revitalizing your wood and concrete in time for summer

The season to break those patio lanterns is ripe.
Let\'s hope they don\'t light up wood floors that look as old as Kim Mitchell songs (
This year is 29 years old).
\"At this time of the year, the first thing people want to do is sit on the deck,\" said Brian Bowler . \".
\"But it\'s quite possible that if you built a deck last year, you would either use cedar or stress --
The treated wood, and even worse, the composite.
Your deck looks like it\'s been 10 years now. Don’t fret!
We can solve this problem.
\"Let the host of hgtv diy disaster and Brian\'s house: help you prepare the terrace in a stick and clean up the dust from the deck.
Today, he answered questions from Star readers about the expansion deck floor, the dull concrete porch, and the secondary stove.
Brian: I have an 8 year old green deck.
I haven\'t dealt with it, but every spring I wash it with strength, and for the past two years I have washed it with mildew, a mildew-proof agent, and a wood rejuvenation agent.
Although it did a good job of cleaning, it left me a \"stain\" look.
I don\'t want to get dirty because it\'s a kind of manufacturing from past experience
Work projects that never end.
My wife hates the look and threatens to replace the surface with a composite.
But now the wood is too good to wastein my opinion.
Any suggestions are welcome. Dick V.
Port elkinsey, Dick!
The wooden deck is challenging. Pressure-
Treated wood is essentially a wood that is soaked with chemicals to resist rot and insect damage.
But over time, these chemicals are drawn out of the wood, which means it starts to rot.
The sun beats on it, so it basically softens those wood fibers and they start to open and turn gray.
When it gets wet in the fall or spring, the fibers open again, and more organic material will enter there, which will destroy the surface of the wood.
So, the pressure cleaning is good, but you have to be very careful when the pressure is cleaning the wooden deck because you will not be too close and destroy the wood fiber
You can blur the surface of your deck.
There are many deck cleaning unions that update the look of the wood, but the eight-year-old really got up there.
The adult deck, of course.
In addition to carefully cleaning its power supply, you can also try using an oxidation cleaner, take a scrub brush and do a little work on the deck.
You can also put some water seals on it.
This prevents water from entering those wood fibers.
Another thing I suggest you try.
If power cleaning and scrubbing does not give you the look you want
Solid stains.
This will definitely cover it up, though it means that you will need regular maintenance over the next few years to patch the stains.
It will never look brand new, but this is the challenge we face, natural building products are exposed to the environment: they collapse over time.
However, if you want a natural material, you need to do regular maintenance by cleaning, water sealing, dyeing, etc. Hi Bryan. We have a 12-year-
Old house with poured concrete front steps and porch.
Since the concrete looks dull, we want it to surface again.
We have heard of some stone brick and plaster products that can be used to re-lay the concrete.
We are looking for something that is resilient to our winter and the maintenance costs are low.
What would you recommend? Thanks. Vito L.
Richmond hillwell Vito, one thing about concrete is that it is exposed to elements.
Hopefully you won\'t crack if built properly and reinforced.
There are many things you can do.
You can re-surface with a concrete coating, or you can have someone color it with a tool and give it a stamped concrete look.
You can even have someone come in and grind the surface and seal it, but the problem is that you don\'t want to have a smooth surface in front of your door.
You will want something with textures.
What I recommend is to wash it first.
You can re-lay the concrete on it and make an exposed aggregate which is a great non
Smooth surface, great looking on top.
Covering a piece of exposed aggregate above, or doing some sort of concrete coating and patching, the maintenance would be quite low, assuming that the slab below is in good shape and will last for a long time.
The concrete itself is gray but you can also look at the stain
There are products that even companies will come in and color it differently.
You can also do the design inside!
I\'ll remind you if you\'re going to do the coating to make sure it\'s not too thin and it\'s well sealed.
If the water enters between the coating and the concrete, it will freeze in winter, which will cause the surface coating to crack.
So it has to be grounded, cleaned and etched properly, and-adhered. Hi Bryan.
Love your show!
I\'m building a new home in GTA and want to put the second stove in the Attic
What should definitely be considered?
Can you suggest an alternative space? e. garage? Thanks. Kira S.
Thank you, Kira!
Now, if you\'re going to put the stove in the attic, it has to be in a closed space.
It must be in a warm area
A room with good insulation itself.
One problem with putting the stove on the top floor is that you get some vibration when it runs.
So you want to install it on an isolator that can absorb any vibration in the unit.
It\'s hard for me to recommend where you should put the stove.
Depending on the design of the home and which room requires heat, the distance of the stove from these rooms is limited.
The best thing to do is consult the HVAC engineers and have them design the system so that it can solve any problems that may arise.
There is a scientific basis for the location of the furnace.
You also want to make sure the room is large enough to have combustible air in the stove. Hi Bryan. Our two-
Storey house, 26-
I think it\'s time to add more insulation to our attic.
Even with air conditioning, the bedroom is hot, the main floor is comfortable and the basement is cold
I am trying to increase the airflow on the top floor by limiting the airflow on the basement and main floor.
Also, we let the fan run on the stove so that the cold air does not sink into the basement.
I put the fan and let the air flow upstairs.
Also, I put a fan on the stairs to help keep the cool air on the floor of the top bedroom.
But would adding more insulation to the attic make it cooler in summer and warmer in winter?
Thank you for your help. Jane W.
Oakville, Jane, you \'ve definitely tried all the right tricks before taking the next step to upgrade R-
The value of the attic.
Of course, letting the fan run will let the air flow and bring cool air from the basement.
Adjust the baffle-
Push air to higher floors by limiting airflow on lower floors
Is another way to balance the system correctly.
But it sounds like there is not enough insulation in the attic.
What happens in winter is that heat enters the attic through the ceiling and is ventilated outdoors.
The heat does rise, however, so it sucks out all the warm air from the basement to make it cold.
At the same time, in the summer, the heat in the House will still rise, but only to a certain extent.
Heat always goes from hot to cold.
So I recommend a few things.
Consider upgrading the insulation of the attic to at least Rs 50.
In addition, make sure there is proper airflow in the attic.
If there is not enough air vents, there is no air through the attic, the sun will fall on the roof, heating the space ridiculously, and the hot air will go down through the ceiling into the upper bedroom, making them very hot.
The basement will feel cool.
Also, when the air conditioner runs and the fan loops, it takes away the heat from the upstairs and transfers it to the basement to warm up the whole house.
So it works the same way in two seasons, but one is to spread heat and the other is to spread cool.
The other thing you can look at is: the roof of Lao has a vent that is actually solar, it rotates a fan, actively sucks out the heat from the attic, and then transfers nice, blow the cool air into the sofa.
This is also a good idea.
Bryan BaeumlerEND appears twice a month in new homes and apartments.
He was the host for Brian at 10 on Monday night. m.
Brian\'s house: on Canada\'s HGTV, it\'s all in a stick.
Send the on-site repair problem you gave Brian to Newhomes @ the star.
There is a ca for \"Brian\" in the subject line.
Contact him at baeumler.