Deck Handy Notes - Clear the Deck Tool Company - maker of DECKHAND™ deck cleaning tool

DECK HANDY NOTES

save trees

Saving Decks Means Saving Trees. There are now forty million architectural wooden decks in the United States which are valued at two hundred billion dollars. Approximately three million new decks are built yearly, and an additional three million decks are replaced or repaired every year. Many of these decks are constructed from high grade heart redwood or cedar, which is disappearing from our commercial forestlands. Using modern forest-friendly selective logging practices, the average acre of mixed second and third growth forest yields only enough high grade wood to build or replace two to three decks. Wood decks are not living up to their potential lifespan because of a lack of basic maintenance, which leads to early structural damage from dry rot. A major cause of dry rot in decks is wet organic debris trapped between the surface boards. The unique new DECKHAND is the first tool developed specifically to aid in the maintenance of a deck's appearance and to help prevent destructive dry rot by removing this debris in a safe, fast, and easy manner. With proper maintenance, the no-repair life of wood decks could be increased by at least ten years. This would remove the need to cut and remove over SIX MILLION TREES PER YEAR just to replace or repair the existing decks that have had shortened lives due to little or no maintenance! Simply by using the DECKHAND to clean the dry rot causing debris out of the gaps between boards two or more times a year, keeping the top surface clean, and reapplying a water repellent and UV resistant finish every two years; a homeowners can greatly extend the life of their wood decks - and help to save millions of trees in the process.

DECK HANDY HISTORY

A common architectural feature of the modern house is the exterior wooden deck. Homeowners and home buyers have rated an exterior wood deck as the most desired outdoor feature of a house. Around the year 1950, exterior wooden decks were virtually unknown in the United States. During the late 1950's and early 1960's the first true modern decks were built in the United States. More of an informal style of living and entertaining were replacing the more formal norms of the past. Also, the influences of the architecture of the Southeastern and Southwestern United States and Japan spread through the academic, architectural, and building professions; shaping the tastes of home owners and buyers. The wooden deck became perceived as the perfect intermediate space between house and grounds. As the years went by, flat valley land became more developed, harder to find, and more expensive to buy. Indeed, in areas around metropolitan centers, such sites were all but gone by the late 1960's. This trend, coupled with the movement of the middle and upper classes out of older urban and suburban areas, meant more and more scenic hillside homesites were sold and developed. On these sloping sites, the traditional patios and terraces are too difficult and expensive to construct; decks are the only cost-effective way to provide useful outdoor living space and to maximize usage of the property. In recent years there has been a rapid increase in the number of decks being built. This trend is built upon, or co-operates with, several other trends: the increase in outdoor living and entertaining, the increase in "at-home" recreation and vacations, the perception of money spent on one's home as being the best investment, and the development of hillside real estate. Backyard living and the construction of decks and related structures such as benches, stairways, gazebos, pergolas, and arbors are an ever-increasing trend.

FUNGUS AMONGUS - THE DRY ROT STORY

When we refer to "dry rot", we are talking about the fungi that comprise the Family Coniophoraceae, which now includes both Dry Rot (Serpula lacrimans) and Wet Rot (Coniophora puteana). Both of these fungi are severely destructive to wood, and they both will ravage wood decks. The only practical difference between the two is that Wet Rot needs moisture to thrive; whereas Dry Rot, once established, can spread through dry wood. Nature has given these fungi the ability to produce rhizomorphs; which are runners of tissue that spread from the base of the fungus. These rhizomorphs can grow to lengths of several yards in search of moisture, which they conduct back to the fungal body. Once established, these fungi will spread through host wood as long as conditions are favorable - only dryness or freezing will stop their growth. Often, the rot you see at the surface of the wood is just a small percentage of the actual damage. The typical deck has hundreds of lumber joints and gaps that can retain water and initiate the growth of dry rot, especially if organic debris is present. Leaves and other plant debris falling onto the deck surface tend to catch in the gaps between boards, acting as a sponge to hold water. A deck packed with wet organic debris mimics the fungus' niche in the natural ecosystem: living on wet fallen wood on the forest floor. Under the "best" conditions for the growth of dry rot, even old growth redwood or cedar can decay in a few years instead lasting for many decades.