Deck maintenance

The recurring bill on a wood deck is staining. Labor is $1.50 to $3 per square foot and materials $0.50 to $2. Cleaning is $0.25 to $0.50 per square foot and power washing $0.30 to $0.40. Bundled prep and stain work together spans roughly $2.25 to $9 per square foot depending on the condition you let the deck get into. A mid-range job — a 14 by 18 foot deck — runs around $750.

Skipping maintenance is what shortens the deck. Wood decks last at least 10 to 15 years with regular care, and the difference between the low and high end of that range is mostly finish discipline. A deck that has been allowed to gray and check costs more to bring back ($4 to $7 per square foot) than one kept on schedule.

Composite is low-maintenance, not no-maintenance. It still needs cleaning, and it can still trap moisture and debris between boards. What it does not need is stain, which is where the $2 to $5 per square foot every two to three years goes away.

Maintenance is also inspection. Once a year, when you clean the deck, probe the ledger area and post bases for soft wood, push on the guards, and look for fastener corrosion. Catching rot early is the difference between a $300 repair and a $5,000 one — rot repair spans $300 to $5,000.

How to choose

Put restaining on a calendar

Every two to three years. Waiting until it looks bad moves you from $2 to $5 per square foot to $4 to $7.

Clean before you judge the finish

Cleaning at $0.25 to $0.50 per square foot often reveals the finish is fine and the deck is just dirty.

Be careful with pressure washing

Power washing runs $0.30 to $0.40 per square foot professionally. Too much pressure damages softwood decking, and the repair is more expensive than the wash.

Inspect while you clean

Guards, ledger, post bases, fasteners. You're already out there and it takes ten minutes.

Don't leave planters and mats in one spot

Trapped moisture under objects is the most common start point for rot on both wood and composite decks.