Spring,Maintenance,for,Your,De homerepair how to Spring Maintenance for Your Deck

Elegance and style are mostly the factors why timber flooring is well-liked to home builders. Aside from that, timber flooring is one of the most gorgeous and long-lasting flooring options that any homeowner could make. It's going to add val This year when you go up into the attic to get the Christmas decorations take a look around the attic to see if there is any frost on the roof ceiling or rafters. If there is then you have a moisture problem that should be taken care of. Moi

Remove and Replace Damaged BoardsEarly spring is a good time tomake any necessaryrepairs to your decking. Use a screwdriver to test places wherethe wood looks like it might have dry rot. If the wood is soft on a deckingboard, mark it for replacement. Dryrot is a fungus that spreads through wet wood. If you have adry rot problem, it is essential that you remove and dispose of all theaffected boards in such a way that other boards do not become infected. Use a screwdriver to removescrews. If you find the screws are rusty and hard to budge, you can pry theboards upwards. Check that the dry rot has not spread to the underlyingsupporting timber. Replacing the decking boards is relatively easy. It is justa matter of removing the ones that you want to replace and installing the new ones.You can even use the old boards as a templatewhen you are cutting the new ones to the correct size. This assures an accuratefit and helps to maintain the original quality and professional appearance ofyour deck. Weather-damaged boards sometimestwist out of shape, popping nails and screws and creating an uneven walkingsurface. Unless the boards are damaged, you can re-fix them in place, ratherthan replace them. Once the board is back in place, secure it firmly with 75mmscrews. When you need new boards toreplace damaged sections of the deck, it's a good idea to use a biodegradablecleaner and brightening agent on the older portions of the deck so that the new and old parts of the deck moreclosely match. Use a sealer to finish off the deck and guardagainst moisture. Fix popped Nails When wood shrinks and expands inweather, it can cause nails to pop up out of the boards. The best way to fixthese is to replace the nails with longer, thicker nails that will have abetter hold. You can use a punch to countersink the nails into the wood. It isbetter to replace nails with galvanized deck screws.  Sinking Posts Does your deck run drastically downhill? It could be that the posts, which bear the weight ofyour deck, have begun to sink. If the posts were not sunk deep enough into theground, then the yearly action of freezing and thawing will begin to push yourposts deeper into the ground. As the posts sink, so goes your deck! There are several ways to combatthis problem. Ideally, you won't have to remove any decking boards from thedeck to perform the repairs, but if there is not enough clearance under thedeck for you to work, then you may have to remove a portion of the decking so youcan access the bad post. Place a car jack under the joist thatis closest to the bad post, and slowly raise the deck to the point where it islevel again. It is important that you donot do this too quickly. Speed may cause the wood to separateor joist hangers to pull apart. Just make incremental lifts, pausing to listenbetween each one. If something is breaking or pulling apart, you will be ableto hear it. Once the deck is level,slide a length of narrow pipe into the hole by the side of the post (the dirtshould be loose around the post you just raised) and push it into the holeuntil you meet resistance. Use the pipe as a funnel and slowly pour pea shingleinto bottom of the hole. Work the pipe up and down gently to make sure that asmuch shingle as possible works into the hole. Repeat this process around theraised post until the deck maintains the correct level, even when you releasethe jack.  Broken Joists Over time, the joists that supportthe floor of your deck can become weak, split or break. Replacing these in atimely manner is vital to maintainingthe security and safety of the deck. Begin by removing all the deckingboards that touch the affected joist. This may be just a few, or it could bethe entire deck, depending upon the size and pattern of your deck. Ideally, thedecking was screwed down and you can remove these boards with a cordlessdriver. If, however, the boards were nailed to the joists, you must use ahammer and a pry-bar to remove the decking boards. Take care not to split them whenpulling them up, or you may also have to replace the boards.Once you have access to thejoists, remove the nails or screws that secure the broken joist into itshanger. The joist should just slide right out. Carefully measure the correctlength for the new one and slide it into place. If it looks like thejoist-hanger is damaged or excessively rusty, then replace it as well. After you have secured the joist into the joist hanger, re-place the floorboards back intheir original pattern. If you have to remove a large portion of the floor toaccess the joist, you may find it helpful to number the floorboards so that youhave an easier time figuring out where each one goes when the time comes to putthem back on.  You can read more on this subject at http://www.Topdeck.UK.com/info