icy wood deck

[Smitty Two]

I know we've done the slippery deck recently, but I wasn't paying attention because it never freezes where I live. But, it does at our new house, where she lives, and she has a job that forces her to keep farmer's hours. So the wood decks tend to have thin but treacherous layer of ice in the early mornings. Note that we're not talking about snow, just frozen dew or possibly frozen rain.

Standard options I can think of are self-adhesive non-skid strips, or paint with sand in it. Wondering whether either or both are subject to ice-over if enough water accumulates to fill the porosity. Also wondering whether they pose a significant obstacle to sweeping.

Any comments on benefits or drawbacks of either approach, or suggestions of other methods to deal with the issue? Rugs? Some form of electric heat?

[Ed Pawlowski]

We had a ramp at work that had a similar problem. "We used play and in a coat of clear urethane. It worked well. It was originally slippery when just wet and the sand eliminated all of that, but in ice, it was effective, but did lose a bit of grip, as you may expect. Still, it was far better than nothing.

If the deck in winter is only used to walk across, string a rope from the door to the end as an assist also. A bit of stability goes a long way.

[Phisherman]

Roof shingles can help, last a long time.

[RobertPatrick]

Smitty Two wrote in news:prestwhich- [e-mail]:

Throw down the melter that is used for pets. Won't damage the wood so much.

[Jerry - OHIO]

Check to see if the boards are cupped if it's wood. I bult a deck and had some boards cupped and water laid on each board and frooze. Jerry

[---MIKE---]

get some overshoes that contain metal spikes. I use these whenever there is ice (which is often).

---MIKE---

[Don Phillipson]

Freezing rain is a perennial problem here: standard remedies:

1. On wood decks or steps, coconut matting nailed down with battens at the beginning of the season. Next spring we just leave it out in the rain for a couple of days to rinse out gravel, then dry and store it.
2. For outdoor boots, ice crampons secured by velcro straps. (These used to be a standard item in Canadian shoe stores, then disappeared, then reappeared after the 1999 Great Ice Storm. . . )

[ransley]

If the deck in in shade and slippey just wet like my deck than it could be mold, I have mold and kill it with laundry bleach a few times a year. Some decking is real smooth and slippery all the time, I have old powerwashed PT that is now fairly rough from cleaning alot and is less slippery