GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 12:00:11 GMT -5
So, after 2 years living in my first home, it is time to do some exterior maintenance. Specifically, my back porch needs to be re-stained. May I please impose upon you wise and experienced home-maintenance DIYers for some answers and advice? 1. It has actually needed to be re-stained for a few months but with the hot summer temps and the summertime sun position beating down on it, I had to wait for the temps and sunshine to moderate a bit. Now, that my Fall nesting instinct has hit I want to get the staining done before winter arrives. Besides, the worn out patches are really bugging me. So, although I will have to shovel (and maybe salt) over the winter, this is a good time to stain, right? 2. We are getting rain on Wednesday, and then 5 dry days of temps in the high 60s during the day and lows in the high 30s. That would be good staining weather, right? 3. If so, I plan on letting it dry out for 2 days and then sand and wash it down on Friday afternoon and then stain on Saturday. We might get rain by Monday, but the stain should be dry by then, right? 4. The previous owner left us with almost a full gallon of stain (the back porch is only about 8x8). Do I need to take it to Lowe's or Home Depot to get it re-shaken or can I stir it sufficiently with a paint stick? 5. Oh, and, because it is Fall, I have leaves and pine needles raining down on it. Can I place a tarp over the rails (only staining the deck portion) to keep the falling debris off of the stain as it dries? Will that delay the drying time significantly? Any thoughts/tips/warnings to add? I want to get it right the first time. I really hate having to redo time-consuming projects. So, any and all advice is very welcome!! Thanks, YMOTers!!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 12:04:15 GMT -5
When I restained my deck I did not sand it. I washed it with oxiclean. That stuff works great for cleaning decks. And you should be able to stir the stain just fine with a stick. What kind of stain is it? clear, semi transparent, solid?
Also, I would not worry about the stuff coming down on the deck. You may get a couple of things stuck in it, but it dries quickly enough to not have too much caught in it.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 12:10:06 GMT -5
When I restained my deck I did not sand it. I washed it with oxiclean. That stuff works great for cleaning decks. And you should be able to stir the stain just fine with a stick. What kind of stain is it? clear, semi transparent, solid? Also, I would not worry about the stuff coming down on the deck. You may get a couple of things stuck in it, but it dries quickly enough to not have too much caught in it. But, don't I need to sort of soften the edges of the spots where the stain has worn off so I get a smoother finish? Or, am I being totally anal about an outside surface that no one looks at as they approach the back door? ETA: It is a solid stain -- light grey.
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gambler
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Post by gambler on Oct 22, 2012 12:15:02 GMT -5
1)sand 2) make sure any nails or screws that woked loose are retightened 3)clean, clean and more clean mybe use oxiclean 4) take stain to lowes and hve them shake it wjhine there get a bushy roller, pait pan and a extention handle so you can stand up and roll the stain on. 5)stain 6)after it drys about 3 days get water sealer and apply, i found the best thing to use is a pump up sprayer as you can spray in the cracks between the boards. 7) let dry 8) optional: you can light sand and get out any thing that became stuck and smooth out the surface 9) cook out and drink lots of beer
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 12:15:07 GMT -5
When I restained my deck I did not sand it. I washed it with oxiclean. That stuff works great for cleaning decks. And you should be able to stir the stain just fine with a stick. What kind of stain is it? clear, semi transparent, solid? Also, I would not worry about the stuff coming down on the deck. You may get a couple of things stuck in it, but it dries quickly enough to not have too much caught in it. But, don't I need to sort of soften the edges of the spots where the stain has worn off so I get a smoother finish? Or, am I being totally anal about an outside surface that no one looks at as they approach the back door? ETA: It is a solid stain -- light grey. IMHO, it is very hard to get deck stain to be perfect even if you had a perfectly clean deck that had no previous stain on it. If you don't get every brush stroke exact and overlap one section more than another or let one part dry more quickly than another before you overlap it, you are going to get darker parts and lighter parts. So for that reason I don't think it is necessary to sand it. And if you haven't stained it in a couple of year the wood will be porous enough to accept the new stain. And with a solid stain it goes on really thick, almost like paint, so it will cover a lot of sins. A finally, if it is pressure treated wood, I don't particularly like breathing in all the chemical dust that comes off sanding it.
