Restoring an old deck instead of building a new one can save you a lot of money, increase your properties curb appeal, and reestablish a space that might have been under utilized in the past. However, restoring an old deck can be a lot of work and can sometimes the deck looks so far beyond help that you may think it is best to start over. You would be amazed at how far a deck can look beyond repair and still be able to bring it back to its original shine. Below are steps and tips that a homeowner just like you took to refresh their outdoor space.
Step 1 Assessing the Deck
Assessing the condition of the deck is a key first step. Take this opportunity to find any rotten wood or broken and dangerous boards and get them replaced before you put in all the work of cleaning the deck. If your deck boards are looking kind of iffy in some spots you may be able to pull the boards up and flip them over, revealing some perfectly good wood on the other side. As you can see in the first before picture the deck is wore out, beat up, dry, sun damaged and a little bit of lack of maintenance just wears the deck away.
Step 2 Cleaning the deck
So after assessing the deck and replacing any parts that need to be replaced, cleaning comes next. There are a couple of options here. You could use a pressure washer or some kind of cleaning solution. The choice comes down to personal preference as to which option to choose. The pressure washer does a great job in a quick amount of time. However it can leave little fuzzy fibers on the wood after it dries. This happens usually because the pressure was to high or the nozzle was to close to the surface. The homeowner above kept the wand pretty vertical, about a 10 to 15 degree angle, while going a little bit easier on the lattice as it is softer wood and would etch if to much pressure was placed on it. Test it out on an inconspicuous spot to find the right mix of pressure. Chemicals work well to, but if you are looking for something that isn’t going to be harsh to breath or kill your grass, I would recommend going for an “Oxygen Bleach.” This type of chemical is pretty harmless and does a great job cleaning as well. With chemicals though, you will have to scrub away until the surface is clean. Which ever way you choose, be sure to clean it thoroughly, getting all
of the old stain, dirt, algae and anything else that happens to be growing on your deck off. Also, don’t forget to let it dry all the way through before applying any finishes to it.
In the picture to the right you can see what the wood looks like after cleaning. The natural color, grains, and fibers of the wood are now exposed again and ready to shine!
Step 3 Applying Stain
There are a couple of different kinds of stains out there, but the two main kinds you will probably run into are opaque and semi transparent. Opaque stain is almost like paint. It will cover the wood and prevent any of the natural wood from showing. If the wood you are covering is so stained and beat up, or if the wood just won’t accent your house in anyway, this might be a good option.
The other option is a semi transparent stain. These are probably what you are thinking of when you think of deck stain. These go on like a watery substance, soak in, and allow the natural wood grain and fibers to show through.
Either choice is viable, but make sure to try them out on an old piece of wood before applying to the whole deck. For some reason no matter what the can says, it really is the type and condition of your wood that is going to determine the final look of the stain.
Here are some after images of the deck after it was stained. Olympic Maximum semi-transparent #716 Cedar Naturaltone was used for the majority of this deck. In this case Olympic Maximum, which is a little more expensive was used, but not necessarily because it was better, but because the owner really liked the color. Regardless of why you choose your stain, be sure to apply the stain when the deck is dry and is going to have a little time to try. The drier the deck the quicker it is going to dry. So if you have a really dry deck and start to apply the stain and it rains, chances are most of the work you have done is going to be just fine.
