Resurfacing Options for Weather Worn Decks
It’s a regretable fact of life that most wooden decks will begin to look rather tired and weather worn . Whilst there are some specialist products which can restore a faded deck somewhat , there’s not a lot that can be done when the surface starts to splinter, crack or display other tell tale signs of weathering and deterioration .
Normally the only solution is to rip up the existing boards and replace them with a new planks , ideally a high durability lumber species such as Ipe, which has a typical life of up to 40 years even in fully exposed exterior locations , and is extremely hard wearing and resistant to splintering.
But there’s another alternative which allows you to both to change the material for resurfacing the deck, and also gives you the option if you have an upper level deck, of creating a waterproof area underneath. Interlocking patio tiles such as those supplied by HandyDeck are modular tiles with an built in interconnecting plastic base, which can be simply laid over the top of an existing structurally sound deck, so there’s no need to even replace the existing planks . Of course this will raise the surface to some extent , so you need to make sure that any outward opening doors will clear the extra height of the deck tiles.
Apart from the simlicity of installation, interlocking tiles are now available in a wide range of materials including granite, sandstone, slate, porcelain , composite wood and of course a number of different wood species, so you have an very wide choice if you wish to change the appearance of your deck. And in many cases you can combine different materials, so for example you could have a wood deck with a feature panel of granite in the center .
Since the tiles have connecting tabs on all four sides, they don’t need any fixing materials but are simply snapped together over the existing deck. Around the perimeter of the deck, edging pieces or transition strips are generally available to give a neat professional finish.
If you have an upper level deck and wish to create a dry area underneath, a simple solution to this problem without the expense of installing a special under deck ceiling system, is to simply lay down a continuous EPDM sheet over the top of your existing wood deck , making sure that the EPDM sheet is soundly sealed against the boundary walls . Then you lay the deck tiles over the top of this sheet. The only important point to note if you are planning to use this method of creating a dry under deck area, is that your deck should slope gradually away from the house, so that water draining off the sheet would flow away from the house walls.
Just remember also that if you are using wood deck tiles, that the wood colour will fade to a silvery grey over time just the same as in normal wood deck. Whilst applying a good quality decking oil will help to retard this process, if your deck is fully exposed to the sunlight, it will never eliminate the fading effect entirely .
But if the thought of regular annual maintenance is a worry to you, then the advantage of using interlocking patio tiles for resurfacing an existing deck is that you can choose from other materials such as stone which will not require the same ongoing degree of maintenance.