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kent
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Post by kent on Oct 22, 2012 12:22:18 GMT -5
I just finished my front deck last week. It's redwood so I cleaned it with TSP followed by Oxalic Acid (Ace Hardware carries it) to bleach the wood - something I do about every two years. After that, I sanded it for the first time (what a pain after 15 years) and it once again looks new.
I don't stain or "seal" my decks because it becomes a never-ending project you need to tackle ever couple of years to keep it looking good due to foot traffic unevenly wearing off the finish.
If you're just applying stain (no "sealer") just clean it as noted above and apply the stain. It should be dry to the touch in a couple of hours so leaves, etc. won't stick to it. The biggest risk you will have relates to an uneven color as new stain goes over old.
Enjoy!
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 12:22:56 GMT -5
1)sand 2) make sure any nails or screws that woked loose are retightened 3)clean, clean and more clean mybe use oxiclean 4) take stain to lowes and hve them shake it wjhine there get a bushy roller, pait pan and a extention handle so you can stand up and roll the stain on. 5)stain 6)after it drys about 3 days get water sealer and apply, i found the best thing to use is a pump up sprayer as you can spray in the cracks between the boards. 7) let dry 8) optional: you can light sand and get out any thing that became stuck and smooth out the surface 9) cook out and drink lots of beer Thanks, Gambler!!! Great points -- especially about getting the handle so I can stain from the stairs -- not a lot of space to move around on the deck itself. When you say water sealer -- like Thompson's? Do I drink the beer before, after, ...or during?
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 12:24:25 GMT -5
But, don't I need to sort of soften the edges of the spots where the stain has worn off so I get a smoother finish? Or, am I being totally anal about an outside surface that no one looks at as they approach the back door? ETA: It is a solid stain -- light grey. IMHO, it is very hard to get deck stain to be perfect even if you had a perfectly clean deck that had no previous stain on it. If you don't get every brush stroke exact and overlap one section more than another or let one part dry more quickly than another before you overlap it, you are going to get darker parts and lighter parts. So for that reason I don't think it is necessary to sand it. And if you haven't stained it in a couple of year the wood will be porous enough to accept the new stain. And with a solid stain it goes on really thick, almost like paint, so it will cover a lot of sins. A finally, if it is pressure treated wood, I don't particularly like breathing in all the chemical dust that comes off sanding it. Archie, good point about the pressure treated wood dust. And I like a forgiving stain (that sounds dirty but you kwim, LOL). But, I want perfect!!! Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. ET fix spelling.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 12:29:05 GMT -5
I just finished my front deck last week. It's redwood so I cleaned it with TSP followed by Oxalic Acid (Ace Hardware carries it) to bleach the wood - something I do about every two years. After that, I sanded it for the first time (what a pain after 15 years) and it once again looks new. I don't stain or "seal" my decks because it becomes a never-ending project you need to tackle ever couple of years to keep it looking good due to foot traffic unevenly wearing off the finish. If you're just applying stain (no "sealer") just clean it as noted above and apply the stain. It should be dry to the touch in a couple of hours so leaves, etc. won't stick to it. The biggest risk you will have relates to an uneven color as new stain goes over old. Enjoy! So, I'm supposed to do this every couple of years? Oy. Gosh I was spoiled in my old townhouse with the dedicated maintenance crew. I don't want uneven color. I want perfect. (Can you tell I'm a DIY newbie, LOL?) But, thanks for the info and the advice. I love my local Ace Hardware for specific stuff like the TSP and Oxalic Acid (although, HD and Lowe's have to cover for lumber, etc.).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 13:00:22 GMT -5
