How to Repair a Deck
Many homeowners love to spend time outside their home. With a deck, not only is it easy to enjoy outdoor living, but extremely comfortable. Decks are a great way to entertain, relax, add value to your home and make your property more attractive. While a properly built deck is extremely reliable, from time to time you might need to do some repairs. Here are some tips.
Repairing a Deck with Loose Decking or Stairs
Repairing loose decking or stairs is usually simple. Inspect the deck for loose decking or stairs. Many times the reason for looseness is that a nail or bolt is not fully tightened. Simply tighten the bolt or hammer in any loose or missing nails. If a nail or bolt is missing, hammer in a replacement nail or replacement bolt. Make sure to use exterior deck nails and bolts. These types of bolts and nails are treated to resist rust and the elements.
Repairing a Deck Railing
Deck railings provide not only attractive décor to your deck, but practicality. Many people rely on railings to keep them, their children and pets within the deck area. First inspect the railing. If the damage to the railing is confined to one piece of wood, you can usually just remove the piece of wood, taking measurements of the wood, cutting a new piece and reinstalling it. Some railings include grooves and notches. If you are not a wood worker, your best bet is to go to your home improvement shop with the damaged railing piece and purchase the same piece of wood that is cut to fit the measurements of the damaged piece. If your railing is damaged in many areas of the railing, you might want to think about building a new railing with new wood. With all deck repairs, stain the wood or paint it so that it fits within its surroundings.
Repairing a Deck with Water Damage
If your deck has been damaged by water you may see that pieces of wood have heavily rotted. These pieces of wood should be replaced immediately. If you live in an area that receives lots of rainfall and water damage is a big issue, you might want to look to use vinyl or other water resistant materials for your deck.
Repairing a Deck that Requires New Stain
Staining is quite easy. Stain protects wood from the elements and gives the wood a rich and attractive color. Before staining your deck, pressure wash or clean your deck thoroughly. Let your deck dry before you begin staining. Staining is similar to painting and requires similar equipment such as a paintbrush or roller and paint bucket. Apply the stain as you would do with paint. Once the stain is applied, let the stain dry for about 24 hours.
Repairing a Deck that is Unstable
An unstable deck can be due to the joists, supports, foundation and land that the deck is situated on. If you are not skilled at deck building, you should definitely contact a professional to see how an unstable deck can be made steady.