Deck maintenance: extend the life of your deck

When my clients have made a considerable investment in a new deck built for their home, I always bring up deck maintenance. Deck maintenance is the one thing that they can do to ensure their new deck gives them the maximum years of enjoyment. This is especially applicable to wood decks.

Why do people avoid doing deck maintenance?

I think it boils down to one simple fact: It’s not easy for them. If they want to hire someone to do it for them they are not confident who to hire that is reputable and never get around to doing the research—so another year goes by. Or, if they think they will do it themselves, they are not sure how, or what’s the best product to use to protect their deck from the elements so here too never get around to doing the research—and another year goes by.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s easy!

The product we recommend most often is from down under—although it has been reformulated to suit the Canadian climate. It is called Cutek Extreme Wood Preservative and is an oil-based wood preservative product. It was originally created to preserve bamboo. The thing about bamboo is that it is VERY hard. So, they needed a product that had amazing penetrating capabilities. It is this very quality that makes it so good at protecting wood against our climate—it deeply penetrates the wood, stabilizing the timber and providing long-term water repellency, which minimizes warping, cupping (warping that causes boards to curl up at their edges), and splitting.

We like Cutek for wood deck maintenance

There are a number of reasons why we like Cutek. It…

• goes on easily and gives great coverage
• is low in VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds that can be dangerous to your health and the environment.)
• can be applied in almost any weather—provided it’s dry
• is an oil so it doesn’t really have a shelf life to worry about
• has multiple colour tones you can choose from

Some of our customers like the natural aging of their deck—that grey finish it gets with age. No problem, by using just the oil you can protect the wood while still letting it show its natural aging. Other customers like that new fresh look. By using the colour tones, and reapplying as required, you can protect your deck and keep it looking new. Either way, the wood will be protected.

Using a product like Cutek for your deck and exterior wood projects will help you get a longer service life from them and a better return on your investment.

It will also mean that you won’t have to be calling me to replace your deck for some time to come. And that’s OK with me. I’d rather get a call from you to enhance the enjoyment you can get from your home in new ways—like by finishing your basement, or building a sun room, or adding crown moulding and over-sized baseboards to your living and dining rooms.

Where can I find it?

Because the availability of this product can be iffy in Toronto and the GTA we are now making it available. As we are not an on-line retailer per se, please contact us through our contact form or call us at 416-293-3325. Across Canada it is available through Deck Masters Canada. (http://www.deckmasters.ca/)

That’s all for now. Until next time, we’ll keep Building It Right.™

Images used courtesy of http://www.cutek.com.au.