Deck and fence washing

Grey is one problem, green is another

Grey on a deck is weathered wood, the top layer breaking down in the sun and the rain. Green is growth, and it is the one that makes boards slick enough to put someone on their back. They come off differently, and a deck that has both needs both dealt with rather than one pass and a hope.

Pressure is the fastest way to wreck a deck

Wood is soft, and a pressure washer held too close or held still will tear the grain up and leave permanent tracking across the boards. Once wood is furred up like that you cannot undo it, you can only sand it. The job is to lift the growth and the grey without chewing into the board underneath.

If you are staining, this is the prep

Stain does not soak into a board that is coated in algae, mill glaze or old flaking finish. It sits on top and it lets go a season later. Washing and prepping properly is the difference between a stain job that lasts and one you are redoing next summer. We do paint prep and stripping as its own service if there is old finish that needs to come off first.

Fences too

Fences get the same treatment and the same problem, usually worse on the side facing the trees. If the deck is getting done it is normally worth doing the fence in the same visit rather than looking at a clean deck next to a green fence all summer.