Our deck was built 11 years ago and was in desperate need of refinishing. It was covered in mold and mildew, which made it unsightly and very slippery in our rainy weather. We enlisted the help of our kids and were able to get it done fairly quickly. Now have a beautiful deck again!
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We wanted to extend our deck to make it bigger. The old deck just needed cleaning. The new extension was built. We found this great product called Behr Deck Over Textured Stain, from Home Depot. Because of the old and the new deck, this blended all of the deck to look like it was all built at the same time.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My husband pressured washed the finished off our pressure treated wood deck. How can we repair it to like new condition? We tried Thompson's Water Seal, but it hasn't lasted. The deck is about 4 years old and looks 10 at least.
These pictures were taken today, 6/1/2011, but I do not know how to change the date on my camera.
By ruthie
Well, the wood in the pic looks like pressure treated wood and they do not wear well over a short time. They splinter,warp and get a baked out look. Water seal type products do not last more than a year or two. My deck is also pressure treated wood but I stained mine with semi transparent stain from Home Depot.
The first thing to do is use a primer made specifically for the final finish you want to use. I had a huge veranda in southeast AL built from pressure treated wood, and it lasted the twenty years we lived there.
My then husband and our son built the veranda with pressure treated wood right after we moved into the house. They applied primer (marked for use on wood to be painted with oil based paint or stain) to all of the wood.
Next, they painted with an oil based exterior house paint made for porches-the stuff with a gritty texture to prevent slips and falls when wet. It cost a bit more, but really looked good for about five years with minimal maintenance.
After five years it started looking faded so they used a TSP type cleaner, then repainted with the same paint they used the first time. They didn't need to strip down to the bare wood, just TSP'd, then painted.
Looked good for another five years or so. As I recall, they repainted twice more during the years we lived there after they built that veranda. We always got compliments on how nice it looked, and how safe the porch paint made using the veranda steps during the rain.
We use Olympic deck cleaner and sealant products on our cca, pressure treated and cedar decks and fencing. First we use their can of deck cleaning that you put on w/sprayer and then wash off with water, looks really clean, then paint on their stain. You need to make sure everything is dry after cleaning so we usually wait a day before staining. I can tell you we live in MO and get all kinds of weather. We do this approx. every 3 years. If you keep on top of it you can keep them looking almost new most of the time. We have gotten these products at Costco as well as hardware stores. These products are easier to use than in the past. Our neighbors are also using and getting great results. We even use around our pool. You might check out Olympic's website. Follow the directions and take your time the first time and do a good job. Suggest you brush on first time, then can roll and spray later. Hope this helps -- we don't always have to stain all all the same year, either once we keep applying. We've tried other brands and not been as happy. Hope this helps.
Linseed oil has been used for hundreds of years to preserve wood surfaces. It's a natural crop oil -- from flax and will not evaporate. Is a very good primer for paint, but I've found there is no need for paint after linseed oil has been on decks, rails, stairways, etc. It will darken from sun exposure and I like that.
After first application one has only to renew it maybe every other year. Check online experts for first applications.
You can make surfaces 'non-skid' by strewing really fine sand (Lowe's, Home Depot) on freshly oiled surfaces, then adding another coat of linseed oil. Don't expect it to dry overnight, go guard your TV as usual, as a couch potato and check on it maybe next week.
My deck was previously painted. The paint is peeling badly and I want to remove it and stain the deck. I've tried scraping and removed some of it, but was told that if I sand it I will just end up clogging the sand paper and have to keep changing the paper.
Is there a better/easier way to remove the paint?If it is oil based paint (and it probably is because this is what they generally use for outdoor paints) then simply get some mineral spirits and saturate the paint, wiping off the excess. If it is acrylic/water based paints, then you must look for a solvent that is specific to acrylics - something acetone based, most likely
There are paint removers that are sold at Home Depot. They also sell high quality large paint scrapers, which I used to scrape off paint from badly rusted iron railings.
