Deck maintenance

On the weekend, Jason tackled general deck maintenance such as re-oiling the decking boards and checking for rotted boards that he could easily replace himself.

Fortunately, there was only one board which needed to be replaced. It was on the back landing which receives most of the weather.

rotten hardwood decking board

new Merbau decking board

It should weather like the rest of the boards - we're not concerned with it not being matchy-matchy for now.

Oiling the deck in sections

And then Jason oiled the deck, which we (N.B I'm using the royal We) ideally try to do every year. Last year when we sanded and oiled the deck, it decided to rain. Hmmm...soul destroying to see speckled water marks on the finish after all that effort.

Luckily this time around, the weather was glorious. The deck had been scrubbed clean beforehand, so it was ready for a light coat of clear decking oil.

Jason oiled the deck over a two-day period in two sections, because we didn't want to move the new (but heavy) outdoor table downstairs. We just shifted the table when the first area was dry, which took 16 hours.

Jason also insisted on using a paint brush. We do have a lambs wool applicator which acts like a mop when applying the oil. It definitely would've been quicker, especially since our deck is a largish 6 metres x 7 metres.

I probably wouldn't recommend doing it the Jason way, unless you like hard work. He said the brush gave him more control over how much oil to apply. I think he's just slightly OCD, myself.

Anyway, he worked like a trooper, so one should not be too critical, particularly when one's only job was to make coffee.

The finished result is just lovely. Bring on summer!