Decks, fences, docks and boathouses
A back deck in a Cottondale subdivision is usually pressure-treated pine, ten years old, with a green north rail and black spots where the grill sat. A privacy fence along the property line has one grey side facing the sun and one green side facing the neighbor. The docks and boathouses on the lake have it worst: wet underneath all day, humid all night, and bare to the sun on top. The boards grey in a season and grow slime at the waterline.
All of it gets the same approach. A cleaner that lifts the grey and kills the growth, a low-pressure rinse that follows the grain, and time to dry.
Why wood greys so fast on the lake
Grey wood is sun damage. UV breaks down the lignin on the surface and leaves loose grey fibers that hold water, and the water grows mildew. On a lake lot the humidity never drops, so the wood never fully dries, so the cycle runs faster. Shaded decks under oaks and pines in the older Tuscaloosa neighborhoods grey slower but go green faster. Either way, the surface layer that is grey and loose is what we remove.
Pollen adds a layer in spring, and on a dock the yellow film mixes with the slime at the waterline into a paste that takes real work to lift. By June the whole surface has gone a flat grey-green. A wash in May, right after the pollen quits, gets the wood clean while the stain or sealer window is still open and before the summer humidity sets in for good.
Low pressure and the right cleaner
A pressure wand up close cuts lines into pine decking and raises the grain into fuzz that never sands out. So we clean a wood deck with a wood-safe cleaner, a brightener and the pressure turned well down, moving with the boards and keeping a steady distance. The cleaner does the lifting. The brightener, an oxalic acid rinse, takes the dark tannin spots out and brings the color back even. On a fence the method is the same at a faster pace. On the concrete patio beside it we switch tools, and that slab gets a surface cleaner instead.
Railings, lattice and stair stringers get hand work where the wand cannot reach without damage. Plants below a deck get wet down before and rinsed after, same as a house wash.
Composite and pressure-treated
Composite decking, the Trex-type boards, does not grey, but it does grow mildew in the texture and hold pollen in the grooves, and it gets a dull film that makes it look older than it is. It cannot take pressure either; the surface scars. Composite gets the mix we use on a house wall, a stiff-bristle scrub where the mildew is stubborn, and a thorough rinse. It comes out looking new and does not need stain.
Pressure-treated pine, cedar and cypress get the wood cleaner and brightener. Ipe and other hardwoods get a lighter touch and a specific cleaner, and they are quoted after we see them.
Stain and seal timing
Wood needs two or three dry days after a cleaning before stain or sealer goes on, longer on the lake. We clean, you or your painter stains, or we do both on a schedule. Spring after pollen and early fall are the two windows when the humidity drops enough to get a good cure. We will not stain a deck in July.
If you want a before-and-after sent back for a rental or a listing, say so on the form and we take the photos. For a lake house that is rented out through the summer, the deck and the dock are the first things a guest photographs, and a clean one shows up in the reviews.
Related
Driveway and Concrete Cleaning
A surface cleaner lifts red clay, mildew and oil with no wand stripes.
House Washing
Low-pressure soft wash that lifts algae, mildew and pollen film and keeps water out of the wall.
House Washing in Samantha
Docks, boathouses, brick ranches and long concrete drives cleaned by a local crew.
Questions we get
Will cleaning raise the grain on my deck?
A little fuzz on old pine is normal after any wet cleaning and knocks down with a light sanding or just foot traffic. Heavy fuzz comes from high pressure, which we do not use on wood.
Can you clean a dock from the water?
Yes, where the boathouse or pier cannot be reached from shore. Tell us how the dock is reached and we plan for it.
How soon can I stain after cleaning?
Two to three dry days in Tuscaloosa, longer on a lake lot or in a shaded spot. The wood should feel dry and look lighter than the day we left.
Do you clean fences with a stain already on them?
Yes, at low pressure with a cleaner that does not strip a sound stain. A failing stain will come off in patches, and we tell you when we see it.
Can you clean just the fence?
Yes. A privacy fence by itself is a common job, priced by the length and whether both sides are done. The neighbor side usually needs it more than yours.