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It is best to power wash your deck and sand it, as cleaning removes grime, mildew, and dirt, while sanding refreshes the wood and allows the stain to penetrate. You should clean your deck first, sand it, and then stain it. You should clean your deck annually, while sanding and staining only needs to be done every three years.

Cutting the boards directly is one of the fastest ways to remove deck boards with hidden fasteners. Mark two parallel lines that are one-third of the total measurement on both ends and cut out the centerpiece. Then, remove the end of the board that doesn’t have a fastener. Finally, pry open the fastened side and pull it up to pop out the screw or access the fastener. This also allows you to salvage portions of boards for other projects.

Not all porch columns are load-bearing, though they can be. Some porch columns are simply decorative. There are ways to identify a load-bearing column, like looking for visible seams and a foundation. Also, check to see if the column directly enters the ground. In some porch installations, a contractor will excavate a hole to install a column into the earth along with a buried cement base for stability.

While porches and decks are similar in some ways, the two structures aren’t exactly the same by definition. A porch is a covered structure that’s usually attached to the front of a home. On the other hand, a deck is an open structure without a roof that’s often attached to the side or back of a home.