A Beautiful Deck Adds Value To Your Property
A common item of neglect in home ownership is that of fences and decks. Hiring a contractor can be expensive - but I can give you some tips that will help you accomplish the task properly and get professional results.
Preparing The Surfaces
To properly prepare the surface, you need to first determine whether or not any sealers remain. Obviously, if you can see the color of the stain, you can skip this step and proceed to stripping the sealer.
Drip some water on various parts of the dry deck surface and see if the water is absorbed in fifteen minutes or less. If not, you will need to strip the sealer. If the water is readily absorbed, stripping will not be necessary.
How To Strip A Deck
To strip the deck, you will need deck stripper (sodium hydroxide), a deck brush (on a pole), rubber gloves, goggles, waterproof boots, a pump sprayer, a water hose, and a pressure washer. (The pressure washer can be the small electric home model.)
Your local hardware store will probably have the supplies, and you can always rent a pressure washer if you don’t own one.
Following the directions for the stripper, you will first water in all the landscaping around the deck. Sodium hydroxide - the active ingredient in deck stripper - is found in drain cleaner, so you want to be sure that you use copius amounts of water around your grass and shrubs. Feel free to water the deck, too!
If you have many sensitive plants nearby, you should cover them with plastic sheeting to protect them.
Using the pump sprayer, coat a small workable section (8′ x 8′) and let the chemicals go to work - usually for 15-20 minutes. Make sure the surfaces stay wet, so give the area a light spray of water if needed. While the chemicals are working, use the deck brush to scrub the surfaces to help loosen the sealer.
Keep in mind that deck stripper will take the paint off of your house! Be careful when using strippers! Use plastic sheeting to protect areas of concern!
At this point, I find it best to use the hose with a garden nozzle to flood the area with water to rinse the treated area and continue to water in the surrounding plants and grass.
Continue to apply the deck stripper to small areas until all deck areas have been stripped and rinsed, then move to the railings and stairs (if applicable).
After all the areas to be stripped have been scrubbed and rinsed, it’s time to use the pressure washer to further clean the surfaces. If your pressure washer is small, you can use it at full force with a 40 degree nozzle (wide angle) as long as you don’t get the nozzle too close to the wood… usually no closer than 6 inches.
If the pressure washer is a larger unit (gas powered engine) then run it at low speed - slightly above idle for large units above 2500 psi. The idea is to use the chemicals to remove the sealer - not the power of the pressure washer.
After the deck has been power rinsed with the pressure washer, let it dry and examine if the sealer has been successfully removed. If not, a second application of deck stripper will be necessary following the same procedure outlined above.
How To Brighten A Deck
Whether or not you stripped your deck - you will need to brighten it. If your deck has turned gray, then the sealer has worn off and simply brightening it will help to restore its original color and look. After you strip a deck, the deck will not have all of its original lustre, so the deck brightener will help to restore it.
There are two different types of brighteners. One is an oxygenating type cleaner for use with pressure treated lumber - the other is an oxalic acid-based cleaner for use with cedar. Either can be used on either type of wood, but the results will always be better if matched to the proper wood they are designed for.
Similar to the deck stripping process, you apply the deck brightener in a similar fashion. Some deck brighteners are powder-based, so you will have to mix them in a large bucket before dispensing from the sprayer.
Although deck brighteners are not as corrosive as deck strippers, care should still be exercised in their use. Be sure to follow the directions carefully.
Let It Dry Thoroughly
Be sure to let all of the wood surfaces dry thoroughly before applying your sealer. Two days without rain should be sufficient in the summer months. You want to be sure that the surface stays clean during this period! Keep the pets and children off of the deck until the project is finished.
Time To Apply The Sealer
Sealers are manufactured by a variety of companies, and most of them aren’t very good. This is a case where if you have heard of a particular brand - you should probably stay away from them.
These sealers come in both water-based as well as oil-based formulas - and I reccommend that you only use the oil-based sealers. While it might be nice to feel warm and fuzzy about the environment - you will quickly lose that warm and fuzzy feeling when you’re performing this trick again next year. Water-based sealers simply do not perform as well as oil-based sealers.
While you might like the lighter stains, these stains do not usually contain enough iron oxide to provide the UV protection that is necessary to protect your deck from the sun’s harsh rays. Select a sealer with a darker color.
I prefer Wolman’s for a mid-grade sealer… and you can find them at your local Ace Hardware stores. If you want to step up to the high-grade stuff, you might try Wood Iron (if they’ll be so kind as ship it to you from Colorado).
Application will depend upon the size of the deck. On a small deck, I reccommend doing it all by hand with a brush. On larger decks, using the pump sprayer to apply the sealer will speed up the process - but keep in mind that all sealers must be brushed in for best results. On really big decks, an airless sprayer is the most efficient method of delivering the sealer.
If you need to protect the house or your landscaping from getting sealers on them - use plastic sheeting! Tape it up where needed, and be sure to protect the patio beneath the deck, should you have one. Be sure to keep some mineral spirits and a few rags around, as I’m sure you’ll need them.
I like to get a coat down on the deck, first - then move to the railing and spindles. The reason for this is that when you drip stain down onto the deck - the drips will be noticeable… so putting a coat on the deck first makes it easier to blend those drips into the surface more evenly.
Once the deck has taken the sealer, I then move in for the next coat. Don’t try to skip the second coat, folks. You have spent too much time cleaning and preparing the surface to be sealed properly - don’t go cheap on it now. Spend the time getting the second coat worked in and your deck will look better and the sealer will perform better. (My personal preference is to go for the third coat… but that’s me.)
By getting a good seal coat applied, you can come back in two years to perform a good cleaning and add another maintenance coat without having to strip the old sealer.
In Summary
A well-maintained deck can be one of the most enjoyable parts of a home. But a weathered and neglected deck can be a detraction if you are selling your home.
If you a handy-type person that doesn’t mind getting your hands dirty, then I invite you to clean and seal your deck, yourself. If this sounds like more hassle that it’s worth - by all means do contact a qualified wood restoration company to get your deck back into showcase condition.
A client of mine had a condo in Kennesaw that I helped him purchase for $179,000 back in 2004. The community was relatively new at that time, and consisted of twenty units. The highest sales price of any of the comparable units was $193,000 for a unit that sold shortly after my client purchased his. Since then, the market softened and comparable units have sold for as little as $175,500.