"When I restained my deck I did not sand it. I washed it with oxiclean. That stuff works great for cleaning decks. And you should be able to stir the stain just fine with a stick. What kind of stain is it? clear, semi transparent, solid? Also, I would not worry about the stuff coming down on the deck. You may get a couple of things stuck in it, but it dries quickly enough to not have too much caught in it." "IMHO, it is very hard to get deck stain to be perfect even if you had a perfectly clean deck that had no previous stain on it. If you don't get every brush stroke exact and overlap one section more than another or let one part dry more quickly than another before you overlap it, you are going to get darker parts and lighter parts. So for that reason I don't think it is necessary to sand it. And if you haven't stained it in a couple of year the wood will be porous enough to accept the new stain. And with a solid stain it goes on really thick, almost like paint, so it will cover a lot of sins. A finally, if it is pressure treated wood, I don't particularly like breathing in all the chemical dust that comes off sanding it." Archie I have two houses that have three decks EACH so I do A LOT of staining. The mountain cabin needs the handrails stained every year because of the temperature swings of freezing and 90 degree DRY temps. The SF Bay Area house decks are a lot more forgiving. I'll sand handrails if they are rough and could cause splintering as well as any uprights which may have "checked" due to sun exposure. Otherwise I leave it alone. I'm another fan of Oxyclean. It's much safer for you and your landscaping. I do a lot of brush work which takes takes time. For a small or narrow deck area, I'll just use the 3" brush on each deck board because by the time you cut in around the uprights you might as well finish the board. It takes me about 5 full days to do my SF Bay Area house decks. Part of that is due to the high humidity. The decks need to be fairly dry to absorb the stain. Often they will remain tacky for 3 to 5 days afterwards. Because of the dry weather at the cabin I can generally walk on it the following day. If you need to spend more than one day staining the deck, wrap your brushes in a plastic grocery back and put in your fridge. They should be fine for up to a week. I'll also store small containers of paint or stain (say I'm doing cut-in work and I'm using a coffee can or yogurt container) covered with plastic wrap or a plastic bag. I like the Behr products that Home Depot sells. They are expensive but they keep getting better and better. They have a built-in sun screen and there's no need for a "top" coat. They will generally go on sale or have a mail in rebate around every holiday. When you do as much deck staining as I do, you get over being "perfect" and are just grateful you are done!
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Oct 22, 2012 13:14:39 GMT -5
Your timing is right. Getting the deck sealed up before winter protects the wood from the fall, winter, and spring moisture.
However, depending on what wood was used to build your deck, you might consider moving to a low maintenance option. That is stripping the stain off the deck and going natural. This can be done if the deck is made of cedar, redwood, or a couple of other naturally oily woods.
We had cedar decks for many years. More expensive to build, but more rot resistant than pine, spruce, hemlock and other woods. If you don't stain it, it weathers to an attractive gray.
For maintenance, every couple of years I would grab the hose, wet down the deck well, use a garden sprayer to apply a diluted beach solution, give the deck a quick scrub with a stiff bristled garage broom to loosen the dirt on the deck, then hose the dirt off the deck. Might take me a couple of hours to do a 400 square foot deck.
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Regis
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Post by Regis on Oct 22, 2012 14:01:26 GMT -5
Do I drink the beer before, after, ...or during? Yes.
