Made it through the monsoons

The day after I weatherproofed the deck, the rains started. It rained for almost 2 days straight.

I was afraid that the deck sealant did not have enough time to dry, but it appears to have worked out OK. The water is still beading on the deck.

Deck Maintenance 2010

Its that time of year again... deck maintenance.

Time to slather on the water sealant in an effort to protect it from another year of torture by the elements. These products claim to give 2-3 years fo protection, but it seems that I need to reapply every year.

The biggest problems are greying due to the sun or mildew from the moisture. Depending on the area (shady or sunny), I have to deal with both.

This year, I decided to forgo the pressure washing and take my chances with just sweeping and spot cleaning where needed. We shall see whether this works out.

This weekend, I only worked on half the deck, mainly because I could not start until Monday morning (Labor Day) since it needed at least 48 houes to dry after rain on Friday morning.

So, after about 4 hours of prep - sweeping, spot scraping, and mostly picking or pushing leaves from the cracks - and about 3.5 hours of application time, HALF of the deck is done.

Really makes me consider hiring someone to do the other half.

Before: