Sanding the Deck Before Sealing
Avoid sanding the wooden deck prior to sealing in most cases. If you have a really rough deck, you might want to do some sanding first. Otherwise, you’re just removing the top stain layer, and that’s going to give you much more work in the end.
Painting the Deck
Think twice before painting the deck. You can’t just slap on a new coat of paint when it starts to fade, which is more or less what you will be able to do when it comes to the stain that you might use on the deck. The paint job is going to start to peel and flake, ruining the look of the deck. The level of maintenance that you’re going to need when it comes to painting the deck can be daunting, so make sure you’re ready if you go down this route.
Patio Sealing
You really don’t have to seal the entire patio. Blue-stone and slate will more or less manage to seal themselves as people walk on them. The glossy look might work for you, and if it does, by all means seal the whole patio. You just don’t have to do so.
Deck Washing
Washing the deck is obviously a good idea. However, there is certainly a limit in terms of how often you should do it. The wood’s surface is actually going to accumulate damage if you’re constantly washing the deck. You also don’t want to risk making the deck too moist, which can put it at risk for a lot of different hazards. When there’s visible dirt, it’s definitely a good idea to wash the deck.
Patio Washing
Your patio also doesn’t need to be washed all the time. You don’t want to damage the surface of the stone material, which is definitely possible if you are constantly washing the patio. You could start to cause flaking. Using a simple mild detergent in order to wash off the patio makes much more sense. When the patio is visibly dirty, that’s when it’s more important to get it washed.
Wire Brush
It’s absolutely important to avoid using a wire brush in order to clean the deck or patio. This is just the sort of brush that is actually going to damage the concrete, stone, or wood surfaces. There are better tools to use in order to get rid of debris and grime, and a wire brush does more harm than good.
Chlorine Bleach
It’s important for you to avoid the temptation to use chlorine bleach on any deck material at any point. This bleach can actually make the deck material look completely different in a way that is just going to be negative. You will get better results with plain water, and with all of the different cleaning products that were specifically made for deck cleaning.
Plants and Cleaners
You need to make sure that you keep a lot of the harsher cleaning materials away from the plants. They will tend to absorb them through their roots. Getting the chemicals on the leaves is a problem as well. You need to make sure that the plants are covered with a sheet prior to any major work with chemicals. It’s also important to avoid using a lot of toxic and harsh chemicals at first one way or another.
Railings and Stairs
The railings and stairs are going to endure a great deal of wear and tear over the years, since they will face a lot of pressure from foot traffic. Structural problems might begin there. You have to make sure that the wood is not rotting in these areas as well. The wood might start to split through the grain. Given the importance of these areas from the perspective of safety, it’s even more important for them to get checked all the time.
Unevenness in Concrete
It’s important not to worry too much about the fact that the concrete might look somewhat uneven. If there are hairline cracks, you usually are not going to have to worry about them. Lots of concrete will look like that. Concrete will often get white film that is perfectly normal as well. Concrete doesn’t have to look perfect.
