Restaining Deck

Status
Not open for further replies.

Kent Adams

New User
Kent Adams
I've got 1500 square ft. decking on the new home I'm buying and it needs to be restained. I've only restained one deck before and I'm pretty sure I did it wrong, but the home was sold before I could see how it weathered. The deck is about 8 years old. I believe the deck gets a lot of mid-day sun. After watching some youtube videos, they recommend sanding with an orbital sander, each and every board. I'm willing to do that, but this is a very large deck. I know I need to make sure the nails are fully set into the wood before sanding, and there are thousands of them. I'd like to ask you veterans of deck restaining your thoughts on the questions below.


  1. How would you recommend I sand, by hand or with a drum sander? The boards are relatively flat, but there are some high and low spots. Should I drum sand level and then use the hand orbital sander for the low spots?
  2. What is the best stain to use in your opinion, without regard to cost? I want a stain that can stand mid-day sun and will retain its pigment with minimal flaking and peeling. Cost isn't a consideration.
  3. When is the best season to stain? The deck is in the mountains at 3200 ft. in elevation. Can I stain before the Spring?

I've attached a picture of the deck.

IS6ilaiw6rzg9q0000000000.jpg
 

Guy in Paradise

New User
Guy Belleman
I also have 1500 square feet of deck. When we bought the house, the previous owner was putting on Olympic every year. I couldn't do that. So, I first got a very strong power washer to clean every crevice. Then, a coat of the honey stain previously used to color uniformly. I also coated the underneath which hadn't been done. Most resources will say to coat all board sides before putting them on the deck. Then I applied Sikkems stain/coating. Great stuff. Expensive, but a coat lasts 4 to 6 years depending on the weather. Sometimes I recoat just the rail tops due to fading by the sun, about every two years. About every thee years I might touch up, or just roll on a new top coat on the deck. Those take me a day. Need about four rainless days to really get a good drying. Doing the entire deck, rails, sides, three stairs, etc., takes me three days, unless I am lucky enough to have visiting family at the time. I have tried to spray but I still need to follow quickly up with a brush to smooth out runs. Highly recommend Sikkems, although there are others that also get good ratings.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Are you planning on going over it with basically the same color?. An opaque stain? . From the pictures , it appears the boards are very weathered and cracking/splitting. My deck looked very similar to this, the deck was built in 1989. I replaced my decking with Trex. Im not saying for you to do this but what I discovered after pulling up the old boards was they could be turned over to a very nicely preserved bottom side. Its alot of work (so is sanding that much area to possibly not so great results) but is something you should consider. If the boards arent in too bad of condition, I would simply powerwash the the surface and restain it, as is.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
I also have 1500 square feet of deck. When we bought the house, the previous owner was putting on Olympic every year. I couldn't do that. So, I first got a very strong power washer to clean every crevice. Then, a coat of the honey stain previously used to color uniformly. I also coated the underneath which hadn't been done. Most resources will say to coat all board sides before putting them on the deck. Then I applied Sikkems stain/coating. Great stuff. Expensive, but a coat lasts 4 to 6 years depending on the weather. Sometimes I recoat just the rail tops due to fading by the sun, about every two years. About every thee years I might touch up, or just roll on a new top coat on the deck. Those take me a day. Need about four rainless days to really get a good drying. Doing the entire deck, rails, sides, three stairs, etc., takes me three days, unless I am lucky enough to have visiting family at the time. I have tried to spray but I still need to follow quickly up with a brush to smooth out runs. Highly recommend Sikkems, although there are others that also get good ratings.


+1 to Sikkens.... nothing is as good!
 

Kent Adams

New User
Kent Adams
Hi Chris,

Yes, I plan on using the same color. Yes, the boards are weathered and cracking. I'm not sure why, they are less than 10 years old but I suspect its a combination of weather and sun exposure. I don't think I'll pull the boards up and flip them, way too much work for me :). Trex might be something I should think about though considering the age of these boards and relative shape they are in. I don't know much about Trex, but my fear is they will look artificial. Will paint/stain on Trex last longer than on wood?
 

Raymond

Raymond
Staff member
Corporate Member
Hi Chris,

Yes, I plan on using the same color. Yes, the boards are weathered and cracking. I'm not sure why, they are less than 10 years old but I suspect its a combination of weather and sun exposure. I don't think I'll pull the boards up and flip them, way too much work for me :). Trex might be something I should think about though considering the age of these boards and relative shape they are in. I don't know much about Trex, but my fear is they will look artificial. Will paint/stain on Trex last longer than on wood?

