Shade is the variable that matters most on a Canton deck, and there is a lot of it here.
- Georgia cycle
- Roughly every two to three years
- Shaded decks
- Mildew before sun bleaching
- Test
- Water soaks in instead of beading
Plenty of Canton sits under mature tree cover, particularly on the lots running down towards the Etowah. Shade protects a deck from the worst of the sun, which slows fading — but it also keeps boards damp for hours longer after rain, and damp shaded timber grows mildew. A shaded deck often looks fine on colour and is failing on cleanliness.
That changes the work. On an exposed deck the job is mostly about stripping sun-damaged surface and putting protection back. On a shaded Canton deck, cleaning is the larger half of it, and a coating laid over mildew traps the problem underneath and fails early.
Shaded decks, specifically
Dark patches and slick spots point to mildew, not dirt
Cleaning matters more here than sanding does
Boards must be properly dry before any coating
Check the shaded end first — it fails first
Water test: if it darkens the board in seconds, it is time