Tips on Deck Replacement and Raised Patio

Tips on Deck Replacement and Raised Patio Ross Causey

Deck replacement and raised patio is about making your landscape looking good in general. Ideally, you have to replace damaged decks and raise your patio from time to time to make your front a sight to behold and expensive repairs later on. Here are some tips provided by​ ​landscape contractors​ to make your deck and patio look perpetually new.

Dings, scratches and stains are the most common things you’ll need to repair on your deck, and ease of repair varies widely depending on the materials you use. For certain types of decking materials, pressure-treated wood, cedar or redwood are recommended: These types of wood are remarkably easy to work with when you get a scratch or gouge on the surface. All you need to do is sand the boards until the stain, scratch or gouges disappears and then re-stain, paint or seal the deck to give it a finished look again.

Tropical hardwoods are so dense that they rarely have significant scratching issues. However, the wood reacts with any metals that aren’t stainless steel, so if your patio furniture doesn’t have a protective cushion on the foot or if other types of metal rest against the deck surface, the wood can develop unsightly black oxidation stains.

Many of the older composite materials have a brushed surface which makes sanding out any scratches easier. But these materials do not resist stains as well as newer capped composite materials. So if you have a stain that won’t come off with either soap and water or a specialized solution such as Corte*Clean Composite Cleaner, your last option is to flip over the board to the other side, or replace the board.

Many of the newer capped composite decking materials are exceptionally resistant to scratches and stains, so this isn’t an issue you should have to deal with often. But dropping a heavy item such as the claw head of a hammer can create a gouge, and dropping anything that’s very hot can also mar the surface by melting it. TimberTech, a composite manufacturer, recommends the use of a clothing iron on small scratches, to re-melt the plastic and smooth the surface. If more serious intervention is needed, board replacement is next, because most capped composite boards are one-sided.

Regular maintenance of your deck is really important not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to keep it structurally sound and free of slippery mold or algae. Most types of wood decking require cleaning and either staining or oiling every one to two years, while composite decking requires little care beyond cleaning to continue looking sharp. The cleaning and care process is different for each material.

Pressure-treated wood, cedar and redwood are types of wood decks that require the most maintenance. The best way is by cleaning, lightly sanding, and staining or sealing every one to two years. It’s also important not to let leaves or other debris pile up on your deck, since that can make deck boards slippery and encourage rot. While pipe and other tropical hardwoods are dense and strong, they still need regular maintenance just like other types of wood. You can try pressure washing, and then oiling the wood yearly to keep the color of your deck bright.