Deck Painting and Repair
Spring is here and it’s time to enjoy the outdoors!
Decks and porches serve as great way of adding living space to your home, while enjoying the outdoors in your own backyard.
With a small amount of maintenance, you can keep your deck or porch looking great over decades of use. But without proper maintenance deck boards can rot and deteriorate, causing you to incur costly repairs.
Today I want to talk about maintaining your porch with a durable resurfacing paint called “Olympic Rescue it”.
The first step in this process is to inspect the deck for any structural problems. Take a good look at your deck boards to see if any have split, cracked, or warped. Cracks that are 1/8” wide can be filled with the resurfacing paint. If the crack has harbored water and ice, the board may have started to rot, in which case it may need to be removed and replaced.
Other areas of suspect are the decks spindles. Sometimes tree knots will loosen and fall out of 2x2” spindles causing them to lose their structural integrity. These should be replaced as well.
Lastly, inspect the hand railings for the same imperfections.
While you inspecting your deck, keep an eye out for splinters that can catch on your feet or hands. Be sure to remove and sand these areas prior to painting.
After inspection, you are ready to pressure wash the deck.
Before pressure washing I spray on a coat of mold/mildew remover. The soapy mixture helps to cut into the mold and mildew that grows on the damp areas of your deck.
After allowing the solution to sit for 5 minutes, begin pressure washing the deck with a 45 degree nozzle. The goal with pressure washing is to remove all mildew, mold, chipped paint, and stain.
After the deck has had adequate time to dry, it is time to paint!
I find it most efficient to paint the spindles and deck railings first. This allows you to move freely around the deck without stepping on wet paint.
You will find that the Olympic Rescue-It paint is far thicker then your typical latex or oil-based paint.
This product (and others similar to it: Rustoleum Deck and Concrete Restore, Behr Premium Deck Over) are specially formulated to fill the cracks in weathered deck boards. Additionally, the paint will expand and contract as it faces temperature changes and extremes.
Being able to expand and contract over the life of the coat, helps reduce chipping, cracking, and peeling.
Next, paint the cracks between the deck boards with a brush. Doing this will ensure that a coat of paint reaches down into the sides of the deck boards.
Once it has dried, you can apply the paint with a 9” paint roller, working from the inside out.
After rolling the paint on, rotate your roller 90 degrees and roll over the same area. This process helps with paint adhesion, and filling surface imperfections.
Be careful not to paint yourself in a corner! If your not paying attention this can happen to you!
Allow 24 to 48 hours for the surface to dry and enjoy!
For help painting your deck, please give me a call for a free estimate!
K&A Handyman Services
(412)532-8403
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A How-To Guide for Inspecting Your Future Home That Will Save You Money and Stress
