deck fasteners

Aug 10
26

Dealing with Rot

5 Comments

Rot is an almost ubiquitous problem in the world of wood decking. It is an ugly and potentially dangerous blemish as it gnaws away at the structural integrity of your deck boards. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to combat the threat of decay.

Prevention is the most infallible defense against deck rot. The best measure is to build your deck out of rot-resistant lumber. Exotic hardwoods such as ipe or cumaru possess impressive decay-thwarting properties that will ensure a long deck life with minimal hassle.

If you’ve already built your deck without the benefit of these resilient woods, that’s OK. It simply becomes even more important that you regularly inspect your deck for signs of rot. Most rot manifests itself in hard to see areas (underneath the boards, where the deck meets the house, etc.), or areas that remain damp for any length of time. If the rot is extensive, it is time to replace the deck boards.

Standing water is a perfect breeding ground for the microbes that cause decay. Therefore, it is imperative in your battle against rot to deny them the moist environment they crave. Debris can capture moisture, so keep your deck surface free of leaves and dirt, clean out the spaces between boards, and make sure gutter spouts are directed away from the deck.

Another area you may not have considered is where the nails or screws have been driven through the board faces. Water can actually find its way into those holes and breed unsightly rot. An excellent solution to this problem is to use Ipe Clip® hidden deck fasteners which will keep your deck face free of holes for moisture to hide in.

Finally, to keep moisture from soaking into the wood itself, seal it with an oil or water based finish. We highly recommend Ipe Oil™ Hardwood Deck Finish to protect your backyard retreat.

Take good care of your deck, and it will remain beautiful and strong for you to enjoy in the years to come.

This entry was posted on August 26, 2010 at 10:20 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Deck Problems by Saul Goldman 5 Comments

5 Responses to "Dealing with Rot"

  • Clint Little says:
    August 26, 2010 at 11:55 am

    I only wish that I had started with a quality wood when I first built my house. Five years later I am already having to replace the deck boards. I’m going to take a close look at the Exotic route. Thanks for the tips! Clint

  • John Lein says:
    October 22, 2010 at 7:58 am

    I am battling the same issue with rot. In my opinion, you should go ahead and spend the money for a deck that is going to last. I hate to waste my initial investment, but I am thinking seriously about ripping my deck up and replacing it with Ipe and using the Ipe Clip hidden deck fasteners.

  • bob says:
    October 29, 2010 at 8:47 am

    We replaced our pressure treated decking about 5 years ago off the back of the house with ipe and ipe clips. The pine was completely rotten, and it was only 8 years old. It got to the point where we would not even let our children on the back deck. To this day the ipe still looks like new, we do keep a finish on it to keep those rich red/brown colors. We want to try the ipe oil next spring, the samples of it looked great!

  • Bailey A. says:
    November 1, 2010 at 11:16 am

    The finish on the wood is key. I have looked at tons of photos where the deck wasn’t finished & the colors fade away. Our tigerwood deck is so beautiful, I will never skip my bi-annual Ipe Oil finish.

  • Warren says:
    November 4, 2010 at 7:57 am

    I started to let my deck weather grey, but really started missing that rich brown color. I thought it was too late to refinish my deck after it had started to grey but was told by Ipe Clip staff that if I watered my deck down and it soaked into the wood, that it wasn’t too late. I purchased the Ipe Oil and my deck looks like it did the day we installed it. Thanks Ipe Clip!

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