School is out for the summer, but your Deck Guru’s went to Benjamin Moore’s stain and wood preparation school to freshen up and training new staff members. I felt like I was in science class all over again, the only difference was that I enjoyed this. Although I sit through these classes annually, I always learn something new.
Ben Moore gave me a greater appreciation for how the many variables deck restorers deal with and how difficult our work really is on a daily basis. Look at it this way, after a tree is cut and is no longer living it is designed to decay. Everything we do is to care for, treat, prevent and make beautiful something this is meant to fall apart.
We learned how lignin is the natural glue that holds the boards in your deck together. We saw under a microscope wood delamination and the effects of wood with Ultra Violet decay.
Another part of the coarse involved physics and featured different species of wood and how the Janka scale measures its hardness. We saw what parts of trees make up ideal cuts for decking and how the milling may cause future warping and cupping. The wood milling and installation affects our work because if the wood is not laid correctly water will pool in the middle of a deck board not allowing it to drain properly leading to premature decay.
A majority of the class was spent on preparation. Preparation has been a Washmydeck.com trademark, as we believe detailed preparation is required for a positive outcome of a project. An example of our preparation is not just the plastic, tarps and tape we use to protect your property, but use of moisture meters to ensure your deck is between 15-18% wet. Too much moisture and your deck stain may fail. Did you know your deck’s surface can be up to 20 degrees hotter or cooler than the air temperature? Extreme weather may cause stain to blister or freeze and fail. Benjamin Moore spoke of chemistry by reinforcing our use of brighteners and neutralizers to clean the deck with minimum pressure from a pressure washing machine.
My ah- ha moment came when they were talking about wood being a sponge like structure under a microscope, the industry standard is to seal or stain only 3 of the 6 sides of decking. As the water is repelled from the top side, it rolls along the side and bottom of the unprotected wood which soaks up the water. As the water wants to evaporate it is pulled through the wood to the top of the deck. If your deck has a solid stain, then there is a film preventing the water from escaping which will eventually cause the stain to bubble, pop and fail. YIKES!
This alarming fact can be avoided by having the underside of your deck (if it is above ground) cleaned and sealed every 3 to 5 years. This way all six sides are sure to be protected!
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