Maintaining Your Red Cedar Deck

Western red cedar is known for its durability, making it the perfect wood for your deck, outdoor furniture or greenhouse. Because of its resistance to the elements, natural preservative oils, stability, and great surface for staining it is unmatched in its exterior use.

Western red cedar is in high demand for outdoor construction such as decks, green houses, tool-sheds, fences, patio and patio furniture where stability and durability are key requirements.

Western red cedar is quite versatile and accepts a variety of stains to create the particular look the homeowner wants.

Maintenance

You will need to apply a surface finish soon after construction to prevent surface degradation. To help capture and maintain the beauty of the wood use semi-transparent stains and water-repellent preservatives.

When you are ready to choose a finish purchase one that offers protection against ultraviolet light contains water-repellent fungicide and mildewcide.

Follow the instructions from the finish manufacturer. For best results apply the finish when moisture content has stabilized at the level that will prevail during the life of the wood. (Hint) Lightly scuff smooth cedar with sandpaper before applying the finish. It may be necessary to re-apply every year or so, to ensure your wood remains beautiful.

Cedar Furniture Care

Water Sealer -- To maintain the natural color of your wood, apply a water sealer to protect from sun and water. It may be necessary to re-apply every year or so depending on the exposure.

Natural Red Cedar -- furniture doesn't necessarily have to be finished. If finish is allowed to age naturally, the wood grain will slightly raise and the wood will naturally finish to a silver-gray color with darker streaks.

To Maintain -- You can always change the color of your wood with an exterior stain. This also may be necessary to re-apply every year or so as with the water sealer to maintain balance. Oil Lind seed oil or teak can be rubbed over the wood, this will deepen the color and slow down the aging process by repelling water.

Stain will be the best alternative for adding color to your furniture. If you choose to paint outdoor furniture it will blister and peel eventually.

Prepare Your Deck this Winter and Take the Hard Work Out of Spring Cleaning

Whether it’s trimming, pruning, planting bulbs, transplanting or mulching, these are things that you can do in the fall and winter that virtually guarantee a more successful lawn in the spring. By preparing your homes landscape for winter you can hit the ground running with a beautiful yard and garden in the spring.

Western Red Cedar decks are loved for their unmatched beauty, and many homeowners with wood decks are familiar with the regular maintenance needed to keep it looking its best. Even decks made of Western Red Cedar, one of the best performing wood species for outdoor applications, need occasional maintenance to keep them in top shape. Regular “spring cleaning” enables a wood deck to last for years, even decades.

To make your spring maintenance easier, it is recommended that you do these simple tasks right now:

Remove Dirt and Debris

Remove all pine needles, leaves and branches from your deck. If you have lots of leaves or branches falling on your deck, you might consider cutting back the trees. Remove debris from between boards. Over time dirt and leaves will build up, causing standing water or other moisture to stay on top rather than drain down. Correct ventilation is also crucial to avoiding moisture build up.

Eliminate Mildew

Mildew should be removed as soon as possible after it appears. Mildew left to grow untreated, even in the winter, can lead to additional damage. There are lots of products that can be purchased at any retail lumberyard or home center . You can also make your own solution with household cleaners you may already have on hand.

Using a common garden sprayer, combine 1 quart of oxygen bleach --Oxyclean and Ajax Oxygen Bleach are two of the most popular brands -- 3 quarts of water, and 1/4 cup of ammonia-free liquid dishwasher detergent within the spray canister. Liberally apply the solution to the surface and allow to set for about 10-15 minutes. After the solution has been allowed to set, simply rinse the surface clean. If you have a tougher mildew stain you may need to apply the solution with a soft bristle brush.

Pots and Planters

Setting pots and planters directly on a deck’s surface will cause staining. With the drain holes in the base of potted plants, when moisture runs off it isn't able to evaporate between the planter and the deck.

To solve this problem you can create space between the deck and planters, place planters onto 2” x 2” cedar. The natural compound in cedar forms a resistance to rot, decay and deterioration and the extra space created by the cedar will allow moisture to evaporate. Adding cedar stand-offs underneath other large objects like benches, storage boxes and umbrella stands will also go a long way to promoting a healthy deck.

Using Your Deck During the Winter

If you are going to be using your deck regularly during the winter for hot tubing, barbecuing, or even sitting around an outdoor fireplace, or open fire pit, here are some simple tips to safeguard against doing harm to your wood: If your wood deck is covered with snow and you ned to shovel it off, run the shovel lengthwise on the boards. If you shovel cross-wise could cut or scratch the wood. A plastic shovel will also be more forgiving on both the wood and finish. Salt and other de-icers may damage or discolor some wood finishes, so whenever possible avoid these.

Planning for the Spring

With these initial repairs and maintenance already taken care of, you will be ready to take on other projects once spring has arrived.