Proactive Maintenance

Great article in Seattle Times this weekend. (Can’t believe I said that. Oh yea, it’s because it was copied from a reporter for the Denver Post.) Proactive maintenance is key to saving money as a homeowner. Something mentioned in the article is what we have recommended to homeowners for years: If you had an inspection performed when you purchased your property, find it. It is an excellent, and usually well organized, template for checking all of the elements and systems in your home. You may even find a few deficiencies that were in the report, but were forgotten in the haste of moving in and getting settled.

TREX Decking: It’s Not Working

TREX decking took the industry by storm over 15 years ago. But now, as we see more and more homes with TREX decks that are over ten years old, the truth is…..it does not age well. Prone to discoloration, there is no way to restore color. Prone to swelling, similar to LP siding, it is impossible to replace pieces of TREX decking without having new boards stand out like a sore thumb.

Gorgeous when first installed, easy and quick to install, uniform in color and texture compared to wood, people love it when it is new. But there was ever anything that makes resale properties look tired, it is a worn and faded TREX deck.

Until there is a means by which this material can effectively be refinished, we recommend to all homeowners in the Northwest: stick with cedar. Yes, it’s a lot of work and expense to refinish every year or two. But the fact is, that it can be made to look good many times over with proper care. The same cannot be said of TREX.

My Deck is Green

Have you gone out on your deck to fire up the barbeque on one of these nicer days, only to slip on the slippery green surface and send your 2" peppercorn steaks over the neighbor's fence into the clutches of a friendly pit bull terrier? Well, maybe nothing that bad, but it's easy to get hurt if the condition isn't corrected. We recommend applying a solution of 1/2 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of hot water. Don't necessarily scrub, just sweep into the wood grain with a stout whisk broom. It should be black the next day, and fairly easy to clean up with a hose and the broom. Be careful of adjacent plants, trees, children and pets. They don't like bleach.

If the result isn't satisfactory, carefully clean with a pressure washer. But be careful to hold the nozzle at least 12" off the deck. Too close and you may fray the grain, creating a bigger mess than you started with. We recommend that the pressure washing be followed, as soon as it dries out, with application of a wood preservative or stain. The reason is that the washing strips natural protective oils from the wood. If not replenished with a preservative, a deck is prone cracking, cupping, and aging, thus failing, prematurely. Pressure washing is better done in the summer when the deck can dry out quickly and completely before applying a preservative.