Kent, check this link to find out more about Trex: http://www.trex.com/why-trex/faq/
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Hi Chris,

Yes, I plan on using the same color. Yes, the boards are weathered and cracking. I'm not sure why, they are less than 10 years old but I suspect its a combination of weather and sun exposure. I don't think I'll pull the boards up and flip them, way too much work for me :). Trex might be something I should think about though considering the age of these boards and relative shape they are in. I don't know much about Trex, but my fear is they will look artificial. Will paint/stain on Trex last longer than on wood?

I used the Lowes brand of Trex, the name escapes me now, I came across a deal on 80 , 16 foot pieces that I couldnt refuse. The price will scare you but I have had mine down for about 6 years now and I love it. It did, however within the first 2 years turn from a light brown color ( I was never too crazy about the the color anyway) to grey. I simply powerwashed it and applied a coat of sikkens in the color I wanted and its been absolutely fine for 4 years now. I dont thinks its faded much , if any.
 

Dee2

Board of Directors, Vice President
Gene
Staff member
Corporate Member
When we lived in SC (pre NC), we lived in a custom Lindal Cedar Home I designed and built with a local contractor. Stained it with WeatherMaster, including a large deck. That stained lasted about 3 years. It was very transparent and looked great.

I lost the source for that stain and started using SW stain. I would take a week off from work, rent a man lift from Southern Rentals and spend 2-3 days washing the exterior with oxygen bleach (doesn't hurt the shrubs) and a garden sprayer - no power washing as I didn't want to risk water running under the clapboard siding. One day to dry and started staining the next day on the first side washed. About 6 days. Had to do it every year with the SW stain to control the mildew. I was in a heavily wooded 5 acre lot.

The last time I stained it I used a custom mix SW opaque stain, then moved to NC. I don't know what the new owners are doing with it. I miss that house. Drive in garage/full basement on the back side equaled 3 stories - thus the nee for a man lift.

Also, replaced the SYP PT decking before moving. Cracking and warping in the SC sun did it in. Never sanded it. Just washed it with the oxy-bleach, let it dry, and stained it.

If you can find WeatherMaster, you might try it. Very eco-friendly. Sorry for the reminiscing.
 

Kent Adams

New User
Kent Adams
Thanks to everyone for the advice so far. I've been looking at the Trex decking and have a couple of questions. Some people complain that its too hot if its facing the direct sun. Is mold staining an issue? One of the things that really concerns me about composite decking is how realistic does it look? I can look at samples, but I'm not sure that will give me an ideal representation of how the deck will look once its laid down. What about scratching and abrasions? I understand you can't resurface so how resistant are these boards to scratches and abrasions? I have a large Great Dane that has some pretty nasty nails. He likes to run around a lot. Lastly, installation doesn't look anymore difficult than laying hardwood flooring which I've done many times. I figure I can save half the cost by installing it myself.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Thanks to everyone for the advice so far. I've been looking at the Trex decking and have a couple of questions. Some people complain that its too hot if its facing the direct sun. Is mold staining an issue? One of the things that really concerns me about composite decking is how realistic does it look? I can look at samples, but I'm not sure that will give me an ideal representation of how the deck will look once its laid down. What about scratching and abrasions? I understand you can't resurface so how resistant are these boards to scratches and abrasions? I have a large Great Dane that has some pretty nasty nails. He likes to run around a lot. Lastly, installation doesn't look anymore difficult than laying hardwood flooring which I've done many times. I figure I can save half the cost by installing it myself.


Kent,
I stained mine a chocolate brown color and it appears to look alot like real wood. Much richer appearing than an opaque stained PT board IMO. As for heat, depending on color, sure, it can get hot but anything in the direct sun here gets hot!. Mine has some marring from people dragging things across it but no "digs". As for a large dogs nails.... I have 2 small dogs that tear around on mine, theyre about 25 lbs but constantly wrestling and running. I have seen no issues from this, I see alot more problems with this on my inside oak flooring. As for installation, there are a few techniques, hidden fasteners for one but the biggest problem I had was the weight of the stuff. It is STUPID heavy!. A 16 foot piece probably weighs about 80#. Luckily I have a subcpompact with a bucket to help me move such things around in bulk. I dont think the weight on your existing structure is a problem since its about pounds per square foot loading but Just something to consider (handling). Oh yes, I almost forgot, mold. I do see some algae or mold , not sure which but it cleans off easily with a simple powerwashing to look like new again.
 

