If you have a wooden deck sitting out in a Littleton backyard, you already know how fast our local climate can punish a wooden deck. Between the blazing high-altitude sun and wild winter temperature swings where the temperature drops twenty degrees in an hour, a wooden deck experiences heavy wear. Mountain Deck sees plenty of outdoor spaces and Deck Building projects that were left just a couple of seasons too long without proper Deck Maintenance and Deck Care in Littleton.
Extending the life of a natural wood deck is not a difficult task, but a natural wood deck does take consistency. Property owners cannot just slap a coat of cheap sealant on a wooden deck once and forget about the wooden deck for five years. Colorado intense UV radiation breaks down surface fibers quickly, leaving the wood dry, gray, and vulnerable. Then spring moisture hits, soaking into those dried-out pores before freezing solid at night. That expansion cycle is what pops fasteners and cracks wooden deck boards right down the middle in Littleton.
Regular Deck Maintenance means staying ahead of the seasons rather than reacting to damage on your wooden deck. Homeowners should give a wooden deck a thorough cleaning every spring to sweep away winter debris, pine needles from local ponderosas, and stubborn dirt that holds moisture against the grain. Avoid blasting the wood with a high-pressure washer set on max, because you will just gouge the soft summer rings and create a fuzzy, splintered mess on a wooden deck. A gentle deck cleaner and a stiff-bristle brush work wonders without tearing up the material during Deck Maintenance in Littleton.
You will also want to keep an eye out for the usual warning signs that tell you trouble is brewing on your wooden deck. Check your ledger board where a wooden deck meets your house, look closely at stair stringers, and test your railing posts for any wobbles. If wooden deck boards are cupping, feeling spongy underfoot, or holding puddles of water long after a rainstorm, moisture has likely gotten past the surface defense of a wooden deck. Property owners should also watch for popped nails or screws, because driving them back down rarely works for long if the joist underneath a wooden deck is starting to rot out in Littleton.
There comes a point when DIY weekend maintenance on a wooden deck is not enough anymore. If you see widespread structural sagging, deep rot around post bases, or wooden deck boards that snap when you walk on them, it is time to call in a professional crew like Mountain Deck. Mountain Deck can swap out compromised framing members, replace damaged surface boards on a wooden deck, and apply a professional-grade penetrating stain that actually blocks out the Littleton weather instead of just sitting on top of a wooden deck. Taking care of small issues now keeps your wooden deck safe and solid for years of summer cookouts, and Mountain Deck provides Deck Building services for homes in Littleton, Colorado.