Wooden deck maintenance? :New Question - old screws?:

[djheater]

Bought a house two years ago and the deck wasn't great then. I haven't done anything to it for the last two winters either

We had tossed around the idea of relacing it, it's a pretty boring square of pressure treated wood with ralings but the money is not going to be there for 3 or 4 years.

Can I just replace the bad boards, clean\brighten it and stain it?
It appears to be pressure treated, and I imagine some of the boards were badly done, they're rotten, but it's not a majority of boards, some have bowed out as well...

I'll post pics when I get home tonight.

Thanks for any advice...


~~edit - PICS
Looking at my deck closely, and after the reading I've done today, I think almost any professional would agree that my deck is not salvageable. I would guess it was never properly cared for and I'm on the downhill slope. Unfortunately replacing it is not an option and my budget is under $500... so I shall commence an experiment in hillbilly maintenance.

I'm going to go ahead and (following the suggestion in this thread) sand, replace the boards, prep and stain and by fall I'll be able to post either the tragic results or an example of how to save $$...

I'm morally opposed to just letting it fall apart.

Pic1
Pic1
Pic1
Pic1

I think once I get it completed, it will look slightly better than it does now... My tally of boards that need replacing is about 45%

~~
New Question
Any advice on removing deck screws from the old boards? I spent about a 1/2 hour on one 8' board last night and it was a miserable experience. I could only remove one screw intact.
They're phillips and extremely rusted. The heads are rusted and strip easily, the shafts are fragile and break and in some cases the wood fibers have covered the head.

On the last few, I took a screwdriver and hammer and tried to clear out the debris from the head and give myself a little purchase which worked but the whole thing just sucks.

I see that there are some damaged screw extractors on amazon and elsewhere... anybody use these with success?

Thanks!

 

[KB]

As long as the supports are not rotting, then you can pull up the boards and replace them, stain them etc.

 

[woowoo]

Have a go at with a pressure washer.
Then replace bad boards.

Wait a few months for the new wood to weather

Then stain.

 

[imported_Zeke]

Originally posted by: woowoo
Have a go at with a pressure washer.
Then replace bad boards.

Wait a few months for the new wood to weather

Then stain.

I agree. Rent a good pressure washer.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: Zeke

Originally posted by: woowoo
Have a go at with a pressure washer.
Then replace bad boards.

Wait a few months for the new wood to weather

Then stain.

I agree. Rent a good pressure washer.

Well, can't do a few months.. it's august in chicago. Weather will be going from unberablably hot and humid to freeze your nuts off shortly... I'll follow your advice as much as weather will allow though...

What kind of pressure washer, I have a crappy one that a guy left me... think it's 1300 psi? Wasn't impressed with it when I used it on my siding last fall...

 

[woowoo]

A smaller pressure washer that won't eat the wood for a snack.

 

[Lvis]

An alternative to pressure washing is to scrub it with a linolium brush and a solution with 25 percent bleach, water, and laundry soap. It will remove the mold and mildew, and brighten the wood.

 

[Squisher]

Although I use a pressure washer, I would advise you to tread lightly with one.

Pressure washers can do a lot of damage. If you get too close with the wand you'll dig out the softer grains of the wood and leave the darker/harder grains raised.

Wolmans (Meijer) sells some good stuff to clean, strip, and brighten. I like the DEFY epoxy semi-transparent stains, but the opaque stains (where you can't see the grains of the wood) last longer.

http://masterhandyman.com/topics.cfm?topic=deck

http://masterhandyman.com/columndetails.cfm?pubdate=20050521

DEFY

 

[djheater]

This product is made up by a guy over a the GardenWeb forums. It's gotten a lot of good user feedback, so I was going to go with it and use twp116 which is also a highly reccomended stain.

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: djheater
This product is made up by a guy over a the GardenWeb forums. It's gotten a lot of good user feedback, so I was going to go with it and use twp116 which is also a highly reccomended stain.

The stains for decks are very thin, imagine painting with water. And as such is very messy when doing railings.

