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Posted by Ranieri on August 3, 2005, 9:39 pm
> My husband and I have spent the last four weeks rebuilding our deck. We
> decided to go with a cedar surface because we love the natural reddish
> colour of the wood.
>
> We nailed the last board in on Sunday evening. Everything was perfect -
> straight, flat, lovely golden/rosy tone.
>
> There was a thunderstorm on Sunday during the night. On Monday morning, we
> awoke to discover that our lovely new deck has developed mildew. In the
> space of EIGHT hours. I kid you not. Many of the boards are speckled with
> little black marks, and the top stair tread has a big grey mouldy looking
> stain. It's bloody awful.
>
> Is this normal?!? The guy at the hardware store seemed really surprised
that
> mildew would develop so quickly. What makes it more perplexing is the fact
> that the deck is south facing, and has been baking in 30 degree sunshine
> during the construction process. We live in a dry climate with very low
> humidity. How the hell does mildew develop in that?!
>
> We had hoped to lightly buff the surface with a sander, then finish off
with
> a natural coloured UV protection oil. What we're worried about now - how
> long do we have to wait after cleaning out the mildew, and will the mildew
> grow back before we get a chance to sand and stain?!? I would have thought
> no, but I also didn't think that mildew could appear in the space of a
> single night.
>
> Were we supposed to treat the boards with the protective oil on all sides
> before we nailed them down?
>
> Also, I've noticed that some of the boards are developing hairline cracks.
> Is this normal for cedar?
>
> We thought we had everything in hand, but the appearance of the mildew has
> really thrown us off course. I'm beginning to wonder if we haven't just
> thrown a huge amount of money down the drain :-(.
>
I'd suggest calling in a mold remediation specialist and having the spores
tested at once.
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