Deck maintenance, and what it cannot save

What is deck maintenance?

Deck maintenance is a repeating cycle rather than a job: clearing debris from between the boards and off the joist tops beneath them, checking fasteners and hardware, testing guards and stair treads, and keeping water moving away from the structure. On a wood deck it also includes recoating on whatever interval the finish demands. It preserves a sound deck. It does not repair an unsound one.

Signs you need deck maintenance

• Debris has packed into the gaps between boards and is holding water against the frame
• The deck has never had anything done to it beyond being swept
• Fasteners are backing out in several places across the surface
• A wood deck is starting to grey unevenly or feel rough underfoot
• Moss, algae or a green film is establishing on the shaded side
• Planters, mats or furniture have left permanently damp footprints on the boards
• You have just had the deck built or resurfaced and want to protect the investment properly

Seeing something not on this list? Browse decks problems by symptom →

How deck maintenance actually works

1. 1

   The spring look-over

   After winter, everything gets checked: guards pushed, stair steps walked, boards inspected for new splits or lifted fasteners, and the underside looked at for anything that has moved or softened. This is when problems that grew over winter are cheapest to deal with.

   Watch forA maintenance visit that never goes underneath. The frame is where a year of weather actually shows, and it is not visible from the surface.

2. 2

   Clearing the gaps and the joist tops

   Leaf litter, seeds and grit pack into the spaces between boards and sit on the top edge of the joists below. That packed debris holds water against the timber indefinitely, and joist tops are where frame rot generally begins. Clearing it is unglamorous and it is the highest-value thing in the whole cycle.

   Watch forA visit that cleans the surface and ignores the gaps. A visibly clean deck with packed joints is the exact condition that rots a frame quietly.

3. 3

   Hardware, fasteners and drainage

   Backed-out screws get reset or replaced, corroded fittings are flagged, and anything holding water against the structure is dealt with - a planter sitting directly on boards, a mat that never dries, a downspout discharging onto the deck, soil built up against a post.

   Watch forCorrosion staining around fasteners being treated as cosmetic. It usually means the fastener is failing, or the wrong fastener was used for the material.

4. 4

   Cleaning and, on wood, recoating

   Washing and coating are specialist work rather than deck-builder work. Washing decks is a pressure washing trade - and it is done at low pressure on decking, because too much pressure erodes the soft grain and permanently roughens the surface. Coatings are a painting trade, where the product class and the recoat interval are the whole decision.

   Watch forHigh pressure used on wood decking. The damage looks like weathering, it is permanent, and it accelerates everything the coating was supposed to prevent.

5. 5

   A record of what changed

   The value of a plan over separate visits is the comparison. The same person seeing the same deck each year notices a joist end that has darkened, a guard that gives a little more than last spring, a board that has moved.

   Watch forNo written record. Without one, every visit starts from scratch and slow deterioration goes unnoticed until it is not slow any more.

What does deck maintenance cost?

An annual maintenance visit for an average deck is commonly a few hundred dollars, more where recoating is included or access underneath is awkward. Plans usually price the yearly check-and-clear separately from coating work, which is done on the finish's own interval rather than annually.

See the full deck maintenance cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →