look at some of the Smartstrand cpts from Mohawk. They are very soft and stain resistant but come in a frieze style so they will look good. Most kid proof type carpets you will find are made from olefins which are scratchy. The softest nylon is Tactesse but its not totally stain proof. you may have to get a carpet remnant then just have it bound. I doubt any area rugs you will find are made from these fibers.

Hi Janice, I too have dogs that are loved (well one of them anyway :), no rugs and constantly vacuuming fur. I have lived in a house with Western Red Cedar porches and yes the claws left marks on the wood. Any softer wood like cedar or pine will most likely end up with tell tale marks. Personally I wouldn't do pressure treated, which 98% of the time is Southern Yellow Pine, both because it is soft and treated with some pretty nasty chemicals. A sweaty dog on a hot day lying on pressure treated material will absorb the chemicals into their feet and skin. Human feet as well.... I don't have any science to back this up, and I'm sure I just made myself a target for the PT industry, but in my book common sense dictates.... If you go on our site www.soluslumber.com you can see several hardwood decking options. Give us a call and we can talk about your specific situation and see if we can come up with a cost effective solution. Hardwoods won't guarantee no marks (I've seen dogs leave marks on bluestone), but it will go a long way to helping keep your deck looking beautiful.

First, clear the deck and get the deck itself shored up. Get some deck cleaner and clean it, then get a clear sealant and seal the deck. You can watch videos on Youtube on how to do it. It's very easy. You just want to make sure that you really rinse the decks of the detergent really well and let it dry fully before you seal it. Highly recommend buying a garden sprayer for applying both the detergent and the sealant. Makes the job a heck of a lot easier. Also do the surface area of the railing. Replace the board on the bottom step, and make sure the other boards are all sound. If you have and use a power washer, be careful using it on wood. Don't beat it with the water. Just enough to rinse the detergent off. Otherwise you'll destroy the wood and it'll warm and get splintery (trust me on this. I learned this the very, very hard way!). You can also use the power washer on your siding, which looks like it could use a cleaning. The deck, once it's finished and decorated will be a whole lot nicer for you if the deck itself and the siding is clean and fresh. I big palm hanging over your two really great wicker chairs would be great. Get some fun string lights to hang up.

We use Diamond Vogel opaque deck stains with good results. Needs to be renewed about every4-5 years. As bad as that wood is, however, I would not expect too much. Were it my deck I would set all the nails, rent a floor sander and try to get down to good wood before staining. To answer your questions: 1. Can anyone tell what type of wood my decking is made of? Treated pine 3. Can I wood-fill smaller cracks and splits instead of replacing? No. Wood filler is not for unstable environments like a wood deck. 4. Do I need to prep my railing differently than other surfaces? Only the top of the rail should be weather-worn. Sand it down before staining. 5. If I replace some boards, any tips for trying to blend the old and new boards? Blending is not really possible. The new wood is full of treatment solution and will take stain differently than old wood. The usual recommendation is to let new wood sit for a minimum of six weeks before staining.