Cottage Q&A
QUESTION
We have wooden steps at our cottage that are sheltered by trees and get
very little sunlight. When it rains or there is a lot of moisture, the steps develop a slimy coating, making
them extremely slippery and dangerous. Is there any way to eliminate this problem?
Charly Hazan, Bay Lake, Huntsville, Ont.
ANSWER
Whoa – someone’s gonna get hurt! We asked Wayne Newton who owns Newton Tim-BR Mart in Havelock, Ont., for help. His advice is to apply non-skid adhesive strips to each step or, if you don’t mind painting the steps, to coat them with a floor paint with added grit. If you go the floor-paint route, make sure the steps are bone dry, then paint the underneath and ends, as well as the tops. If you don’t do that, moisture will sneak its way back into the wood; then, when the warm sun draws it out, off peels your paint. Most manufacturers make a floor paint with grit in it, or you can add some builder’s sand (up to 250 ml to four litres of paint) yourself. If you use the strips, stick them down (again on dry steps) at the front of the step, which is where your foot is likely to slip off and send you flying.
Reluctant to paint your expensive western red cedar? There are numerous wood cleansers available at hardware stores, including some with eco-friendly claims. However, a few of our experts suggested an even friendlier solution: pouring hot water (the hotter the better) over the steps to kill the mildew and then using old-fashioned elbow grease and a stiff brush to scrub it off. (It should go without saying that the latter is your only option if your steps are near the lake.)
And Newton says when you’re building a new set of steps, make the treads out of two or three narrow boards with 1⁄4-inch gaps for drainage instead of one wider board. You’ll get less cupping, less slime, and fewer pratfalls.
Christine Langlois
Published in the July/August 2007 issue of Cottage Life.