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Bluerobin
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Post by Bluerobin on Oct 22, 2012 14:30:07 GMT -5
Skip the wash if you're sanding. Sweeping the deck off or using a leaf blower works just fine for the sanding dust and allows you to put a coat of varnish or stain on immediately.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 14:31:51 GMT -5
Archie I have two houses that have three decks EACH so I do A LOT of staining. The mountain cabin needs the handrails stained every year because of the temperature swings of freezing and 90 degree DRY temps. The SF Bay Area house decks are a lot more forgiving. I'll sand handrails if they are rough and could cause splintering as well as any uprights which may have "checked" due to sun exposure. Otherwise I leave it alone. I'm another fan of Oxyclean. It's much safer for you and your landscaping. I do a lot of brush work which takes takes time. For a small or narrow deck area, I'll just use the 3" brush on each deck board because by the time you cut in around the uprights you might as well finish the board. It takes me about 5 full days to do my SF Bay Area house decks. Part of that is due to the high humidity. The decks need to be fairly dry to absorb the stain. Often they will remain tacky for 3 to 5 days afterwards. Because of the dry weather at the cabin I can generally walk on it the following day. If you need to spend more than one day staining the deck, wrap your brushes in a plastic grocery back and put in your fridge. They should be fine for up to a week. I'll also store small containers of paint or stain (say I'm doing cut-in work and I'm using a coffee can or yogurt container) covered with plastic wrap or a plastic bag. I like the Behr products that Home Depot sells. They are expensive but they keep getting better and better. They have a built-in sun screen and there's no need for a "top" coat. They will generally go on sale or have a mail in rebate around every holiday. When you do as much deck staining as I do, you get over being "perfect" and are just grateful you are done! Bonny, good point about the landscaping -- I completely forgot about the extensive plantings the previous owner surrounded the back porch with -- I'll go with the oxyclean instead then and try and protect the plants as best I can. But, some grow right against the edge of the deck and will likely catch some of the runoff. I wonder what my squatter snake under the porch will do, LOL -- probably writhe out to scare the dickens out of me once again, LOL. Also good points about using a brush on a small area -- the back porch is at most 8x8 -- not huge. The bottom of the railings is raised above deck-level -- a post on either end and in the corner supports them, so not a lot of detail work involved. I will have to cut in along the house, though, I suppose since the house is white. Oy. This is more involved that I want, LOL. And, if I don't finish or want a second coat (?) I'll be sure to wrap everything with plastic. I don't know about putting it in the fridge --the teenagers think anything in the fridge is fair game to eat, LOL, LOL. Hopefully, this is the kind of task that becomes a no-brainer after the first go-round. If not, then I'm getting ugly ass cement steps and back porch put in, LOL.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 14:33:57 GMT -5
Your timing is right. Getting the deck sealed up before winter protects the wood from the fall, winter, and spring moisture. However, depending on what wood was used to build your deck, you might consider moving to a low maintenance option. That is stripping the stain off the deck and going natural. This can be done if the deck is made of cedar, redwood, or a couple of other naturally oily woods. We had cedar decks for many years. More expensive to build, but more rot resistant than pine, spruce, hemlock and other woods. If you don't stain it, it weathers to an attractive gray. For maintenance, every couple of years I would grab the hose, wet down the deck well, use a garden sprayer to apply a diluted beach solution, give the deck a quick scrub with a stiff bristled garage broom to loosen the dirt on the deck, then hose the dirt off the deck. Might take me a couple of hours to do a 400 square foot deck. Good to hear that my timing is right, TSkeeter. Alas, however, I think it is just a simple pine porch. A couple of the 2x4s or 2x6s or whatever are showing signs of rot which I don't think cedar or pressure-treated wood would do, correct? Sigh. I suppose I should replace those before I start this whole process. Maybe we'll just start using the front door only from now on. ;D
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 14:35:21 GMT -5
Do I drink the beer before, after, ...or during? Yes. Please forgive my newbie mistake. Guess I should have worded the question "Do I drink the beer, before, after,... and during?" NOT "or".
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 14:37:14 GMT -5
Skip the wash if you're sanding. Sweeping the deck off or using a leaf blower works just fine for the sanding dust and allows you to put a coat of varnish or stain on immediately. Except, I forgot (I know, how do you forget this???) that I have extensive planting around the porch -- hostas, astilbe, and some other plants I forget the names of. Although, I could point the leaf blower down the stairs and through the white picket fence gate into the driveway...hmmmm...gonna have to go figure it out...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 14:39:58 GMT -5
Oxiclean will not harm the plants and it does a great job at cleaning the wood.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 14:40:58 GMT -5
Oxiclean will not harm the plants and it does a great job at cleaning the wood. Given your humorous nature: You sure?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 14:45:46 GMT -5
Oxiclean will not harm the plants and it does a great job at cleaning the wood. Given your humorous nature: You sure? I would never give advice that caused someone to harm their plants. Thrice, have I cleaned my deck with oxiclean (lots of of it the first time) and my plants have never shown any signs of stress. We planted 5 hydrangeas around our deck when we moved in.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 22, 2012 14:49:14 GMT -5
Given your humorous nature: You sure? I would never give advice that caused someone to harm their plants. Thrice, have I cleaned my deck with oxiclean (lots of of it the first time) and my plants have never shown any signs of stress. We planted 5 hydrangeas around our deck when we moved in. Sorry, no offense intended. I LOVE your wit. I just didn't know if it encompassed botany. ;D
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Bluerobin
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Post by Bluerobin on Oct 22, 2012 16:38:05 GMT -5
Cover the plants with those cheap plastic drop cloths.
