Deck Repair: Tackle Mildew, Ants, Stains and Broken Patio Pavers

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(Photograph by Ghislain & Marie David de Lossy/Getty Images)

Ants are moving in from outside, and you don’t want to use a toxic brew to defeat them.

THE QUICK FIX
"A 50/50 mix of peppermint oil and water will get rid of ants," says Amy Devers, cohost of the DIY Network’s DIY to the Rescue show. "Fill a spray bottle, and spray wherever you see them coming out of hiding."


Clearing the way for your new backyard deck, you’ve encountered the proverbial immovable object.

THE QUICK FIX
The task is to get the boulder up out of its resting place so that you can roll it out of the way. The secret to doing this is—as your high school physics teacher taught you—leverage, dear homeowner, leverage. Dig a small hole down under one side of the boulder, stick a lever in the form of a two-by-four under the rock, and set a fulcrum (a small chunk of waste wood will do) under the two-byfour. Do the same on the opposite side of the rock. Work each side a little at a time, slipping increasingly larger amounts of earth, pieces of wood, or stones underneath the boulder until you can simply roll it out of its resting place onto flat ground. From there it should be a relatively simple chore to roll it where you want it.

Click here for our full report on how to move heavy objects in your yard.


A big orange rust stain makes your concrete patio a major summer eyesore.

THE QUICK FIX
Rub a lemon or lemons over the stain until it is saturated with lemon juice, then put a piece of plastic over the stain. Leave it for two to three hours, and then hose off. The stain should be gone. If some stain remains, repeat the process.


That precious deck you installed last summer is getting stained by the moisture collecting under your container plants.

THE QUICK FIX
Cork drink coasters are attractive and simple ways to get the base of plant pots or the saucers underneath up off the surface of the deck. Use a triangle of three stacks of two coasters each under the container and the airflow will keep everything dry and the wood stain-free.


Every time it rains, your deck stairs become hazardously slippery.

THE QUICK FIX
Provide traction on aging wood stairs by nailing or gluing down strips of asphalt roofing shingles, or strips of outdoor carpeting.


A single cracked paver is ruining the look of that patio you so meticulously laid.

THE QUICK FIX
Any paver set in a bed of sand can be removed without tearing up big sections of the surface. Simply bend the bottom two inches of two barbecue skewers at 90-degree angles, using a vise and pliers, then slip the bent ends down alongside either side of the paver, turn, lift the cracked paver right out and replace with a new one.


Your deck is becoming smelly and slick, thanks to a growing patch of mildew.

THE QUICK FIX
Scrub the deck with a solution of one cup bleach to one gallon warm water and rinse with cold water immediately after. To discourage mildew from coming back, cut back any overhanging trees that shade the deck, and make sure that container plants and other moisture sources are not keeping the deck wet for long periods.

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