Deck Restoration

Exterior Wood Care, Inc.

Welcome to Exterior Wood Care

Welcome to Exterior Wood Care. We are expert craftsmen in restoring, refinishing, and preserving exterior wood since 2005. We work with all types of wooden materials:

Cedar, Exotic Hardwood, Redwood, Pressure Treated

As a part of restoration, or maintenance process, we DO strip and neutralize the wood surface, use light chemical pressure washing, staining and sealing. We also sanding decks and other horizontal surfaces. We DON’T build new, or rebuild old decks, but we can replace a few deck boards at your request

Please  contact us via the following form, and we’ll get back to you shortly:


 

09/01/24 update

We’re closed for the season. Please email us in April 2025.

ExWoCare Team

Teak deck

While teak wood may not be as common, it’s always a delight to work with such exquisite material, renowned for its natural beauty and durability.

Sanding

Deep sanding is often necessary to eliminate previous coatings on decks. A common error is applying heavy-duty solid stains, which can be challenging to remove. Always consider the removal process before applying any deck treatment, ensuring longevity and ease of maintenance.

Ipe deck @ Lake Sammamish

This was a large ipe deck project that we worked on. Stunning results speak for themselves.

Dry rot

In our climate, where moisture is abundant and sunlight scarce, dry rot poses a serious threat to wooden structures. Safeguarding your wood is paramount, and among the most effective treatments are penetrating oil sealers. Renowned for their ability to deeply penetrate and protect wood from the elements, these sealers stand as guardians against decay and deterioration. Trust in our expertise to preserve and fortify your wood, ensuring lasting beauty and resilience against nature’s challenges.

Furniture refinishing

While outdoor furniture restoration can be a labor-intensive and costly endeavor, some pieces are truly worth the investment. Take, for instance, a magnificent set of teak furniture. Renowned for its durability and timeless elegance, teak furniture epitomizes quality craftsmanship and enduring beauty. Despite the effort involved, restoring such a prized ensemble is not just a task – it’s a testament to preserving the artistry and value of exceptional outdoor furnishings.

Before and After

Witness the transformation! Behold our gallery showcasing stunning before-and-after images of our deck restoration projects. We take pride in our craft, expertly restoring weathered wood to its former glory. Let us breathe new life into your deck, making every surface a testament to timeless beauty and craftsmanship.

It’s time to reseal your deck

As nature takes its course, even the most stunning decks can succumb to wear and tear, leaving the wood weathered and unhealthy. Unsure if it’s time to revitalize your deck? Conduct a simple water splash test: pour some water onto the surface, and if it’s immediately absorbed by the wood, it’s a clear sign that deck restoration is overdue. Don’t wait until the damage worsens – take action now to bring back the beauty and health of your outdoor space.

2020

Here is an example of what NOT to do:

To effectively seal exterior wood, such as the fence depicted here, dry weather is essential for the products to penetrate the wood surface properly. That’s why we’re committed to working only when conditions are optimal, ensuring lasting results and value for your investment.

Unfortunately, this year’s inclement weather has already cost us nearly two months of the already brief sealing season. Nevertheless, our dedication remains unwavering in delivering high-quality work that yields the best outcomes for you.

Don’t end up like this guy—trust us for professional, weather-ready services!

 

Click to the picture to see a short video.

 

2016


if your handrails are painted

If you’ve got the handrails on your deck painted it is not real good by our book, but it’s not the end of the world.

Unfortunately, we can not restore it to beautiful natural looking wood. Our wood strippers will not work, because it designed for sealers and stains, and sanding will not work, because there is no way to get a sander down to every surface.
Here what you should do:
 – Get a good painter contractor.
 – Make sure, they prepare surface properly. They should pressure wash the handrails with house cleaner and bleach, scrub all pilled paint, then apply a nice paint, or solid stain with the color of your choice.
 – Make sure you’ll keep about a gallon of this stuff. If vertical will last about 8-10 years, top of the handrails will ware out twice faster. You’ll need to re-touch the top of the handrails sometime in the middle of this cycle.
 – And never ever use paint or latex-acrylic stain on horizontal surface of your deck.


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First project 2016 is completed

We love this deck at Mercer Island. Natural Cedar tone on clear cedar. Beutiful, isn’t it?


Natural Cedar tone


Tip from ExWoCare: The optimal temperature for the most sealers and stains to apply is between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit


10 years in business

Exterior Wood Care, Inc, F/K/A Deck Plus Plus, LLC is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary this month!
Hundreds of projects, hundreds of happy customers, great reviews on the Internet.

