Log Cabin Upkeep

~Weathered Redwood cabin decking 

The guys who built the deck on our cabin made a couple of mistakes that have bothered me for 10 years. First, they didn't leave space between the decking for proper water drainage, which is of course a long term problem for exposed wood. Secondly, they drove the deck screws in too far, penetrating the surface of the wood, which in addition to not looking good allows water to penetrate the wood surface. Left unchecked, these screw holes will rot out over time. For 10 years I've wanted to fix the problem and yesterday I began that process.

I started by checking all the way around the underside of the wrap-around deck for water rot. I was relieved to find there wasn't any; which is a testament to the water resistant properties and overall longevity of redwood. I then unscrewed several boards for a closer examination of the underside and again found things in good shape. I also wanted to see if the "Life-time Guaranteed" deck screws had held up: they had.

Now the fun begins: unscrewing each of the 200 or so 16' long redwood deck boards, sanding and sealing each one, and then screwing them back down, this time leaving the appropriate space between boards for proper water drainage. The deck is well off the ground, allowing for good air circulation and relatively fast drying time when the deck gets wet from rain or dew. If the deck had been built close to the ground, I'd probably be replacing most if not all of the nearly 1600 square feet of redwood deck (approximately 3200 linear feet of 2"x6"). At a few bucks a linear foot, that would have been a pretty expensive deck remodel. I'll keep you posted.

~10 year old deck screws still in good shape