No matter how great your deck looked when you had it built years ago, it shouldn't be a surprise that now it's looking a little worse for wear. Weather and climate, foot traffic, spilled food and drink and playful pets can all take a toll on the deck's surface and structure. One way to freshen up the deck is to refinish it, but if the deck has some issues that seem to be more than cosmetic, you might wonder if you need to replace part or all of the deck instead. Here's some good news; you may be able to stick with refinishing in more cases than you realized.

Cracks in the Deck

If you see a lot of cracks in the deck, you'll need to find out just how deep they go into the decking material. Surface cracks can be sanded away if the deck is wood, allowing you to merely refinish the deck instead of replacing anything. But if the cracks go through the planks, that's different. Then you need to look at how many planks are affected. A small number can be replaced while the rest of the deck is refinished, but a large number of badly cracked planks indicate the deck may need more intense attention.

Mould, Mildew and Moss

If the problem with the deck is that you see things on the surface like mould, mildew, moss, algae or another environmental residue, look at how deeply they penetrate into the decking material. Surface mildew, for example, can be removed so that the decking can be refinished. But boards that had so much mould in them that they were effectively rotting would need to be replaced, obviously. See if you can wash the offending substance off the decking first; if that works, then you can likely refinish the entire deck instead of replacing it.

Loose Parts

Loose supports or a large number of loose boards indicate there's something about the construction of the deck that's not stable. In that case, the deck is a candidate for replacement. But if the problem is only one loose board or loose screw, for example, the screw can be tightened up or replaced while the rest of the deck is freshened up with new paint or sealant.

Refinishing is much easier and can be done much more quickly than replacing a deck, but you should ensure that the issues you see are not deeper than you thought. Having a decking builder inspect the deck first is the best thing to do now; once you're sure the issues aren't too bad, you can arrange for the refinishing to start.

Contact a company like Coating The Coast for more information.