The 'Altitude Bake'

Living in Salt Lake City means we sit pretty at an elevation of roughly 4,300 feet (and even higher if you're up on the East Bench). While that makes for incredible mountain views, it also means the atmosphere above us is significantly thinner. The result? The sun's intense UV rays "bake" our exterior wood decks, fences, and trim twice as fast as they do at sea level.

If your wooden deck is unprotected by mid-June, the intense solar radiation combined with the upcoming triple-digit July heat will literally pull the natural moisture out of the wood, causing severe splitting, warping, and expensive structural cracking.

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The Hack: The Splash Test

Before you spend hundreds of dollars on stain or assume your deck is perfectly fine, perform the quick Splash Test:

• Take a glass of water out to your deck and flick a generous amount of drops onto the wood planks.

• Watch the clock: If the water tightly beads up on the surface and stays there for a few minutes, your current sealant is doing its job against the elements.

• The Warning Sign: If the water immediately sinks into the wood grain, darkening the plank within 30 seconds, your deck is completely unprotected. It is actively "thirsty" and needs a fresh coat of UV-blocking exterior sealant this weekend before the true mid-summer heat hits.

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Hump Day Home Hacks The 'Altitude Bake'.pdf

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