What to put on deck

[Bamaman]

When I redo the deck it is going to be composite. With a 1000 sq.ft. deck, it is going to cost a bit of money. A composite deck does hold the heat, but that is not a problem at 7000 ft elevation.

I put Trex on a deck on the back of my screen porch. The stuff was about $8 per square foot. That means 1000 square feet installed could cost you as much as $10,000 including labor. That's pretty expensive stuff.

I just spent much of a year rebuilding a balcony deck over a screen porch. I sure wish my father would have poured a concrete deck when the house was originally built.

 

[pb4uski]

I'm starting to wonder if plastic or aluminum might be the answer. Hear me out. Around here there are docks that are decked with plastic panels or aluminum decking that seem to hold up well and are low maintenance compared to a deck (though I concede we do pressure wash my Mom's aluminum dock).

I previously had a dock that I made with Aqua-Dek panels and that was no maintenance and worked with 24" on center joists. ThruFlow panels are designed for 16" on center and should be low maintenance as well. But low/no maintenance would be pricey.... Aqua-Dek runs about $7/sf, and Thru-flow runs about $9/sf compared to $4.50/sf for Trex.

ThruFlow™
Aqua-Dek Marine Decking Panels

An aluminum decking product. http://www.nexaninc.com/products/decking/lockdry-waterproof-decking

Anyhow, an interesting possibility that would be low or no maintenance.

 

[NW-Bound]

I am sure these aluminum decks will outlast wood or even composite decks. The problem is the house must be of a modern design to fit the style. A metal deck would look awful with my house and its wood stained siding.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I can tell you that my next home will be four side brick, metal roof and concrete patios. I've had it with shingle roofs, cedar siding and most recently a 50x15 deck and a 60 foot long 'bridge' to our front door. The big deck has taken forever to prep and stain (only horizontal surface so far) and I'm trying to figure out if I can spray the 150+ spindles without making a huge mess.

I. Am. Tired.

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[NW-Bound]

We have more than 2x the number of spindles, and we have re-stained them by hand with brushes 4 times in the 10 years we own the house.

At least the spindles still look good, compared to the deck.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We have more than 2x the number of spindles, and we have re-stained them by hand with brushes 4 times in the 10 years we own the house.

At least the spindles still look good, compared to the deck.

How long did that take? I'd prefer it not take a week! Especially with the nice, hot weather!

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[pb4uski]

....and I'm trying to figure out if I can spray the 150+ spindles without making a huge mess. ...

Makes my cable railings look pretty good right now!

They were actually an experiment... a guy down the lake had some and I liked that they did not block the view of the lake as much as spindles, but his was SS and big $$$$$.... much more than I was willing to spend. I made a plywood template to drill holes through the posts and bought vinyl coated cable and some SS eye bolts from Home Depot and it has worked like a charm. Cost me probably $300 in materials vs thousands and I don't have to paint it.

 

[NW-Bound]

I put Trex on a deck on the back of my screen porch. The stuff was about $8 per square foot. That means 1000 square feet installed could cost you as much as $10,000 including labor. That's pretty expensive stuff...

The local store has a brand other than Trex, but its name escapes me at the moment. They have 3 different grades. I priced out the mid grade, and the cost was about $10K before labor.

I am thinking about doing it myself, replacing a plank at a time whenever I feel like it.

How long did that take? I'd prefer it not take a week! Especially with the nice, hot weather!

With the wife staining the inside of the spindles while I do the outside on a ladder because of the height, it takes but 3 days. And it's not 3 full days either. Maybe 3 or 4 hours each day.

 

[dallas27]

bleach and dish soap to clean, and stain with a quality product. Don't you dare buy stain or paint at homedepot/lowes.

 

[pb4uski]

I remembered that my Mom had one of these accessories that attaches to a pressure washer. I'm using it to clean my deck right now (I'm waiting for the deck wash to do its work on the other half of the deck) and it seems to work great. Much faster than a wand.

