Easy Steps and Methods to Enjoy Your Outdoor Spaces Year Round
by: Alexander Chandler
This guide explores how to prepare your deck or patio for the summer time. We’ll look at simple methods to easily wash your deck or patio surface. Very quickly you are going to have an backyard area for you to enjoy by yourself or with your visitors. Given the wide array of decks and patios we will quickly examine both concrete or cement decks and patios as well as wood and timber decks and patios.
While maintaining your outdoor living areas and surfaces is one thing keeping the furniture you use in these areas equally maintained will ensure that you are able to fully enjoy these spaces throughout the entire year. Outdoor tables, chairs, and lawn chaises are built from materials that are generally sufficient enough to hold up against sun, rain, and the wind. Day by day, they call for little more than regular spraying down. Specific care is essential, however, when staining, scuffs, and scrapes appear. Most of the time, cleansers and waxes intended for the care of cars and trucks, boats, and decks are appropriate for use on outdoor home furniture. At the end of the season, cover up outdoor pieces of furniture with canvas or cotton sheeting to continue to keep them dust free and shielded from moisture. Hold the furniture in a storage shed, a garage, or on a covered patio. Or, if it can’t be kept in a protected spot, cover it well in waterproof tarps created for outdoor s!
torage of furniture. Outdoor woven fabrics usually endure a chemical treatment during manufacturing to maximize stain and moisture resistance, whether or not they are made from synthetic fibers, such as vinyl-coated polyester or acrylic, or from cotton blends.
Once a week, hose fabrics off to get rid of dust, dirt, and body oils. To deeply clean, scrub with a utility brush and a formula of mild soap and lukewarm water. Stay away from detergents and hot water, which can strip the protective coating off of outdoor fabrics. If fabrics are badly tarnished or mildewed, scrub with a formula of 0.5 cup oxygen bleach and five gal. of warm water. If the instructions says “machine-washable,” place it in a washing machine filled with cold water and a cup of oxygen bleach. Agitate to mix and allow the cover rest overnight. Then, drain the water and spin, then wash the cover in cold water using mild soap. Bring it back to the frame, in the open position, to dry in the sun. Rinse regularly with a spray hose throughout the outdoor season, or all year if you live in a warm climate or humid environment. If mold is present, remove the cover from the frame, if possible, and brush away any mildew. Stow all outdoor cushions in a covered area to protect them from rainfall. If cushions become soaked, place them on end to speed up drying.
For both your cement and wood patios and decks we highly recommend a straightforward regimen to take care of the surface and preserve cleanliness. Every week, sweep deck flooring surfaces and thresholds with an outdoor push broom (or more frequently, if necessary) to remove leaves and other junk. Dust rails and windowsills with a counter brush.
Continually shovel your patio after snow. The heaviness of snow can harm the deck and the excess moisture content can harm untreated wood. For your cement or concrete decks as water seeps through small cracks in the surface or under the edges around the perimeter it can expand and contract with freezing weather. This expansion and contraction can lead to cracks forming or pre-existing cracks becoming larger.
Over the time of the entire summer and the other seasons we suggest these steps for long-term maintenance and care.
To wash a deck by hand, first sweep thoroughly and use an old saw blade or putty knife to get rid of any clutter trapped between the decks. Next, wash down the outdoor patio and rinse it with a long-handled deck brush and a solution of all-purpose solution and water, working in strokes that run parallel to the grain of the panels. For difficult spots, use a industrial deck brightener or oxalic acid, which brighten run down, gray wood.
If you actually have a sizable deck or porch, a power washer will save you time. This appliance uses high-pressured water to blast away dirt, mold, and certain stains. However, power washers can open up the pores in untreated wood surfaces, subjecting the floor surface to the outside weather and reducing the deck’s life span. The power washing method is a good way to maintain your cement decks, however if your cement or concrete deck is stained, it may gradually wear down this stain.
Awnings need to be sprayed regularly with a spray hose during the outdoor season. Permit the awning to air-dry completely after cleaning; always open awnings after bad weather to let them dry completely. For a deep cleaning, initially rinse the awning, then use a handled brush to apply a solution of water and mild soap. Rinse again. Keep awnings off the ground to reduce the opportunity that they will turn out to be winter homes for rodents.
As soon as the patio is clear, check for shaky nails that might have come unfastened over the winter. Remove them, and switch with galvanized, all-purpose deck screws, which are more unlikely to come out of wood than nails are. Plug holes with wood filler, and sand smooth. Finish off any other repairs, such as replacing a splintered or warped deck, before the damage worsens. In some cases it may be required to use sanding paper to smooth down worn edges that become splintered. With cement and concrete patios and decks it is strongly suggested to take advantage of the services of a professional concrete general contractor. Using the wrong concrete or applying it in the incorrect method may only make the problem worse.
Various wood treatment solutions have a different benefits for various wood surfaces, providing you the ability to customize a complete wood care process. This system begins the very first day and carries on during the life of your wood. Here are some items you might take into account.
New wood treatment will guard brand-new wood from the problems of sun and rainfall. Deck cleaning agent and brightener restore life into soiled and graying patios. Stain/Finish removers are more effective than a wood cleaner, this actually gets beneath and lifts off aged sealers, finishes, and grime that have piled up on your deck over time. Clear wood preservative with UV protection revives the beauty of your weathered deck while safeguarding against the weather with a clear finish. Exterior stain is usually solid or semi-transparent. Deep penetrating formula repels water.
Once a year (or when drops of water no longer bead on the floor but are absorbed into the deck), paint the patio with a water-based waterproofing sealer. Select a sealant that contains a UV protector to help block the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. There are additional concrete or cement sealants that can be used on your concrete decks and patios. These can help with eliminating the problems we talked about earlier when the freezing weather comes.
The final thing that we want to highlight is weeding and maintaining any vegetation that is around your deck or patio. Just as you do with your home’s foundation maintenance the same approaches can apply to your deck or patio. With wooden decks they most often use cement or concrete anchored support columns. These can settle overtime altering your deck or patio surface accordingly. Maintaining proper water flow off of and around the perimeter of your deck or patio is a key step. Continually removing any weeds that pop up through your cement or concrete patio is a must throughout the entire year. If you live in a heavily wooded lot or area, it is important to weed out unwanted plants routinely as some of these weeds may actually be newly sprouted trees. These root structures can become quickly entrenched and hard to permanently remove.
Please keep in mind that there are many more thorough and informative guides if you simply want to refinish or restain your deck. In our guide we hope you gained a more well-rounded insight as to what methods and year-round strategies you can employ to maintain your decks and patios throughout the entire year. Through these steps and tips you should be able to lengthen the life and quality of your decks and patios and their stains or finishes.
Looking for Fort Worth Homes? Give us a try!
About The Author: We are your premier residential real estate experts for the Greater Fort Worth region. The author invites you to visit: http://www.alexanderchandler.com
Related articles:
