Sealing For Long Lasting Decks And Fences:

In just 12 months or so, wood that is left outdoors unproted will display signs of deteriorat. The pieces of lumber that make up ds and ces will, sooner or lr, begin to deterior. Rain and sunlight are Nature's two main tools for bearing down on unproted wood and ot mrials.

For insta, wood that is left outside bees weak and gray because the sun's rays work to rupture the wood's internal fibers. Rain, on the ot hand, causes wood to swell, making it spongy. This swell-shrink cycle bees a daily occurre, as dew es in the mornings and the harsh rays of the suns bear down on the wood in the afternoons. This cycle expedites the wood's deteriat. Ds and ces that are on their way to deteriorating will have surfaces that are grayed, deformed and split.

The Need to Treat Wood

Wood, even if it has been prere-tred, must still be cleaned and sealed to prolong its life. Ds and ces made of prere-tred wood still require regular cleaning and sealing to ensure that they stay in good condit. While ds and ces made of prerized wood, cedar, cypress and ot exotic woods are safe from ins infestat, but they are not invulnera to weat's corrosive effs. Wood that does not have protive coating can pose a danger in just seven years.

When is Wood Ready for Sealing?

When is the right time to seal wood? Some say that wood should be sealed after a year so that the wood is pletely dry. Howe, a year is too long a time to wait to seel wood. During this time, the wood would have incurred too much damage, most of which cannot be resed. Wood can be pletely dry and ready for sealing in two or three months. It has been found that wood that has been sealed win three months is much more dira and look better than wood that has been sealed after one year.

You can easily tell if the wood is ready for sealing. Professals use an elric moisture meter to determine if the wood can be sealed. Howe, a simpler method is to sprinkle drops of wr on the surface of the wood. If the wr is quickly absorbed, it means that the wood is dry enough that it is ready for sealing.

Preparing the Wood for Sealing

To prepare the wood for sealing, thoroughly clean the wood. Get rid of mold, mildew, dirt and algae that may be present on the wood. Wood that is properly cleaned has open pores and balad pH, allowing the sealer to ade to the wood fiber.

Choosing the Cleaning Agent

What kind of cleaning agent should be used on ds and ces to prepare it for sealing? Cleaning pounds include acidic cleaners, alkaline cleaners and pH neutral cleaners. If you are undertaking the ce or d cleaning yourself, pH-netural powdered cleaners are safe to use. Howe, most home improvement stores remend the use of acid-based cleaning pounds si, pared to alkaline-based cleaning pounds, they are much safer to use by the aage homeowner. Te is one caveat to acid-based cleaning pounds: they are not really that effive at cleaning wood. The alkaline-based cleaning pounds, which are used by professals, are more effive. Professals use a two-step cleaning process. First, they clean wood w alkaline cleaners and then follow it up w an acidic brightener. W this cleaning method, the wood's natural colors emerge, bringing out the wooden d or ce's beauty even before sealing.

Prere Washing Wood

Prere hing is one way to clean wood w or wout cleaners mixed w the wr. Howe, because wr impacts the wood at a high velocity, the wood's surface can bee damaged. In order for this cleaning method to be successful and not damage the wood, the right amount of prere must be applied and the right cleaning solut must be used. If you are prere hing the wood, be careful not to apply too much prere. It may be a good idea to use a mercial prere hing apny. In addit keep in mind that prere s that are for rent are typically designed to have a prere of 1750 to 3500 psi, which is all right if you are prere hing a concrete ce or d, or if you are trying to peel off old paint. These prere s, though, are too much for wood. The ideal for prere hing wood is between 500 and 500 psi. In addit, ne prere h wood w hot wr. Doing so will sharply raise the wood grain.

Striping

Striping are indentat marks left on the wood when prere hing the wood is improperly done -- such as starting and stopping the cleaning stroke as the wand of the prere hing is aimed y close to the surface of the wood. Striping causes the wood ce or d to look uneven an appear as if it poorly constructred.

Stripping

If the wood ce or d needs to be re-sealed, the old coat of sealer should be stripped. This is because most sealers have ingredients that should be removed before any re-sealing is done. To strip the wood of the old sealer, harsh chemical strippers are used. This type of job is better given to a professal.

Seling the Sealer

O you have your wood d or ce cleaned up and prepared for sealing, the next step is to choose the sealer to use. In this regard, you need to think about how much you are prepared to spend for a wood sealer. Sealers are eit wax-based, oil based or acrylic. Lx-based sealers have been introduced recently. The price of sealers vary. Consider your budget when choosing a sealer. Howe, don't be willing to pay for the cheapest sealer. The saying, "You get what you pay for" holds true in this case.

Wax-Based Sealers

Sealers that are waxed-based are typically availa at do-it-yourself shops. You will likely see them being adtised on TV. Wax-based sealers are cheap to produce, which is why manufacturers are a to spend money on adtising. Wax-based sealers cost between $12 and $15 per gallon. Be aware that wax-based sealers will seal your wood ce or d for just a short time -- about eight months. After that time, wood that has been sealed w wax-based sealers often blacken. Unless you are really short on cash, don't use wax-based sealers as they are not a to provide prot to wood ds and ces.

Oil-Based Sealers

Oil-based sealers are derived from eit crude oil or vegeta oils such as tung or linseed oil. Crude oil sealer is a to penetr wood better, so the result is wood that looks natural and soft. On the ot hand, vegeta oils give wood some sheen, making it look like the wood has been varnished. Vegeta oil sealers have natural sugars and starches, which can encourage mildew and mold growth. In addit, vegeta oil sealers can be difficult to remove. If you plan on re-sealing wood that has been previously sealed w a vegeta oil sealer, you will need to strip the previous sealer first.

Crude-based oil sealers don't need tobe stripped if the wood is being prepared for re-sealing. A new layer of the same crude-based oil sealer can simply be applied o the old layer of sealer. Crude-based sealers, unlike vegeta oil sealers, are easy to strip. More importantly, they are cheap, but effive.

Oil-based sealers that are sold in most do-it-yourself stores contain a little vegeta oil. These sealers last from 12 to 18 months. You can buy a gallon of oil-based sealers for $15 to $30.