Shop Briggs & Stratton Rotating Surface Cleaner for Pressure Washers at Lowes.com

 

[Donzo]

We have a large redwood deck. I power wash every year and apply Flood deck treatment. It has UV protector and adds some color (medium brown). It also repels water, deck looks great when done. Its about $130 for 5 gallons and thats enough with a little left over for touch up on the part of the deck that gets full sun all day.
I had to treat the under part of the deck last year (read tired arms!). I was starting to get some fungus....that will eat the wood quickly! This spring I had to replace 2 boards that had cracked and did not feel solid. The deck is 20 years old and still looks good. I'll prob. replace the whole deck a couple boards at a time over the years....

 

[NW-Bound]

... DW wants me to apply Behr DeckOver 4X. I don't like the artificial look of it to begin with, and there's no turning back once you put that stuff down. Looks like stripping it off if it peels, cracks or otherwise would be a nightmare...

+1

As I described in an earlier post, the deck coat that my builder used in his 1-year warranty work to put over the original oil-based stain looked great, but started to peel 6 years after it was put down. It looks terrible, and pressure washing will not take the rest off. I am simply waiting for the rest to continue to peel off, and reapply a better oil-based stain where the bare wood shows.

On youtube, there are many homeowners whose decks start peeling after only 1 year or 2. Mine lasts longer, but then what was put on it was not the same thick type.

We have a large redwood deck. I power wash every year and apply Flood deck treatment...

What I should have done is to reapply the oil-based stain every year or two. People desiring a longer lasting finish with thicker covering coat are bound to be disappointed with an end result that will take even more work.

If the deck is a goner with lots of decay and splinter, then a thick coat may buy you another year or two, but you'd better start making room in the budget for a new deck.

 

[NoiseBoy]

I live in the Midwest and my pressure treated wooden deck is on the north side of my house. About 1/3 of the desk gets direct sunlight, and there is a shady portion under the eaves that tends to mildew. I have cleaned and stained my deck twice since buying the house and I'm at least a year past when it needed it again.

The first time I used a commercial cleaner which is basically bleach, and borrowed a friends pressure washer. Then I applied a clear stain, which I believe was the classic Thompson's Water Seal. That looked good for 1 - 2 years, but by year 3 the deck was heavily mildewed in spots again and dirty looking.

For round two I bought the Armour All brand cleaner and used an "As Seen on TV" power wand attached to my garden hose to clean the deck. With a little help from a scrub brush I was able to get the mildew cleaned up this way. Based on Consumer Reports recommendations, I went with a tinted stain instead of the clear coat. The can in the garage reads "Thompson's Water Seal Deck & House Oil Stain." Against directions, I applied two coats to the worst boards, which really soaked it up. The results were pleasing and lasted longer as CU claimed. Still, I'd put the upper limit of a tinted oil stain at 5 years or so.

As others have mentioned, staining the balusters is a PITA. I believe I took to using a rag and rubbing the stain in that way. Making maters worse, I don't even use my deck as I prefer to sit on my driveway facing the street in the evening so I can say hi to my neighbors and listen to the radio that's in the garage while sipping a cold adult beverage.

 

[Theseus]

I built our deck - uh, just went looking for the photos to verify when - but it pre-dates my digital camera. Maybe 15 years ago, big, two levels, built in planter, benches, copper tube balusters to preserve the view, all cedar decking. I think it took me about 8 months. Hand dug around 20 holes for the posts, soil was to rocky for a power posthole digger. Love the deck, great for entertaining, lounging, coffee in the morning, margaritas on hot summer afternoons, etc.

But maintaining it has had me regretting building it with wood. Tried a couple of different stains, and I'm sure some are far superior than others but with constant weathering refinishing every year or two is best, going three years is just too long. If the deck surface becomes unserviceable before we move on to some future home, most likely replacement would be masonry which could be done as it sits on a gentle south slope. But for now, we keep doing the every two-year minimum refinishing.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

The local store has a brand other than Trex, but its name escapes me at the moment. They have 3 different grades. I priced out the mid grade, and the cost was about $10K before labor.

