Deck & Wood Restoration
A wood deck might be a natural-looking place for friends or family to relax and enjoy the front and backyard, but decks need regular cleaning, staining and protection in order to prevent damage and undesired stains. Decks that are badly damaged or stained might need to be fully restored. Does this Spark an idea?
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Significance
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The restoration of wood decks means stripping, cleaning and refinishing the deck. Wood that is coated will be more resistant to weather, but decks that are not need to have the top layer stripped with a special product in order to remove fungus, weather damage and stains. Decks that are coated need to be stripped of the coating before restoration. All decks must be cleaned and repaired when damage occurs if you want them to remain attractive. Wood decks that are not taken care of can crack, peel, warp or become discolored.
Cleaning
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Cleaning not only makes a deck more beautiful, it removes debris that gets trapped in between the cracks, which can encourage mildew growth that damages the deck. These cracks can be cleaned out using a water hose. Debris that the water hose doesn't get can be removed using any hard object that fits between the cracks. Larger decks are more quickly cleaned with a power washer. Wood decks need to be cleaned with chemicals that will not erode them and that will not bleach the deck white. Whatever chemical is used should be tested by pouring it on an unnoticeable place to see the effects. When using cleaning chemicals, wear gloves and goggles.
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Stripping
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Wooden decks have a variety of coatings, such as oil-base, alkyd, water-base, acrylic, latex and varnish. The type of chemical used to strip the coating depends on the type of coating used.
Protection
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Wooden decks need to be protected with water repellants, staining and preservatives. The water repellants minimize the cracking and warping that occurs when the wood absorbs the water. Stains prevent UV light from damaging the deck. Preservatives prevent fungus from attacking it. The protective coatings must be replaced after the wood has been stripped and restored in order to protect the wood.
Finishing
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During restoration, decks can be painted a new color or stained. Decks should be painted with a paint that has a stain-blocking oil or an alkyd primer. Both paint and deck stain should soak into the deck instead of simply sitting on the surface.
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References
- Photo Credit Deck de madeira image by CarlosNeto from Fotolia.com
