Deck Restoration

Any unprotected piece of wood left in the outdoors will show signs of deterioration within a year or so. It’s in Nature’s character to bear down on materials that have become inanimate -- and that includes pieces of lumber forming your deck or fence. In this case, sunlight and rain are her main tools. Wood exposed to sunlight out in the open turns weak and gray as the rays of the sun ruptures its internal fibers. A similar breakdown takes place when rain water soaks wood and makes it swell. The result is sponginess. Morning dew and afternoon sun then set a daily wood swell-shrink cycle in motion, hastening the deterioration process. Grayed surface, deformation, splitting, and loosened nails are telltale signs of wood trouble for which the elements are responsible.

Treating Wood Is a Must

Wood, even if it has been pressure-treated, must still be cleaned and sealed to prolong its life. Decks and fences made of pressure-treated wood still require regular cleaning and sealing to ensure that they stay in good condition. While decks and fences made of pressurized wood, cedar, cypress and other exotic woods are safe from insect infestation, but they are not invulnerable to weather's corrosive effects. Wood that does not have protective coating can pose a danger in just seven years.

When is Wood Ready for Sealing?

When is the right time to seal wood? Some say that wood should be sealed after a year so that the wood is completely dry. However, a year is too long a time to wait to seel wood. During this time, the wood would have incurred too much damage, most of which cannot be reversed. Wood can be completely dry and ready for sealing in two or three months. It has been found that wood that has been sealed within three months is much more dirable and look better than wood that has been sealed after one year. You can easily tell if the wood is ready for sealing. Professionals use an electric moisture meter to determine if the wood can be sealed. However, a simpler method is to sprinkle drops of water on the surface of the wood. If the water is quickly absorbed, it means that the wood is dry enough that it is ready for sealing.

Wood Preparation

The process of sealing starts with preparing the wood by way of cleaning. This most important stage of caring for decks and fences should yield the following results: a) elimination of dirt, mold, mildew and algae, b) opening up of the wood’s pores, and c) balancing of its pH to allow the sealer to bond with each fiber.

Cleaning Agent Selection

What kind of cleaning agent should be used on decks and fences to prepare it for sealing? Cleaning compounds include acidic cleaners, alkaline cleaners and pH neutral cleaners. If you are undertaking the fence or deck cleaning yourself, pH-netural powdered cleaners are safe to use. However, most home improvement stores recommend the use of acid-based cleaning compounds since, compared to alkaline-based cleaning compounds, they are much safer to use by the average homeowner. There is one caveat to acid-based cleaning compounds: they are not really that effective at cleaning wood. The alkaline-based cleaning compounds, which are used by professionals, are more effective. Professionals use a two-step cleaning process. First, they clean wood with alkaline cleaners and then follow it up with an acidic brightener. With this cleaning method, the wood's natural colors emerge, bringing out the wooden deck or fence's beauty even before sealing.

Power washing Wood

One cleaning option is to blast the wood with high-pressure water, with or without cleansers mixed in. Pressure washing does remove the gray from the wood, but can also damage its surface easily. A lot of water is needed for this technique, and it’s important to apply the right amount of pressure and have the right kind of cleaning solution. Do-it-yourselfers must guard against applying too much pressure. Pressure washing apparatus rented out to homeowners are usually designed to spew out water at 1750 to 3500 pounds per square inch (psi), which is fine for cleaning concrete and peeling off old paint. However, these pressure washers are way too forceful for wood. The ideal amount of pressure is between 500 and 800 psi. It is at this pressure level that experienced contractors work on wood using the specially adjusted wands of their pressure washers. One more word of caution: Do not use a hot-water pressure washer on wood, as this will deface the wood by raising its grain sharply.

Stripping

If the wood fence or deck needs to be re-sealed, the old coat of sealer should be stripped. This is because most sealers have ingredients that should be removed before any re-sealing is done. To strip the wood of the old sealer, harsh chemical strippers are used. This type of job is better given to a professional.

Sealer Type Selection

Your deck is all prepped up for sealing -- bright and clean as a whistle. It’s time to select a sealer and decide how much you’re willing to spend for one. There are three types of sealers to choose from, each with distinguishing qualities: oil-based, wax-based, and acrylic. Recently, latex-based sealers have made appearances in the market. Prices are wildly uneven among these product categories, and we recommend that you use "value for your money" as guiding maxim for your purchase decision. Expect disappointment with outcomes if you choose a cheap product.

Wax-Based Sealers

These sealers are ordinarily found at do-it-yourself shops, and are the most advertised on television. Manufacturers can afford to spend a fortune on ads for these products because they are inexpensive to produce. They sell for as little as $12 to $15 a gallon. Their sealing effects are relatively "short-lived," lasting from six to eight months, and when they expire, decks are wont to turn black. Wax-based sealers clean up with soap and water. They are identifiable by the "beading up" of water on surfaces on which they have been applied. In general, you can hardly consider them to be worth your time and money.

Oil-Based Sealers

Like their wax-based counterparts, oil-based sealers clean up with soap and water. They come in two distinct forms -- one derived from vegetable oils (such as linseed or tung oil), and the other from crude oil. The latter penetrate wood better, giving it a soft, natural appearance. The vegetable-based varieties, on the other hand, impart a sheen on wooden surface and even coat it with a "varnish." However, they contain natural starches and sugars that may encourage the growth of molds and mildew. They are also very hard to remove, and require stripping before the wood can be re-sealed. This is especially true of the linseed type sealer. One major advantage of the crude-based product is that it does not typically need to be stripped before re-sealing. When the time comes to re-do the fence or deck, a new layer of the same sealer may be applied directly over the old sealer. Yet you can strip crude-based sealers easily and inexpensively if you want to. You might consider this an added boon: at the lowest of initial investments, you get to keep your wood looking naturally beautiful. The oil-based sealers that can be purchased from do-it-yourself retail stores often have some vegetable oils mixed in. They last between 12 and 18 months before resealing becomes necessary, shorter than the 24-month lifespan you can expect from commercial grade types. Oil-based sealers vary extensively in quality and are priced between $15 and $30 per gallon.

For more information on pressure washing and deck restoration see Atlanta pressure washing . If your concrete is moldy and needs cleaning see Atlanta concrete cleaning . For moldy and streaked roof shingles see Atlanta roof cleaning .