If you have decking in your garden you will want to maintain it to keep it looking good. We have listed a few tips to help you to look after your decking. With the correct care your decking will continue looking great and be in the best condition for as long as possible.
Keep your decking clean – Buy some special decking cleaner to remove moss, mould, algae as well as grease and dirt to keep your decking looking clean. You should do this twice a year, once in spring to prepare it for summer and once in autumn to prepare it for winter. Scrub the surface using a stiff brush and a hosepipe, or you can use a jet washer if you prefer. You can apply a protective coat but you should wait around 2 days for the decking to dry before you do this.
Protect your decking – This is important to keep your decking looking at its best. You should do this at least once a year and there are three products you can use: decking protector, decking stain or decking oil. If your decking is looking worn then you can use decking restorer to solve this problem, before using one of the aforementioned product for further improvements.
Look out for decay – If you find your decking is starting to go soft then this will likely be the first sign of decay and you should not ignore the problem. Identify all of the areas that are affected by decay and trim off those sections using a saw. Cut the planks where they cross the centre of one of the joists. Once all of the damaged decking is removed you can treat the cut ends with a preservative. Treat new timber with around three coats of preservative and try to identify what was causing the decay.
Tidy up old screws – Old decking is likely to have ragged screw holes from where the original screws were drilled in. Replace the screws with newer ones and clean up the hole where they sit, you can do this by countersinking and sanding it. Remember to do it just a couple of screws at a time, don’t remove them all at once.
Restoring your decking – Over time the heat from the sun may break down the structure of the wood and when this happens you will want to put on a restorer to bring it back to its original colour. Use a stiff brush to remove any loose debris and use a jet washer to remove any moss, algae or mould. Apply the restorer and work it into the wood surface with a scrubbing pad or stiff brush. After this you can rinse with clean water and wait two days to dry before adding a protective coating.
Following these tips is the best way to keep your decking in top condition, remember to wear rubber gloves, goggles and old clothing when working with chemicals and keep checking your decking regularly to see if it needs any extra maintenance.