Notifications
Clear all
Deck Cleaning Questions and Answers
12
Posts
2
Users
0
Reactions
1,156
Views
Topic starter
12/05/2019 9:01 pm
Thank you for all the great information on this site. I have a few questions about our deck and greatly appreciate your help in advance!
I live in a NYC apartment building with a 750 sq ft roof deck. The deck is roughly 14 years old and as far as I know has never been cleaned, stained, or sealed. It appears to be pressure-treated pine, and is chipping, splintering, and warping in many places. Many of the screws are regular interior contractor screws too and are rusting. I'll attach pix.
A professional deck company suggested replacing 50 or so of the worst planks, changing out all the screws to coated exterior deck screws, deep sanding the whole thing, then staining in two coats. I was curious if you would agree. They estimated $16k+ to do this!
We changed some of the planks last fall (the lighter ones in the pix). I was thinking I would replace the worst ones again, changing the screws on those planks, but leaving the others in place. We only need to get 5-7 years more out of this deck before we scrap and redo the whole thing. I would go with RAD cleaner and brightener, then Defy's Driftwood Gray, two coats.
Some questions:
If I replace planks now, do I really have to wait a few months before cleaning, brightening, and staining? Or should I clean/brighten/stain now, and then replace the bad planks in the fall before winter comes, and clean/brighten/stain again next spring?
We want to use the roof deck this summer, but are concerned about splinters and the current condition.
We also aren't sure about the deep sanding. It seems you're generally reluctant to sand, but we have lots of kids up on the roof in the summer and we want it to be a safe surface. What would you advise?
Thanks again for your help.
Topic starter
13/05/2019 2:20 pm
So clean and brighten now, then replace boards in the fall, and in the spring clean, brighten, and stain? That still leaves us with splintered boards all summer. What if we replace boards now, and clean/brighten/stain in 8 weeks?
Topic starter
13/05/2019 3:15 pm
Could we replace boards now and clean and brighten right after, and then in the fall and/or next spring we’ll clean, brighten, stain?
Topic starter
13/05/2019 4:06 pm
Thanks so much. What's your opinion on sanding?
Topic starter
13/05/2019 4:48 pm
So would the order be:
- Replace planks
- Sand*
- Spray deck with water
- Apply RAD cleaner with pump sprayer
- Let sit for 15 mins.
- Pressure wash at low pressure
- Rinse.
- Apply RAD brightener with pump sprayer
- Let sit for 10 mins.
- Rinse for 20 mins.
*We have a large orbital floor buffing machine and were thinking of using a 60grit screen on this.
We would do this again (without the sanding) after the wood is weathered, and then add stain.
How does that sound?
Topic starter
05/06/2019 3:30 pm
I have an update on this and a question that has come up.
We ended up replacing almost all the boards. The contractor wants to sand everything with three passes—60 grit, 80, then 150. He says that we should do this now to get rid of splinters and also level off variations in height. He says we should also seal and stain right afterwards with an oil-based stain to protect everything.
I explained that we want to use a water-based stain, and our instructions are to let the wood weather for 3-6months first. He said we should still sand it smooth first (in 3 months). I said that anything higher than 60 or 80 grit wasn’t recommended because it blocks the pores from absorbing the stain.
There are some parts that do need to be sanded, and he’s concerned we need to lower the screw depths and do a deep sanding.
Can someone please weigh in with specifics on what our recommended next steps should be for sanding and staining?