Kent Adams

New User
Kent Adams
Kent,
I stained mine a chocolate brown color and it appears to look alot like real wood. Much richer appearing than an opaque stained PT board IMO. As for heat, depending on color, sure, it can get hot but anything in the direct sun here gets hot!. Mine has some marring from people dragging things across it but no "digs". As for a large dogs nails.... I have 2 small dogs that tear around on mine, theyre about 25 lbs but constantly wrestling and running. I have seen no issues from this, I see alot more problems with this on my inside oak flooring. As for installation, there are a few techniques, hidden fasteners for one but the biggest problem I had was the weight of the stuff. It is STUPID heavy!. A 16 foot piece probably weighs about 80#. Luckily I have a subcpompact with a bucket to help me move such things around in bulk. I dont think the weight on your existing structure is a problem since its about pounds per square foot loading but Just something to consider (handling). Oh yes, I almost forgot, mold. I do see some algae or mold , not sure which but it cleans off easily with a simple powerwashing to look like new again.

Thanks Chris for the feedback. The weight of the boards isn't something I thought about but would be important considering I'd do the installation by myself. As far as dogs, my GD weighed 215 lbs on the last vet visit. His nails have to be trimmed every 45 days or they turn into bear claws :). Did you look into putting flashing on your joists? I think I'll keep the railing wood. I installed some of that plastic railing for my mother-in-law and I didn't like the squeaking and flexing when leaning up against it.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Thanks Chris for the feedback. The weight of the boards isn't something I thought about but would be important considering I'd do the installation by myself. As far as dogs, my GD weighed 215 lbs on the last vet visit. His nails have to be trimmed every 45 days or they turn into bear claws :). Did you look into putting flashing on your joists? I think I'll keep the railing wood. I installed some of that plastic railing for my mother-in-law and I didn't like the squeaking and flexing when leaning up against it.

No, no flashing dont really see the need, except at the house of course which it had , the existing structure was built in 1989 and was still very solid. If youd like to come see mine youre more than welcome to. May need to wait for the snow to melt though!.
 

Kent Adams

New User
Kent Adams
Thanks Chris for the offer which I'd like to take. I'll pm you in the Spring to set up a visit to bring my wife, the final decision maker :).
 

tri4sale

Daniel
Corporate Member
Couple of things I learned from installing composite decking at my house.

1. It does get hotter than wood, a lot hotter. I could walk barefoot on my wood deck, but after replacing with composite (HD brand) it burns my feet during the summer
2. It is a lot more flexible than wood. Pickup a composite board in the middle and put on one shoulder, and pickup a PT board of same length and put on other shoulder to really see the difference.
3. Due to flexibility, 16 inch on center may not be adequate, and anything off level is more noticeable.
4. Contrary to some advertisements you see, it does fade in sunlight. You can see on my deck where the sun beats on it compared to the shaded spots.
5. It holds up well, no cracking, splinters, etc. Mine is 5 years old, and besides the fading, it looks the same as day installed. Only annual maintenance is cleaning after pollen season.
6. I have a faux wood grain on mine, and pollen really likes to get into the grain pattern, so have to give it a good cleaning after pollen season.
7. More expensive up front, but long term I think cheaper with no real upkeep. No staining every few years, no annual protectant coating, no replacing bad boards over time.
8. Hidden fasten systems make the deck look really good.

After 5 years, I still get people who see my deck for the first time go "wow, love the deck"
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Couple of things I learned from installing composite decking at my house.

1. It does get hotter than wood, a lot hotter. I could walk barefoot on my wood deck, but after replacing with composite (HD brand) it burns my feet during the summer
2. It is a lot more flexible than wood. Pickup a composite board in the middle and put on one shoulder, and pickup a PT board of same length and put on other shoulder to really see the difference.
3. Due to flexibility, 16 inch on center may not be adequate, and anything off level is more noticeable.
4. Contrary to some advertisements you see, it does fade in sunlight. You can see on my deck where the sun beats on it compared to the shaded spots.
5. It holds up well, no cracking, splinters, etc. Mine is 5 years old, and besides the fading, it looks the same as day installed. Only annual maintenance is cleaning after pollen season.
6. I have a faux wood grain on mine, and pollen really likes to get into the grain pattern, so have to give it a good cleaning after pollen season.
7. More expensive up front, but long term I think cheaper with no real upkeep. No staining every few years, no annual protectant coating, no replacing bad boards over time.
8. Hidden fasten systems make the deck look really good.

After 5 years, I still get people who see my deck for the first time go "wow, love the deck"

As much as I love walking on it in bare feet, yes in the summer its hot, but so is my concrete pool skirt, just as hot so I guess I dont walk out there barefooted during the day. But try barefoooted on your PT deck! Oh the slivers! . anyhow.... Im also quite certain 16" centers is NOT a problem, I hve no sagging or springy areas on mine. Yes, it will fade, thats why I stained mine, but the stain stays on it much longer than wood since you have no moisture in the material trying to escape. 2016-05-06 18.16.34.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top