10 years clients map

2014 Showcases

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Defurring (light sanding) wooden surfaces

If chemical are used during deck restoration, wood might fur. Some companies coat it as is, other sand the wood. We use something different – defurring with nylon brush. It’s fast and beautiful, see for yourself (right side the wood is defurred)

defurring deck

Dock and barge at Pine lake project

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May 2014

Just another day at work.

Medium size deck needed a little love

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Cleaned and ready for sealer

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Ipe deck

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Cleaned…

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Pretty large project with balcony and nice furniture set sealed in Dark Walnut

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This deck was restored by our company 3 years ago. I proud we use a sealer this quality

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Cleaned and ready for another 3 years

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We’re booked for a month and a half ahead, but there is still time to order our service.

desk refinishing went wrong

It’s very important to do the job right by the book. If it’s deck restoration, it’s even more important. We stopped any restoration projects on September 15 last year. This spring we had a couple of requests for estimates from home owners, who got in a little trouble after work was done by other companies too close to the rain season.
Here are few pics of ruined deck. Removing failed product is an expensive process.

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Cedar deck restoring in Seattle

A nice cedar deck needed a little attention. Good quality cedar was sealed a number of years ago with teak oil…

 

cedar deck before 1 cedar deck before 2 cedar deck before 3

 

After few hours of chemical cleaning it looks much better…

 

cedar deck after 1 cedar deck after 2 cedar deck after 3

 

Sealing with Pecan tone in few dry days…

 

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2013 Showcases

deck cleaned and prepaired

deck cleaned and prepaired

dark walnut on cedar deck

dark walnut on cedar deck

natural cedar on cedar

natural cedar on cedar

mahogany sealer on cedar

mahogany sealer on cedar

pecan on cedar deck

pecan on cedar deck

superdeck parker on cedar gates

mahogany sealer on newer cedar deck

pecan closeup simply beautiful

pecan on multilevel cedar deck

deck preparation

mahogany on cedar deck

prep of newer cedar deck for sealing

author

pecan on covered cedar deck

 

First 2013 Project

We start this season with a real cool project – restoring a deck after 5 years. It was a real pleasure to see how our sealer performs.
We restored this deck in 2008, it looked like this in 2013:

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The sealer we’re using is pigmented oil. Similar sealer from other manufacturers will last 12-18 months, our sealer doesn’t look like new after 5 years being out on North-West, but still protects the wood! We’re talking a lot of moister, two large dogs, big trees around… I believe we use the best product available on USA market. For more info visit out other site 

After two days of hard work the deck is clean and beautiful again:

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2012 Showcases

Cleaned Ipe Deck Close-up

Cleaned Ipe Deck Close-up

Ipe Deck After Washing

Ipe Deck After Washing

Large Custom Made Cedar Deck Project

Large Custom Made Cedar Deck Project

Cedar Bench and Cedar Deck After Cleaning

Cedar Bench and Cedar Deck After Cleaning

Natural Cedar Sealer on Cedar Deck

Natural Cedar Sealer on Cedar Deck

Cleaned Ipe is Very Bright and Light is Ready for Sealer

Cleaned Ipe is Very Bright and Light is Ready for Sealer

Ipe Deck Washed with Chemicals

Ipe Deck Washed with Chemicals

Teak Furniture Sealed Natural Cedar Tone

Teak Furniture Sealed Natural Cedar Tone

View Deck at Issaquah

View Deck at Issaquah

Natural Cedar on Cedar Deck Close-up

Natural Cedar on Cedar Deck Close-up

Driftwood Sealer on Cedar Deck

Driftwood Sealer on Cedar Deck

Dark Red on Cedar Deck Maintenance Coat

Dark Red on Cedar Deck Maintenance Coat

Dark Red Oil Sealer on Custom Built Clear Cedar Deck

Dark Red Oil Sealer on Custom Built Clear Cedar Deck

 

We stopped using Cabot’s products

Summer of 2012 was the last year we used Cabot products on our decks. Cabot known as a great stain manufacturer for a long period of time. We used to use Cabot’s Australian Timber Oil on our ipe deck projects, because this sealer last longer on exotic hardwood, then other sealers.

Cabot changed their formula again (they did it at least 3 times in last 7 years, probably to be VOC compliant), and Cabot’s ATO became a very difficult product to work with. Cabot’s ATO still shows best performance in our test lab, but after understanding that the application cant be done with best quality, we decided to switch to another product. To find out which sealers we use visit our Secrets page.

Ipe Deck Cleaned and Ready for Sealer

Restored Ipe Deck Ready for Sealer

Ipe Porch Restored and Sealed with Cabot's ATO Mahogany Flame

Cabot’s ATO on Ipe