Enjoying your deck in summer is part of our American suburban culture. But if If you're building or replacing a deck board this summer, then you'll be faced with one of the oldest questions in deck construction.
Should the boards be placed bark side up or bark side down? This is important because wood deck boards will cup and then you wind up with tripping or splintering problems.
Understanding why wood warps and cups and how grain of the wood affects this behavior is helpful. There are lots of opinions are out there about which way to orient wood decking but I'll try and shed some light on how to place your deck boards so you end up with a great looking deck!
And don't forget that refinishing a wood deck is a great summer project that will improve your outdoor living space and extend the life of your deck. And your deck is a significant investment in your home.
Deck refinishing includes several steps such as:
- inspection,
- basic deck board repair and replacement (if needed),
- initial deck board cleaning / brightening,
- deep cleaning with a power washer,
- sanding,
- staining / sealing and
- and of course, the celebration Labor Day BBQ!
There are several tricks and tips I outline for you in How to Refinish a Wood Deck to make short work of this project and get you professional looking results. I'll give you specific product recommendations and lead you through a very detailed and photo packed tutorial of each step in the refinishing process.
So this Labor Day, fix those warped or splintered deck boards and celebrate the holiday on your new refinished wood deck and enjoy the rest of the summer!
Replacing Deck Boards to Minimize Warping Problems and Refinishing Your Wood Deck originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 09:46:03.
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