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Houston Home improvement

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Do I need to seal my treated deck lumber because it is getting black spots?

 Charlie:
Jerry in Pearland says he has a deck treated one by six deck lumber last year. He built it and he thought since the wood was treated, he didn’t need to seal it. Now, he thinks he probably needs to seal it because he’s getting some black spots on it.

https://media.blubrry.com/homeshow/homeshowradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ASK-Tom-Jerry_Deck-17-0219.mp3

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Tom:
I don’t know what the black spots are, it could just be mildew or mold growing. Sealer is not going to help that. What a sealer does is helps that pressure treated lumber from weathering. When the lumber weathers it turns a bad color, it starts to shrink and starts to get cracks in it. Then the almighty splinters start to happen in your children’s feet.

Charlie:
Good times.

Charlie:
Yes, good times. The bottom line is, if you seal it, it won’t weather as bad but it’ll still grow any kind of surface mold or mildew. That just comes from dirt and the proper orientation. Mold grows on the north side of a tree kind of thing. If it’s in the shade, there’s no sun, you’re going to get discoloration. You just have to clean it every year. A quick pressure wash on it would work wonders.

Tagged With: black spots on treated lumber, pressure treated lumber, sealing treated lumber

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