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Home Improvement

2008-03-01 09:38:00

Tips on treating decks and outdoor furniture

Question: What are some good tips on treating my deck and outdoor furniture to help protect my investment?

Answer: You’re right on the money. Summer will soon be upon us, and it’s time for all of us to “hit the deck.” ?The warm weather brings us all outside to throw some steaks on the grill or to gather for social functions with friends and family. And, you are right again in it being a good time to take a look at your pressure treated wood deck and check for maintenance needs. Most decks are constructed of pressure treated wood. New decks have a normal, yellow-green look to them that will fade in time to a silvery color. It is natural for wood to dry out and crack as it ages. Sealing the wood on your deck is highly recommended to extend the life of your pressure treated wood. When water enters the wood and then dries out, it can cause the wood to expand and contract which leads to splitting and cracking. Sealing your deck can help prevent this from happening. Many people have one main question regarding sealing their deck, how do they know when it is needed. A very simple test is this, pour some water on the pressure treated wood of your deck. If the moisture “beads up” it is not time to reseal the wood on your deck. However, if the area becomes a large dark mark on the surface, it is time to head to the hardware store! Have you been thinking about painting or staining your deck to add to its beauty? Not only does stain enhance the appearance of your deck, it also lubricates the wood to help protect it from the elements. Most manufacturers recommend waiting two to three months in order to allow the wood to cure. The best time to seal or paint your deck is in the early spring when temperatures are consistent and without it becoming too hot or too cold outside. As a matter of safety, periodically check your deck to make sure everything is secure. Check the railings, steps, and posts. When repairing, make sure to not use the same nail hole twice. Keep in mind that decks are not designed to accommodate the excessive weight of items such as hot tubs, kiddy pools, and larger children’s toys. In order to make your deck safer for those needs please make sure you take the appropriate design steps to reinforce your deck’s capabilities. Don’t forget the furniture. Americans spend more than $500 million on unfinished exterior furniture every year, and most choose the raw furniture to save money, but most also ruin their investment by not protecting outdoor furniture properly. Here is what you should keep in mind before starting this project: Always have two work areas: a preparation area and a finishing area. It is important that you not try to stain or paint the piece in the same area where you have just sanded. Sanding will create a lot of dust and you want to prevent kicking up dust onto the furniture while you are staining and varnishing it. Look for knots. Most people know what a knot looks like, but they do not know how to tell the good from the bad. A knot is where a branch was once hooked to the tree. A black knot means that it was harvested when it was dead. That is not a good piece of wood. The problem with knots is that they loosen and fall out. A brown knot is okay as long as it doesn’t have cracks in it. Sometimes knots add character. If your furniture has “bad” knots, you will need to use an epoxy glue to permanently secure it. Prepare the surface. There are two ways to protect unfinished exterior furniture. You can either stain and varnish it or paint it. The one you choose depends on your preference. The reason to stain is to color product to match something. The varnish is clear coating to protect wood and stain from weathering elements. The paint serves the same purpose, but is a quicker process. You have more color options with paint. Follow the steps below to stain and varnish: • Check for knots • Lightly sand entire piece with palm sander or hand sander • Take linen cloth and wipe piece •Wipe with “tack” cloth (a cheese cloth with a tacky texture). The “tack” cloth picks up lint pieces that could show through varnish. • Apply coat of wood conditioner. When you have wood that has parts that have been cut across the grain (like on the ends), you have to use wood conditioner. If you don’t use wood conditioner, you risk having areas that look darker, which means the stain has absorbed faster in that spot. Let set for an hour or two. • Rub the piece with emory cloth, which is a fine sand paper, or steel wool. This process will remove burrs that have been caused by wood conditioner. • Wipe again with tack cloth. Apply a coat of stain. Let set overnight. (You can come back later - 1 week or 1 month) Apply varnish. Use “spar” varnish, which is made for exteriors. You can’t use interior varnish because it will blister outside. Total work time is 1-2 hours. However, when you consider the drying time, it’s a weekend project. The first seven steps are the same to finish wood with paint. Once you move the item to the finishing area, follow the steps below: Apply one coat of exterior primer paint and let set for a few hours. Primer is important because it gives you better adhesion for paint and seals wood. A good tip is to make sure the primer is tinted within a couple of shades of paint color for easier coverage. If primer is white - which it normally is - and your paint is dark, you may have to apply several coats. Apply one coat of paint. Make sure you use exterior paint. Generally, it is a good idea to freshen up your outdoor furniture with a coat of varnish (no need to stain again) or paint every 3 to 5 years. This may vary depending on whether you bring the furniture in during off-seasons.