I have a relatively large deck (>1000 sq ft) that needs some maintenance. The boards are starting to not repel the water and some look a little weathered. I'm not sure the type of wood, but I'm pretty sure the previous stain was semi-transparent. What are my options here? Can I just clean the deck using deck cleaner and apply more of the same colored stain? Could I just apply a sealant? Do I need to strip the existing stain? TIA! Jeff

We are replacing the wood steps that go up to our front porch (that is also made of wood). Currently, there are 3 steps in "not-so-bad" condition, and a bottom step that came off in peices when we removed the outdoor carpet from the porch. Should we rebuild all the stairs? Anyone have any good sites with instructions for that? Or can we get away with just rebuilding the last step? What could we secure it to? We are planning to carpet over the stairs with a runner. Here's the twist: The concrete sidewalk that meets up with the steps has been built on a slope for some reason. It belongs to the city (as it is the sidewalk). It slopes away from the house, toward the street significantly. Any suggestions?