Dried out decking

[DaveGTR11]

I built my deck aprox. 3 years ago out of pressure treated lumber. Unfortunately in naivety I falied to treat the wood. In addition to that, I didn’t have time to wait for the wood to dry or cure before I built the deck, hence the UV damage and severe drying and flaking. It definately needs pressure washed and treated but how can I stop the drying? Will the treatment be enough to fix this? What do you suggest? Some of the boards need sanded, but because of warping and such I’m not sure the best and easiest way to accomplish this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dave Maxwell

[Faron79]

Hi Dave,
Enough degradation has occured that it doesn’t matter if it’s clean or not. It won’t hold stain NEARLY as good as it could’ve.
The Remedy:
* Rent a vibrating-plate sander. It’ll prob’ly use 12×18″ sanding sheets, which stick onto a fiber backing-pad.
* Obviously, it’s only usable on the main deck area. Use a ROM-sander for handrail-tops/steps.
* You might have to start out with a couple 60-grit sheets. Make a final pass or two with 80-grit.
* Vacuum off ALL dust, and do a light wipe with paint-thinner.

>>> NOW you’ve basically got a new deck again!!
* Because you sanded, degraded wood is gone, leaving strong, open wood fibers that will absorb & HOLD stain!!
* There’s no magic stain though! If your deck has little shade, you’ll have to lightly recoat every 3-4 years…
* Low decks have the toughest time. Water-vapor from soil goes straight up into the wood, trying to “push-off” stains.
* We go through a LOT of Sikkens where I work. Very good stuff…use the SRD (Siding/Roof/Deck) line. It’ a 1-coat penetrating OIL with no sheen.

This’ll help!
Faron

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