Rotten decking maintenance, repairs and alternatives

Standish Property Maintenance & Pest Control do decking-

In the UK and specifically in Wigan, you probably aren’t using your decking much in the summer with the weather we’ve had so far. Recently we’ve been out to two different addresses where the decking has become slippy and rotten. Both needed to be replaced. Rotten decking maintenance, repairs or alternatives need not be expensive or hard work.

Initial install costs of adding decking to your garden can be well into the hundreds of pounds. To rip it out after only a few years due to water, chemical, fungal or animal damage can be a bitter pill to swallow. Below we have a few hints and tips on how to protect your property with some simple annual maintenance. Should you feel unable to tackle this we can do it for you.

The dangers of your decking

Firstly, you need to stop your decking from getting slimy, slippery and mouldy. By using a power washer to remove much of the debris and specific cleaner such as Ronseal’s “Decking cleaner and reviver”. Ideal for cleaning old decking and preparing new wood and will have your decking looking good as new in no time at all. Opening the pores of the wood so your oil or stain will adhere and leave you with a longer lasting finish. Using bleach is not an alternative to these cleaners.

The wetter months are the prime time for the slimy film of algae and mould to build up on your deck. IMould and algae thrive under these conditions. Your decking boards being constantly damp is the easiest way for algae and mould to grow. Even a shady spot in the garden produce the ideal conditions algae to grow your decking.

There are steps you can take to protect your decking from getting slippy and turning green. Beginning with increasing the amount of sunlight it receives. Sunlight discourages mould, and algae from growing in several ways. First and foremost, it dries up excess moisture. Secondly, the ultraviolet (UV) rays can destroy many forms of fungi on contact.

Garden pests under the decking

During the winter months, lots of animals hibernate or come closer to human habitation looking for food. After they’ve made their home under your decking or found a source of food their they’ll often return there until the weather improves or the food source dries up.

Ensuring that your decking is built to enclose all ingress and egress points should help keep most pests out. However, if you find yourself with an issue Standish Property Maintenance and Pest Control are very skilled at the removal of such pests. Setting your own traps can be tricky. Not only using the correct trap but ensuring the correct animal is caught. A rat trap will kill a squirrel, a hedgehog or bird. If you lay a trap that you can’t retrieve once it has killed an animal, you’re left with is a rotting corpse below your decking, which has to be worse than having a live one.

Common causes of pest attraction is litter in your garden –  crumbs from the kids, burnt sausages from a BBQ or your bins over flowing. Remember, rats, mice and hedgehogs will also eat bird feed, so make sure to opt for a bird feeder that isn’t placed on the floor or a table and put it away from your decking.

Rodent facts

 We’ve put together the following list to emphasise why you need to build your decking well and keep it clean to reduce the risks of rodent infestation:

• Their teeth never stop growing! One of the defining characteristics of a rodent is a set of teeth that continuously grow over their lifetime.
• Rodents always need something to gnaw on to keep their incisors trimmed, so that’s why they can cause so much damage.
• A rat’s teeth and jaws can gnaw through substances as hard as lead sheeting and cinder block.
• Rats can squeeze through openings as small as 13 mm in diameter— about half an inch!

Colouring and protection of your decking

Decking is a relatively cheap and easy way to improve the look of your garden. Nevertheless, rotten, poorly maintained decking can collapse under foot and could cause a terrible injury to your foot or leg. But you can prevent rotten decking with annual maintenance, repairs to stop the sun turning it grey or the rain rotting it.

Even Redwood treated with green tanalith from suppliers such as Wigan Timber can’t last forever without some form of protection. Products such as oil, stain and paint will keep your decking looking its best all year round.

• Oil will add a hint of natural colour and keep your it nourished.
• Stain gives better protection against day to day use on decking and is available in many colours.
• Paint covers unsightly, greyed, aged wood.

 Decking alternatives

If you find that you have a decking that is worse for wear, you could rip it out completely or in part. Replace what’s rotten, replace the lot or do something different. Due to budget constraints one of our jobs decided on the full rip out and new ground covering. The second went for a replacement of all the top boards.

How can we help?

After reading our post, you feel like you have any questions or are in need of a reassuring chat. Please feel free to give is a call or an email  and we will do our best to help.