The deck on our 5 year old house needs some loving. What are our options?

[Argo]

I'm guessing the wood was never treated, so now it looks aged - not terrible, but definitely older than 5 years. And some of the floor boards, and railings are a little loose.

What is the best corse of action?

 

[Jumpem]

The commercials for this look interesting.

http://rustoleumrestore.com/dcr/

 

[Markbnj]

Replace/tighten the fasteners, of course. Replace any badly warped or checked boards. For the conditioning you have an escalating series of options beginning with power-washing, proceeding through chemical brightening, power sanding, and finally redecking.

 

[Greenman]

What kind of wood is it?

Redwood or Ceder, pressure wash and apply a coat of Superdeck. If it's PT just ignore it as it will always look like trash.

 

[Markbnj]

If it's PT just ignore it as it will always look like trash.

Haha, truth. Unless you put in new PT. Then you get at least a couple of years of decent.

 

[Argo]

What kind of wood is it?

Redwood or Ceder, pressure wash and apply a coat of Superdeck. If it's PT just ignore it as it will always look like trash.

PT?

 

[Spydermag68]

PT - pressure treated

 

[Ken g6]

Thompson's Wood Protector is all I've ever used.

 

[Argo]

What do these look like?

 

[Greenman]

Haha, truth. Unless you put in new PT. Then you get at least a couple of years of decent.

PT looks like crap the moment you nail it down, and that's the best it's ever going to look. If it's all you can afford, you shouldn't build a deck.

 

[herrjimbo]

What do these look like?

it doesn't look too bad, just tighten the loose boards and stain/seal. should look like new when you're finished.

 

[blurredvision]

PT looks like crap the moment you nail it down, and that's the best it's ever going to look. If it's all you can afford, you shouldn't build a deck.

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever read on this forum.

 

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[DaTT]

PT looks like crap the moment you nail it down, and that's the best it's ever going to look. If it's all you can afford, you shouldn't build a deck.

You're an idiot.

 

[Anubis]

rent a pressure washer and wash the desk. it will remove the some gray color. then hit it with whatever water seal you want

 

[UnklSnappy]

Is that decking actually wood?
It doesn't look like it to me since all the boards have the same grain pattern.

 

[Markbnj]

rent a pressure washer and wash the desk. it will remove the some gray color. then hit it with whatever water seal you want

Just be careful with a pressure washer on a soft wood like cedar. Use a wide angle nozzle on a low-pressure setting or you're going to get furring that you'll have to sand off. I don't think what the OP has is cedar, but still worth bearing in mind.

 

[Triumph]

i think mine needs to be power sanded, all the grain has been raised. i'm pretty sure it's just cheap grade southern yellow pine. but if i'm going to sand it, do i even need to pressure wash it?

 

[T9D]

PT looks like crap the moment you nail it down, and that's the best it's ever going to look. If it's all you can afford, you shouldn't build a deck.

I built a deck out of pressure treated. For the decking I actually used 2x10's. Nailed them flat. 5 years later mine still looked brand new with the same brand new color as when I put it down. That's some thick wood too. Will last a long long time.