29 Aug 09 Proper Maintenance For Your Patio Paver From Outdoor Solutions Of NC
Patio Pavers are available in all kinds of shapes, colors, finishes and patterns. There are 3 main paving materials to choose from when building a patio. You can pick from concrete pavers, stone pavers or brick pavers. Once you have completed the installation of the pavers it is important to maintain what you have installed.
It is easy to maintain your pavers. Depending on the type of pavers you choose little maintenance is required. It stands to reason different pavers need different levels of maintenance. Some of the pavers may fade where as some pavers are easier to remove dirt and grime.
There is an randomized surface on the clay brick pavers which causes them to crack and chip. Should one of your pavers become damaged you must replace it with a new paver. By applying a hones, polished or flamed finish you can keep the texture and color for any of the pavers. This is essential to do every few years. The visual aspect lasts longer by using sealing and cleaning products.
The beauty of concrete pavers is that even if they are stained, damaged or broken, they can be easily replaced with little or no fuss by simply removing the damaged paver and replacing it with a new concrete paver. Stains are often hidden by the color of concrete pavers, however weeds in joints will need a pesticide or herbicide in order to maintain.
Stone pavers are very durable and can last for decades of time. Furthermore, stone pavers have a rough surface that will make walking a little uncomfortable. A polish from time to time will counter this problem.
Taking simple care of your paved patio can be achieved by sweeping or hosing your patio on a regular basis. To achieve the best results possible, hire a high pressured hose system and wash of all grime and dirt. It is also recommended that you seal your pavers straight after installation and every 2-3 years following that. The reason is that the sealer will help you to maintain the color and that “new look”. Stains and spills will be so much easier to remove, ensuring that your patio will be aesthetically appealing for years to come!
Tags: Brick Pavers, Concrete Pavers, decks, Family, Hardscaping, home improvement, patio
06 May 09 Repairing weather damaged decks
Any wood deck will inevitably show signs of wear after years of exposure to the elements. In some cases this may just be the normal fading and greying effect of sunlight, but in more extreme cases, you may experience cracking, twisting, warping or splintering of the deck boards. And in the worst cases, it’s possible that holes due to decay may develop giving rise to potential structural problems.
If the deck surface is still basically structurally sound then you have many alternatives for bringing the surface of the deck back to an attractive condition. Some of these alternatives can be relatively inexpensive, whereas others can involve some quite major investment. Let’s consider some of these options.
Firstly, and probably the most obvious, you can rip up the existing boards and replace them with new ones. Probably you would choose a more durable wood species as a replacement, unless you wish to match some existing wood structures or flooring surrounding the deck. Whilst this task can be accomplished by a relatively skilled handyman without too much trouble, it’s probably a task that is normally left to a specialist deck builder or deck repair company.
A second alternative which also involves replacement of the existing boards, is to replace them with boards or planks of alternative materials. For example you could use aluminum deck panels (e.g. AridDek or LockDry), composite wood decking (e.g Trex or Weatherbest) , vinyl decking (e.g. Gorilla Deck), or HDPE/Fiberglass decking (e.g.TriMax). Since each manufacturer naturally claims that their system is the best, you really need to weigh up the advantages and features of each system and make up your own mind which material suits your situation the best. You may for example want to consider creating a dry area underneath your deck, in which case you would need to look for a system which will provide some from of waterproof surface.
A third alternative is to remove the existing boards and lay marine ply over the top of the deck joists to create a smooth surface. Then you have a number of alternatives for covering the surface. You can use roll on products which create a membrane or sheet over the plywood surface such as vinyl products like Duradek orDecTec, polyester fabric-based membranes such as Deckrite or PVC roll on deck covering materials such as Weatherdek.
Another alternative for covering marine ply is to use materials which you either spray on or apply with a roller. Such products include VersaDeck which is a fibreglass coating system and Metacrylics elastomeric acrylic encapsulated polyester fabric and others.
Rubber or plastic pavers can be another alternative if you have laid down a plywood sheet With such products you may need to ensure that the plywood is suitably protected from damage by moisture, possibly by either using a spray on rubber type product or an EPDM membrane.
Yet another alternative is to use interlocking deck tiles. With these tiles, providing the existing wood surface is in sound condition and is not excessively bumpy, you don’t even need to remove the existing deck boards but you can simply lay the tiles directly over the top of the existing deck. Interlocking deck tiles are typically 12″ x 12″ tile modules which have a plastic mesh base underneath and tabs around the outside edges for simply snap in place installation. The top surface may either be wood, stone, wood composite or porcelain/ceramic. The particular design of these tiles means that water flows away freely from underneath the tiles via the mesh base and so helps to keep the surface as dry as possible.
Whilst interlocking tiles are themselves not waterproof, if you want to create a dry area underneath the deck, you can achieve this by firstly laying down an EPDM sheet and then just snapping the tiles into place over the top of this sheet. Ideally you want to ensure that the EPDM sheet does not have any seams which could cause some leakage or seepage to the dry area below.
Another advantage of deck tiles is that they can be laid without the need to employ contractors or outside labour. And you can also create different designs with deck tiles by changing the orientation of the tiles or even combining tiles of certain materials such as slate with tiles manufactured of wood.
No matter what alternative you decide to use, make sure that the option that you choose is entirely suitable for your specific region, especially in terms of its durability in exposed conditions, so that you can enjoy your new deck for many seasons to come.
Tags: a, d, deck repair, decking, decks, diy, e, Family, h, home & family, home improvement, Home Repairs, home;improvement, home;repair, i, p, patios, wood deck repair
