Yet another deck question...

[Original Wally]

Concur with sanding. Last house we had NICE real oak flooring that had been carpeted over. Instead of a drum, I got the kind that used pads - like a disc sander. Did the floors and then stained and finished them VERY TIME CONSUMING and the "dust shield" to protect the rest of the house KIND of worked. BUT it was beautiful when done. AND it was a nice selling point.

 

[finnski1]

Concur with sanding. Last house we had NICE real oak flooring that had been carpeted over. Instead of a drum, I got the kind that used pads - like a disc sander. Did the floors and then stained and finished them VERY TIME CONSUMING and the "dust shield" to protect the rest of the house KIND of worked. BUT it was beautiful when done. AND it was a nice selling point.

Sanding is fine for indoor work. It's a pain to keep doing on outside decks/porches

 

[sengsational]

The drum sander idea occurred to me, but I was worried about the nails tearing the sandpaper on the drum. I had protruding nails all over the place. I figured I could pull or sink them before sanding, but decided to just tear-off the old and go with the composite.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

The drum sander idea occurred to me, but I was worried about the nails tearing the sandpaper on the drum. I had protruding nails all over the place. I figured I could pull or sink them before sanding, but decided to just tear-off the old and go with the composite.

Right now we're leaning towards sanding all of the vertical surfaces, and replacing all the horizontal boards rather than sanding them. They are most likely around 40 years old, anyway.

Whether or not we decide to switch to composite will depend on how the vertical boards look after they're sanded, how they will look against each other, and how sturdy the ones available will be with 16-inch spacing.

 

[Montecfo]

I've never been a fan of staining decks as it becomes an ongoing maintenance issue. Thankfully we both like the weathered grey look so we just put down pressure treated and leave it alone.

If it was my deck I'd just replace the top deck boards with new and replace the old railing with a nicer looking metal one.

If you decide to clean and seal what you have, I agree that the play is to go natural or with a much lighter tone, deck sealer not stain. It will last longer. And as you know OP, the key is prep. Plenty of work there.

As others pointed out there is quite a bit to the composite deck re-do. It is more flexy and less forgiving than wood. And hotter in summer. And you can melt it if not careful with your grill. AND you still need to clean it (I power wash it at least annually). Some scrubbing with a mop or similar helps too. Not as bad as wood deck but not trivial.

And if you gouge the composite deck, well, it looks like you gouged your hardwood floor.

I like mine but it is more like a piece of furniture. Looks great but a bit of a mixed bag.

 

[freedomatlast]

After further thought, I'm considering renting a floor drum sander and sanding the deck aggressively down to bare wood and then a clear product like Thompson's Water Seal every couple years. Not maintenance free but low cost and would look a lot better.

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Might want to consider staying away from the big box store coatings like Thompson's Water Seal that doesn't last and use a professional product that will last a long time like Penofin. It's sold in upscale lumber yards and on-line.

 

[pb4uski]

For a moment there I though that you had taken pictures of my deck! What I have learned over the years with two different pressure treated decks is that horizontal surfaces do not hold stain very well.

What we have done for the last few years is to cover it with a polypropolyene mat (outdoor rug).

Like you, I don't care to replace the decking when it structurally sound just to improve the appearance. I did little AI yesterday and it was suggesting a chemical stripper to remove the color, then use deck cleaner (bleach base) then sand and then apply a non-color stain to protect the wood. I have a smaller deck out back that I just apply clear Thompson's Water Seal every couple years and that seems to work well.

It sounds like a lot of work so I'm considering just putting the polyprolyene mat back down. It is sized so it just about covers the entire deck and I screw it down for the season so it doesn't blow around in the wind. It also provides a little padding for the grandchildren (the netting is for the granschildren as well).


View attachment 63940
View attachment 63941

I'll post pictures later but today I applied #1Deck Wood Stain Stripper to the deck in the first picture above when it was in the shade, let the stripper do its magic for a while, pressure washed it with a surface cleaner attachment on my 2300 PSI gas pressure washer and then finished it off with the wand attachment.

I am amazed. It took off all the solid stain and the deck looks like unstained pressure treated decking.

One tip is to be careful not to get any stripper on the metal flashing... I was pretty good using a board to prevent stripper from getting on the painted flashing but I missed a 1' piece at the end so I'll need to repaint the flashing later.

The next steps are to let it dry, treat it with deck wash and then a couple coats of a clear protectant finish. Goodbye polypropolyene rug!

From Lowe's for $28 delivered. It worked good for me.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

I'll post pictures later but today I applied #1Deck Wood Stain Stripper to the deck in the first picture above when it was in the shade, let the stripper do its magic for a while, pressure washed it with a surface cleaner attachment on my 2300 PSI gas pressure washer and then finished it off with the wand attachment.

I am amazed. It took off all the solid stain and the deck looks like unstained pressure treated decking.

One tip is to be careful not to get any stripper on the metal flashing... I was pretty good using a board to prevent stripper from getting on the painted flashing but I missed a 1' piece at the end so I'll need to repaint the flashing later.

The next steps are to let it dry, treat it with deck wash and then a couple coats of a clear protectant finish. Goodbye polypropolyene rug!

From Lowe's for $28 delivered. It worked good for me.
View attachment 64794

What about the railings and support posts? Does it work on those, too?

Looking forward to seeing photos.

 

[pb4uski]

It probably will strip it off the posts and railings, but I haven't decided whether to strip those or just restain them.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

It probably will strip it off the posts and railings, but I haven't decided whether to strip those or just restain them.

That will be our issue as well if we replace our deck surface and railing top boards. If we treat them with a clear protectant finish like you plan to, we will have green horizontal boards and cedar colored vertical ones, which DW says she doesn't think would look all that great.

Thanks for the update.

 

[pb4uski]

Before and After pictures. I think the after will be better once it throughly dries and is cleaned with deck cleaner. I was just surprised that the stripper was so effective, though I'm not sure why I thought that it wouldn't be effective.

It's an old deck but still in good shape structurally and I'm loathe to replace it.

Before:

After: