Deck maintenance and welcome 2014

And so another year rolls on by...I hope everyone had a terrific New Years' and the coming year brings you much good health and happiness.

Lots of faffing around with the outdoor furniture placement since we refurbished the deck. I also refurbished our outdoor table - oil and wax has brought it back to life.

We've had a  busy few day over the Christmas/New Year break to do some much needed maintenance on the deck and stairs. I can't remember how long it's been since we re-oiled the decking boards but things were looking pretty shabby on the deck. You really do need to oil decks at least once a year - we had let it go for much longer between coats.

Washed deck. We use a deck cleaner, a bristle broom brush and elbow grease to get this job done. The boards had started to grey slightly.

We gave the deck and stairs a good old wash and scrub with a deck cleaner, which basically removes all the built-up grime. It's when we clear the deck and wash it, we can attend to any loose or split boards - you tend to notice any problems as you scrub each board. Anyway, it was all in reasonable condition with nothing really needing immediate attention.

After the boards had dried, Jason proceeded to re-coat the deck and stairs. He wanted to try a different product to the traditional oil he previously used. This time he experimented with a water-based finish. Fortunately, we didn't need to sand off the old finish as it had already worn off - a wash was all it needed.

A before and after shot. We only did 2/3 of the deck and did the rest the next day

Jason uses a paint brush to coat the deck. He could used a lamb's wool applicator but prefers a brush - I don't like to question him too much about his choices...at least he gets the job done! He applied two coats of finish and in the areas which are exposed to full sun he gave it three coats. The oil is applied sparingly too - to avoid the boards getting tacky.

The water-based finish worked out well. The clean-up and the wait between each coat was much faster and it has less odour  - always a bonus. The finish is slightly tacky at first but after it has cured for a few days it improves significantly.

After shot of the re-coated deck. We've moved the furniture around a bit and have put the butterfly chairs to the front of the deck.

The visible difference between coated and un-coated deck was huge. It is well worth the effort when you see the results. We've been living out on the deck since it's been done and enjoying the long summer days.

Butterfly chairs are placed to the front to enjoy more of the view we have of the local mountains/forests and suburb