure that the maintenance process produces the results you’re hoping for, first make sure that the deck is properly cleaned.
- Move debris from the deck (like leaves and clumps of dirt) from the surface and between the boards.
- Use your garden house to wetyour entire deck.
- Using a power washer, spray a wood-cleaning solution (which can be found at home improvement stores), all over your deck and railing.
- If any dirt and grime still exists after 10 to 15 minutes, take a coarse brush and scrub areas where they have been loosened.
- Wash away the solution with your garden hose.
- Mix together an antifungal solution, which is sometimes bleach-based and can be purchased at many home improvement stores. Pour it into your power washer and spray the deck again to kill any mold or algae, and prevent dry rot.
Staining
For about an hour every few years, you can give your deck the attention it needs to last for years to come:
- After the deck has been cleaned, let the wood dry for a few days.
- If there are areas where the previous stain is flaking, remove the flakes and then prime the underneath wood.
- Mix together the instructed portions of stain and veneer needed to coat your deck. Both of these can probably be found at the same place where you bought your cleaning solution.
- Apply the stain with a sponge applicator. If the type of stain you are using calls for it, you may need to add a second coat.
- Let the stain dry before replacing your furniture.
Depending on how old your deck is and how often you use it, this entire process may only need to be completed every two to five years. Yet, without proper protection, your deck could rot, which will weaken the boards and beams. So eventually you will have to replace the entire deck.
