To prevent splintering in your wooden deck, here are the proper care tips to follow.
Have you recently installed a deck on your property? If so, you’ll want it to last as long as it can and avoid having it experience many problems. One problem decks can experience, mainly with wooden ones, is splintering. Splintering can shorten the lifespan of your decking material, and it can also be dangerous because splinters can be a hazard to anyone who walks on your wooden deck. Therefore, you want to prevent splintering from happening. To prevent splintering in your wooden deck, here are the proper care tips to follow.
Use Proper Cleaning Methods
Cleaning will always be an important part of keeping decking in good shape. Just be careful how you get it cleaned. If you use a power washer and set it to a high-pressure setting, wooden boards can easily be damaged, which accelerates the splintering process. Because of this, power washers should be set to a lower pressure setting, and you should spray the water from at least one foot away from whatever surface you’re cleaning. If you do this, you’ll be able to remove pesky mold and mildew on your deck while minimizing the chances of the boards being damaged during the cleaning process.
Give Your Deck Protection Against Ultraviolet Rays
You need to be proactive when providing protection for your deck, especially against the harmful rays of the sun. Without protection against the sun’s ultraviolet rays, your decking boards will start getting discolored. Beyond that, the boards could dry up and crack, which shortens your deck’s lifespan.
Due to these factors, you should apply water-repellent sealant to your deck periodically. This gives your deck the extra protection it needs so the sun won’t cause too much trouble.
Don’t Use Any Paint or Heavy Stains
Some people might believe that getting decking painted is a good idea when it begins getting worn down. While this could be a tempting proposition, we advise you to refrain from doing this. Paints and heavy stains can be damaging to wooden decks because they trap moisture within the decking boards, making it easier to cause splintering.
Replace Your Decking Boards as Needed
Sometimes, decking boards are just too damaged to fix. In this case, you should replace them. If it’s just a couple boards in need of replacing, you can simply swap out those individual pieces. If there are many boards that have been damaged, replacing the whole deck is probably the better choice.
Contact Albaugh & Sons
Since 2003, Albaugh & Sons, LLC has been dedicated to meeting the fencing, decking, and home remodeling needs of homeowners throughout the greater Frederick area. All of our team members are experienced, well-trained, and committed to exceeding the expectations of every customer.
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