Dock Maintenance

Dock maintenance is a hefty task, but one that should be done regularly.  To begin, you must first inspect your dock.  According to Tailrace Marina, you should look for any kind of corrosion, splintering, rotting, or dilapidation in the fasteners, hardware, bolts, ladders, and stairs.  These items are at the top of the list because if there is an issue, repairs need to be made immediately to prevent further damage.

The next common step is to clean and sand the deck surface.  This process can be fairly extensive, and you must not take any short cuts.  Power washing the wood may lead to splintering.  Instead, apply deck cleaner, wash down the deck surface, repair any damaged peices of wood, sand the deck, and then finally apply a protective stain (Better Homes & Gardens).  This process can be time consuming and costly.

Alternative Solution

The use of nontraditional decking materials, such as fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP), can reduce your risk of splintering, corroding wood and will dramatically decrease your inspection and repair time.  FRP is an ideal choice for decking material for a variety of reasons including: