The Best Ways to Ruin Your Deck

As part of my job, I am the warranty service and deck repair guy. So I get to see a lot of decks, some that we have built and some we haven’t. I’ve noticed a few common mistakes people make that can easily ruin the look of their deck. So here are three things to avoid if you want your deck to look great for years.

Rusty Furniture
Cast Iron or metal deck furniture can start to rust around the bottom without you noticing, leaving you with some ugly rust stains. One way to reduce the risk of this happening is to put some felt pads on the bottom of the feet when the furniture is new. This should keep the paint from wearing off over time. Rust stains are very difficult to remove from decking. If you have wood decking, try sandpaper. Composite or Vinyl decking, try toilet bowl cleaner.

Debris Buildup
Clumps of wet leaves can leave you with some tough stains if allowed to stay on the deck for too long. Smaller debris from trees can build up between your deck boards and speed up the decay of composite and wood decks, as well as cause the water not to drain off the deck as well. Blowing the deck off once a week or so should help to minimize any issues.

Over Shoveling
There is nothing wrong with removing the snow from your deck if you do it properly. I would use a leaf blower or a broom whenever the snow is light enough. You can use a plastic shovel for the heavier stuff. Never use a snowblower, as tempting as it may be. Leaving the snow and ice on your deck is perfectly okay though. Today’s decks are built to hold large groups of people and will easily be able to support the additional weight of the snow, even the heavy stuff. The materials should all be able to handle the moisture and ice as well.

Keep these things in mind as you get ready for your new deck. Prepare for a little maintenance, especially when the seasons change.