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May 6, 2020

Steps to Restoring Your Deck

As the weather gets better, you may be considering a deck update. As expected, years of rain, snow and sunshine may have your deck looking like it needs a facelift. If your deck is still strong and the foundation is good, you can just provide a little TLC and get your deck back to looking brand new in no time!

Inspection:

Before you start any project, it is always important to perform a full inspection. In this case, you will want to provide a thorough inspection of your deck.

Is your deck’s foundation solid? Are there areas that are rotting? If you do have rotted areas, you will want to get those boards replaced before moving on with your deck restoration. If your deck has railing, inspect that as well.

Wood Replacement:

After you performed an inspection, you likely found damaged boards or railings. If you did in fact find damaged wood, it is very important that you replace it. You need to ensure that the wood on your deck is strong to ensure it will hold up. You can find the wood you need at most lumber yards. At Fischer Lumber, we carry a variety of woods perfect for decking projects.

Once you have replaced the damaged wood areas of the deck, remove hazardous areas by sanding down or removing splinters, and ensuring that all the nails are hammered in.

Protect the Surrounding Areas:

Now that the problem areas are fixed and inspection is complete, it’s time to prep the area.

If the deck is attached to your house, you will want to cover the areas that need protecting. You can use a plastic sheet to cover your siding, doors and flowers or grass around the deck. It’s important to check underneath the deck as well and remove any objects or cover any areas that you don’t want to be damaged. This is essential to ensure that you don’t cause damage with the sprays and stains you are using. 

Cleaning and Stripping:

Before you add stain to the deck, it may benefit from a good scrub.

You can use just about any deck cleaning product on the market for this. It’s as simple as you think. Scrub the cleaning solution on your deck to get all the dirt and dust off. If you have a push broom, great. If not, a regular broom will be sufficient. Once you have scrubbed the deck down completely, give it a good rinse.

If your deck was previously stained, you will want to strip the stain and rinse the deck. You can use a stain stripper of your choice.

The deck will need to be completely dry before adding the stain.

Smooth it Out:

Once the desk is dry, you will want to sand the deck down to make it smooth for staining.

You will probably want to get a sanding pole to make this easier. Walk the deck and ensure that all areas are sanded down and smooth. Once finished sanding, sweep away any excess dust before adding the stain.

Stain the Deck:

Now that you have prepped and cleaned the deck, it is time to add the stain.

You will want to start with the railings around the deck. Be sure that you are getting the tops, sides and underneath of the rails. If you see drippage, brush it up to ensure that you don’t have a messy stain job. Once the rails are done, you can move on to the deck itself. Make sure you apply the stain with long, even strokes. If you notice areas with excess stain, be sure to brush them and level the stain out. Once dry, you will be left with a natural, stained look.

Whether you are building a new deck or restoring an old one, the team at Fischer Lumber Co., can help! We have the materials you need to create the deck of your dreams. Give us a call today! 618.259.7434

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