If your family is like many of those in Minnesota, as soon as the thermometer hits fifty degrees, you’re out on your deck soaking it up. You’ll be doing even more of that come summer, so of course you want to make your deck as pleasant a place as possible to spend your time. Tony’s Lifetime Exteriors, your Sauk Rapids team of professional deck builders, is here to help you make that happen.
Spring Maintenance: Does Your Deck Need Repairs?
While much less-than-obvious damage to your deck is minor, it still can affect the way you feel when you’re using it. Catching a suntan on a platform of warm, glistening hardwood is quite a different experience from doing the same on a deck that’s got a few boards rotting out!
Thus, an integral part of readying your deck for the summer season is checking it over for damage it may have sustained over the wintertime. This can include
Water Problems
Water expands when it freezes. If it’s allowed to seep into your wooden deck’s planks in liquid form, then to freeze, it can put undue stress on the lumber, causing it to crack and lining your deck with unattractive divots. While regular maintenance and high-quality materials can usually prevent this from happening, it still pays to do a quick walkabout come spring and check for cracks.
While they’re not always a dire issue, at the very least they could be signs that:
- Your deck is aging
- You need to change your maintenance routine
- That given board might need to be replaced
- Your deck is vulnerable to wood rot
While vinyl decking might not crack in the same way as a wood deck might when neglected, it still can experience water damage in its own way if it was installed by an unscrupulous contractor. It usually happens next to posts.
Sound like your deck? Just give Tony’s Lifetime Exteriors a call. We’ll be able to get the space looking better in a jiffy.
Discoloration
If your deck was left uncovered over the winter (it had a little snow atop it), it was left exposed to harsh sunlight, which can lead to premature discoloration in both wood deck installations and vinyl decking if both haven’t been properly maintained.
Luckily, both of these issues are relatively easy to solve with the help of a deck installer and repair pro like us. Your vinyl decking might simply need a little face-lift in the form of a new piece or two; your wood deck might just need a regular refinishing.
Cosmetic Concerns: How to “Deck”-Orate
If you’ve taken good care of your deck, and it was installed by top-notch deck installation pros, you can focus on the arguably more fun task of decorating and making the space truly your own. Indeed, part of the fun of owning a deck is the freedom to create a perfectly comfy place to enjoy the outdoors. And showing that space off, of course!
Pick a Color That Works With Your Home’s Exterior
While you may be a fan of, say, bright yellow decor, your deep green steel siding might not exactly agree. (Or, maybe after you give it another look, perhaps it does!)
The point is to not see your deck as an isolated space as far as decoration goes, but as one that interacts with nearly every aspect of your exterior, from the big swaths of roofing to the accents that are your fascia and soffit.
Use Aspects of Your Interior and Exterior’s Style
These are bound to be similar, but in some cases, they’re not exactly the same. For example, indoors your home may be the pinnacle of modern minimalism, but outdoors, perhaps, it plays homage to your gardening habit.
Because your deck is somewhat of a transitional space between the indoors and the outdoors, it’s important that it fits in stylistically with both. This can take a little balancing and brainstorming, but it’s certainly doable! Consider decoration options that are universal stylistic fits, such as warm-colored hardwoods or tables that feature clear glass.
Space-Saving Furniture Is Your Friend
Directing foot traffic on your deck in the summer can be a problem, especially if it’s small. When everyone wants to hang out in the sunshine, things can get a bit cramped!
Luckily, a variety of outdoor furniture has entered the market to fix this problem – foldout chairs being the most obvious, of course. However, we encourage you to think even more outside of the box with your warm-season decor. There exist tables, for example, that simply hang off of a deck railing, and Murphy bars that hang off of a wall.
When you reimagine your furniture, you can open up your deck and make it feel even bigger than it is. Or, at the very least, be able to fit your next prized buy onto it!
Tony’s Lifetime Exteriors: Your Top Choice for Sauk Rapids Deck Installation
Looking for the best way to make the most out of our short Minnesotan summers? A deck is, frankly, your best bet. Get one installed today or keep the one you’ve got looking sharp by calling us at 320-252-9086.