Behr DeckOver…Winter Wear

Winter on the Deck!

Let’s review the winter: As of April 16, 2014 Minneapolis recorded 69.5 inches of snow (and counting) on the season and we had a snow pack of at least 24 inches on the ground. The Polar Vortex pushed the Twin Cities into the top 10 for the most subzero temperatures ever recorded in a season with -49 degree windchills. Not the worst, but a pretty healthy winter in these parts.

So, how did Behr DeckOver stand up to this winter?

Let’s find out!

WINTER FUN ON THE DECK

Gotta have some fun! Finding our beach during a long, long Minnesota winter…

OK, BACK TO SOME SERIOUS STUFF: SHOVELING
I used a lightweight plastic shovel and early on in the winter season a broom. My strategy was to keep a single path clear to go out the backdoor, walk across the deck and down the deck stairs to access cars, shed, trash, etc… We didn’t really use the deck in the winter so I left most of the deck covered with a deeper snow pack. The walkway and the stairs had heavy use.

Snow Pack

STAIR WEAR
In the next image you can see that there is some exposed wood on the edge of the stairs. This is due to the snowblower rubbing up against the bottom stair. Next winter we will need to be more careful!

Stair Wear

Besides the very bottom stair edge issues caused by human error, there are also a “limited” number of areas on the edges of other stair-steps that have peeled/cracked. See image below…

The spots shown above are about an inch or less in length and my best guess were caused by the wear and tear of walking on ice and snow for five months.

DECK FLOOR BOARD WEAR
At this point, the deck has not been cleaned so I can’t really make a full assessment of its condition. However, I will say that first appearance indicates that the deck floor boards have held the Behr DeckOver Stain well! Color looks great! I have not seen any huge areas of cracking or peeling! Again, after cleaning I will take a better look. It will be interesting to see how the deck cleans-up because there is a lot of grit and dirt and paws prints from winter.

INITIAL THOUGHTS
Right now I am very pleased! I have to say that this is the first time EVER that I have looked across the deck after winter thaw and not cursed! There are a few issues I will need to deal with and will most likely call Behr for their advice. However, I believe I am not going to be staining the deck this summer!!

That is a beautiful thought!!!!

For now, I will hold-off giving Behr DeckOver a full thumbs-up as I will need to figure out how to repair the stair edges. I will be back later with some additional pictures and thoughts after a good cleaning.