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qofcc
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Post by qofcc on Oct 22, 2012 19:33:33 GMT -5
Make sure you use transparent stain. Opaque stain = paint. It will flake. Also, if you use a power washer, be careful not to let the spray from the deck splash onto your house. How do I know this? I power washed my deck which was stained with opaque deck stain and embedded flakes of grey stain in my yellow vinyl siding which i then had to scour off by hand and pick out of the crevices with my finger nails which took much longer than the power washing and staining combined.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 20:23:27 GMT -5
I don't recommend power washing decks. Most people use too much force and it will break down the fibers of the wood. A simple spray nozzle to wet and rinse the deck is fine. I use a scrub brush screwed into a broom handle to deal with mildewed floor boards or tree sap and to apply the oxiclean. The cabin decks are 20 years old. One deck of the SF Bay Area house is approaching 30 years old. The "new" deck is 11 years old. I've replaced one section of beam of the 30 year old deck two years ago. Everything else is in good shape.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 21:31:34 GMT -5
Here is the my deck as it looked when we bought the house. Here is my deck after I cleaned and stained it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 22:59:10 GMT -5
Pressure wash the deck (you can even do that in the rain). Pressure washer (baby size and medium pressure) at Costco is under $200. Sherwin Williams has a 5 year stain (not paint) that has held up for a year in the PNW so far, which is longer than any other product I have used.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Oct 23, 2012 7:34:33 GMT -5
Bucket of bleach mixed with water. mop the deck with the solution. let dry. then stain the deck before the sun or heat hit it.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Oct 23, 2012 11:06:15 GMT -5
Some thoughts on using any kind of cleaning solution, whether it is oxyclean, or bleach, or something else.
To protect plants there are a couple of things to do. The first is to thoroughly soak the soil around the plants before you begin cleaning. The additional moisture in the soil will help dilute any cleaning solution that gets to the ground and soil well saturated with clean water will not draw water containing cleaners toward the plants. The "clean water barrier" will cause the water containing cleaners to evaporate before it is absorbed by your plantings. (This applies to grass that grows up to a deck, too. Bleach and other cleaning products do a pretty good job of killing grass.)
As OP's have suggested, you can cover plants with light plastic to protect them from direct splashes of cleaning solution. But don't cover the plants and bushes for too long. A few hours is OK, but if it's sunny, a couple of days is too long. The plastic makes a mini green house that can trap heat. As soon as you are done with the cleaning, pull the plastic off the plantings to avoid over heating them.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Oct 23, 2012 11:25:31 GMT -5
Arch, I noticed from the pictures of your deck that it looks like the posts that are part of the railing may be just nailed to the framing of the deck. (I'm looking at how the corner posts at the top of the steps appear to be attached. All I see is nail heads.) If that is right, if several people should lean heavily against the railing at the same time, the railing could peel away from the deck and your guests into the yard. Possible injuries and lawsuits. (This comment also applies to how the railings for the step are attached to the deck/steps.)
Railing posts are normally fastened to the deck framing by bolting through the part of the post that overlaps the edge of the deck and through the framing. This attaches the post firmly to the underlying structural frame of the deck.
Considering how the railing appears to be attached, I also suggest that you check how the deck itself is attached to the house. The ledger board where the framing for the deck attaches to the house should either be bolted through the framing of the house, or lag screwed to the framing for the house with hex head lag screws every 16 inches. Nailing the ledger board to the house with big nails doesn't cut it. The joists should be attached to the ledger board with joist hangers with nails in every hole of the joist hanger, not just toe nailed to the ledger board. Every few years people are killed and injured when an improperly constructed deck pulls away from a house and dumps everyone who is on the deck onto the ground.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2012 11:53:19 GMT -5
yes, the railing is not good. I am replacing it in the spring. I will take a look at the ledger board while I am at it...
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