Clean

Even treated wood will not look its best after a long winter and a wet spring, so a little time spent cleaning will pay dividends for the summer months.

We would recommend that you sweep your deck regularly and hose it down when dirt accumulates. Allowing dirt and other organic matter such as leaf litter or soil to accumulate on your deck, increases the risk of fungal infection. The organic matter could not only carry the source of fungal infection but may hinder drainage and thus provides damp conditions that they need to survive. There are many effective cleaning agents available. Many are useful to remove algae growth which can occur and without cleaning this could become a slip hazard. Cleaning your deck with a pressure washer at the beginning and end of the season is a recommended course of action.

Re-seal and protection

The finished deck should be kept clean and for good looks, resealed with a brush-on water repellent every six months. For best results re-apply water repellent when the deck is dry after pressure washing.

Stain

Introduce personality to your deck by adding a coloured stain. Stains are designed to block the greying effects of ultra violet light. This affect diminishes over time due to ware and tare. Please bear in mind it will need regular re-staining and heavy foot traffic areas will have to be re-stained more frequently than other areas. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions when working with deck maintenance products.

Take care

It is advisable to regularly check for any proud shards or splinters of timber and remove should they occur for safety reasons.

What to expect

Small surface splits can occur in all components during the winter months. This happens as the timber dries and shrinks. In the summer months the splits will tend to close as the timber swells.

Important points to remember.

• Free Draining
• Designed to maximise the beautiful outdoors.
• The sub frame supports the decking and balustrading and bears onto the over site. It is very important that it is well designed and constructed. Get this right and     you'll have a firm and easy maintainable deck structure, get it wrong and problems can arise in the future.