Decking Maintenance Archives - Page 9 of 10

Decking Maintenance – How to Winterize a Deck

March 7, 2022November 4, 2010 by Mr. Ipe Hardwood

Preparing A Hardwood Deck for the Winter

Fall is here and many people are starting to prepare their deck for the Winter months. What do you need to do to ensure your garden deck stays healthy?

How to Winterize a Hardwood Deck — Learn the best way to keep your deck healthy during winter.

Keep Gaps Clear of Debris

Leaving your deck dirty and covered with debris over the winter months is a recipe for disaster. If you allow the gap spacing between your deck boards to get plugged up with debris, you won’t just have a lot to clean up come springtime. You might also be looking at a warped deck due to excess moisture being trapped underneath your deck. Proper ventilation will also ensure that mold and decay don’t rear their ugly head. Keep your deck boards looking good by sweeping away dirt, leaves, pine needles or any branches.

Got mold? Use these tips to eliminate mold from your hardwood deck before winter.

Just ask any homeowner who owns a deck how hard it is to get rid mold watch their face get red with frustration. Mold (aka mildew, aka the bane of composite deck owners everywhere) needs to be dealt with as soon as you see it. Mold can grow and prosper during the months when your deck is being used the least. Mold feasts on moisture so snow and melting ice might as well be a t-bone steak with all the fixin’s to mold.

How to get rid of mold on hardwood decking:

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DIY Deck Installation Tips #1 – How Not to Handle New Decking

September 17, 2010 by Mr. Ipe Hardwood

Doug Tales – Cover The Decking, Ruin the Wood

The story you are about to read is true and, unfortunately, all too common…

Doug’s order of wood decking has just arrived. Needless to say, he’s very excited. Even though the sky is clear, Doug knows that it’s going to rain overnight. So he covers it with a tarp so that the wood can be protected prior to installation.

The next day, it’s sunny and clear again. Doug says, “Time to get building!”

He removes the tarp from the pile, “So far, so good.”

As Doug starts prepping the wood, he notices that some boards are a little warped. He thinks to himself, “What gives? I thought this stuff was supposed to be strong!? Oh well, I bought a deck wrench, I’ll just straighten up out. No worries.”

A couple of hours later, Doug’s wife comes out to see how things are going, “Um, honey. What did you do?”

Deck Maintenance – 7 Tips for DIY Deck Inspection

September 2, 2011June 17, 2010 by Mr. Ipe Hardwood

How to Inspect Your Deck

According to the North American Deck & Railing Association (NADRA), the majority of the decks were installed over 20 years ago. Unfortunately, the large majority of those deck owners fail to adequately assess the structural health of their deck. It makes perfect sense to make sure that the structure under your feet was built properly and is maintaining its structural integrity. If you have never inspected your deck, then now is the best time to take a look “under the hood.” By measuring the health of your outdoor living area, you’ll give yourself peace of mind in knowing that your deck is safe and sound. NOTE: It doesn’t matter what deck you have, these deck inspection tips apply to all decking material.

With the recent string of bad weather in the United States (hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and even dust storms!), the following deck inspection tips are a great way to ensure that you can not just enjoy your deck, but be safe on it as well.

Deck Inspection Checklist

1. How are the fasteners that run through the ledger holding up?

If your deck was installed with at least 1/2″ diameter lag screws your deck should be in good shape. If you or your deck builder ran nails through the ledger to the rim joist, you should, one by one, replace them with the stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanized lag screws and be sure to use washers for a more secure fit. Using nails to fasten your deck to the home is a disaster waiting to happen.

If you, after a recent storm with heavy winds and/or flooding, you notice the screws and ledger starting to loosen up, reinforce them immediately with 1/2″ diameter lag screws.

Proper Installation will Prevent Decking Problems

May 17, 2022April 12, 2010 by Mr. Ipe Hardwood

The best way to prevent decking problems is to ensure that your deck was installed correctly in the first place. Here are five crucial steps that will prolong the life of your deck: 1) Buy decking that is premium grade. When shopping for exotic hardwoods like ipe, it’s important to know the difference between premium/clear …

How to Protect A Hardwood Deck

May 17, 2022April 6, 2010 by Mr. Ipe Hardwood

We’ve had quite a few people who wanted to give their decks some much needed TLC already call us to ask, “How do I protect my wood deck?” Protecting a hardwood deck is pretty easy, as long as you use the right deck finish. The one we recommend here at Advantage is Ipe Oil™. Hardwood …

Ipe Decking Maintenance – How to Remove Ice & Snow from a Wood Deck

May 31, 2022January 4, 2010 by Mr. Ipe Hardwood

I received a great question from Bob K. (thanks, Bob!) about how to remove ice and snow from an ipe deck. This is a wonderful question not just because it’s winter, but because it’s just not a good idea to scrape ice off your deck using a snow shovel. How do you remove ice off …

End Grain Sealant for Hardwoods like Ipe

March 7, 2022December 9, 2009 by Mr. Ipe Hardwood

Just imagine your order of ipe decking arrives just in time. You look over each board and can see right away that each board is definitely premium grade. Satisfied, you start cutting and installing your deck right away. Things go smoothly and you’re about 75% of the way done when you start to see what …