Many of us in the Portland area are working on staining our decks and getting them to look beautiful before the cold weather returns. This is the perfect time of year to assess your deck and see what it needs. Treating it with a high quality stain is essential to protecting a wood deck. You can choose to do the work yourself or call a professional to help you.
At Absolute Painting & Power Washing we work on about 30-40 decks every year and each one is different. Wood decks will typically be your highest maintenance decks and that is what I am going to talk about today. Most wood decks in the Portland area are made of Cedar which is a great product and works well in our climate. It does require a fair amount of maintenance and the more you do the longer they will last.
Of course the best way to protect your wood deck would be to build a cover over it so it gets very little weather exposure. Keeping the rain off of your deck is most of the battle in Oregon as rain causes the wood to rot.
If you are not planning to build a cover I would suggest keeping items off of it that will trap moisture such as pots, rugs, wood or anything else that can keep moisture on the wood. Most of us keep some stuff on our decks but if you move it around every so often you will avoid the long term damage it can cause.
Keep any bushes or plants from coming into contact with the deck as this will also trap moisture and cause dry rot. Cut back plants especially in the wet season away from decks.
One final way to protect your wood deck is to keep your animals nails clipped. Some larger dogs can scratch the stain off the deck very quickly and leave the wood exposed to the elements. If you need any help or advice on deck maintenance please call Absolute Painting & Power Washing as we are happy to help.