I am thinking about doing it myself, replacing a plank at a time whenever I feel like it.


With the wife staining the inside of the spindles while I do the outside on a ladder because of the height, it takes but 3 days. And it's not 3 full days either. Maybe 3 or 4 hours each day.

Thanks for the intel on the time it took you. The DW is leaving tomorrow to go visit some friends out of state (4 days) and wanted to get it done while she was gone along with appropriate 'lounging' (what fun is retiring early of you can't lounge around?!). So I'll spend 3-4 hours on it in the AM and hopefully will finish in time for her return.

Or, if anyone is in the Atlanta area is interested, I have a fresh keg of Red Hare Ale on tap...you're welcome to swing by and grab a brush and a frosty mug!

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[bld999]

Thanks for the invite, Mr. modern Tom Sawyer.

 

[Texas Proud]

Seems there is a lawsuit on the Restore 10X product....


Class action says paint-maker breached warranty with product claims | Pennsylvania Record

 

[Texas Proud]

bleach and dish soap to clean, and stain with a quality product. Don't you dare buy stain or paint at homedepot/lowes.

Not much help without an alternative... also, it seems they do sell other products besides their own...

 

[Texas Proud]

I came across another problem....

Some that I have looked at has a max temp to apply at 90.... well, the forecast has over 100 for the next 10 days!!!!

Maybe just go with the waterseal and do something else next spring.... still looking and reading though...

 

[hakuna matata]

This is a website I found when I was looking at staining my deck--it is composed of deck specialists who build and stain decks for a living. Lots of good info there and the reality is that there is no ONE product that works everywhere. Your climate and weather have a huge impact on which product you should use. You can post a query and usually someone responds--at least that worked for me!

Deck Stain Forum | Best Deck Stain Reviews Ratings

 

[Texas Proud]

This is a website I found when I was looking at staining my deck--it is composed of deck specialists who build and stain decks for a living. Lots of good info there and the reality is that there is no ONE product that works everywhere. Your climate and weather have a huge impact on which product you should use. You can post a query and usually someone responds--at least that worked for me!

Deck Stain Forum | Best Deck Stain Reviews Ratings

Thanks for the link....

I had seen this one, but went right by it earlier... looking at it again I should have stayed on it...

Now just some more reading...

But, with the review, I am not going with the Thompson water seal clear... no UV protection and will not last but one year....

 

[NoiseBoy]

I forgot to mention that my neighbors used the Behr Deck Over product on their deck this spring. They were getting ready to put their house on the market, and needed to make the deck more presentable. They had good things to say about how easy it was to use, but I thought the end result didn't look as nice as my oil stained deck. Kind of plasticky looking if that makes any sense.

 

[dallas27]

Not much help without an alternative... also, it seems they do sell other products besides their own...

armstrong, sikkens, etc. the big box stores sell the bottom quality formula's.

 

[imoldernu]

Our Woodhaven deck is 30 years old. For the 26 years we've owned it, I used Thompson water seal, sprayed on, every two or three years, with no problems. A half hour job. The deck was always light grey, natural. Water always beaded.
Two years ago, decided to try Olympic stain to match the add-a-room siding. Disaster... uneven color, and because the deck is always in the shade, green mildew that will take hours of power washing. A problem we never had before. Also, the boards are now shrinking.

Live and learn... If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Only a few years to go before I can't handle the rustic woodland setting, and the seawall that is deteriorating faster than I can repair it. The name of our park is Woodhaven, but everyone who lives there, knows the the real name is Workhaven.

 

[pb4uski]

....Only a few years to go before I can't handle the rustic woodland setting, and the seawall that is deteriorating faster than I can repair it. The name of our park is Woodhaven, but everyone who lives there, knows the the real name is Workhaven.

That is what high school kids are for... DW has a small harem that do her heavier duty gardening chores, stack firewood, etc.