If you are willing to go with an oil based product then you're a better man than me.

I suggest you use one of those trim pads to paint the railings and a pump garden sprayer and go over it with a roller for the horizontal stuff (be sure to cover everything you don't want stain on).

 

[arcas]

If the deck hasn't been maintained in several years but it's in decent shape save for a few boards here and there, I'd recommend you rent a floor sander instead of a pressure washer. I rented an orbital-style floor sander and it worked really well. Use a hand-held belt sander to get the places where the big sander won't reach. Then stain your deck with a good quality water-repellant stain. You'll be surprised how much of an improvement it'll make.

As for your railings, they may or may not be salvageable. Mine aren't (and replacing them is still on my todo list some 3 years later!)...

 

[Jassi]

Tagged for later. I need to gather more info on my deck and come back for advice.

 

[bctbct]

My parents did 11K worth of damage to a 10K deck using a pressure washer. Be careful how much pressure you use because it will eat the wood.

Use a deck cleaner, let it set and then pressure wash. I was not kidding about my parents. :frown:

 

[iamwiz82]

My 1800PSI pressure washer was more than enough gouge our deck a couple of times. I suggest you steer clear of Behr stains, as it was VERY poor when it came to covering and was streaky.

 

[skyking]

They make a roller assembly to help keep the nozzle a set distance from the wood.
Use the proper nozzle, one with some spread to it.
After the deck dries, purchase a 2 gallon weed sprayer, and use that for the deck sealer. It works wonders, saves your back, and is cheaper than rollers even if you have to toss it when you are done.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: arcas
If the deck hasn't been maintained in several years but it's in decent shape save for a few boards here and there, I'd recommend you rent a floor sander instead of a pressure washer. I rented an orbital-style floor sander and it worked really well. Use a hand-held belt sander to get the places where the big sander won't reach. Then stain your deck with a good quality water-repellant stain. You'll be surprised how much of an improvement it'll make.

As for your railings, they may or may not be salvageable. Mine aren't (and replacing them is still on my todo list some 3 years later!)...

Posted pics.

I think any reasonable person would just let it die an honorable death, but I'm going to push ahead and see what happens.
I can't afford to replace it, and I can't think wht my other options would be.

I think once I get it completed, it will look slightly better than it does now... My tally of boards that need replacing is about 45%

 

[Pikachu]

I'll never understand how this deck fad ever took off. It costs a lot using lumber that's supposed to last forever, yet has to be "maintained".

Screw that. What ever happened to good, old fashioned patios? Nothing to maintain, lasts forever and looks great!

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: Pikachu
I'll never understand how this deck fad ever took off. It costs a lot using lumber that's supposed to last forever, yet has to be "maintained".

Screw that. What ever happened to good, old fashioned patios? Nothing to maintain, lasts forever and looks great!

My real intention is in about 5 years, when my wife is out of grad school and I've completed my degree to replace it with something else possibly composite with an arbor and some other perks.
I also want to put in a brick and stone patio with a fire pit, grilling area and seating. I may be able to do that on the cheap as well. Casting my own concrete flagstones and salvaging construction debris. That's in the brainstorming stage though...


For the time being I'm just trying to make it work.

 

[tizodq]

the biggest thing is just getting the deck clean. get a good deck cleaner and a power washer and that should help remove all the gray off the deck. wait a while for the deck to dry and use a good deck stain(like deckscapes from sherwin williams, i work there . just make sure you brush in the stain and don't just roll it or spray it on. what will happen is the stain will have a tendency to pool up in areas and you could end up with peeling and blistering.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: woowoo
Have a go at with a pressure washer.
Then replace bad boards.

Wait a few months for the new wood to weather

Then stain.

yep.

you'd be surprised at what you can do. It really doesn't look bad and can be repaired. If need be just use some screws where the boards are lifting up.

1) pressure wash
2) stain with really good stain, none of that thompsan's cheap crap.

You really don't have to replace any boards from those pics.

-edit-
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/djheater/IMG_0029.jpg

that says it all. looks just fine, maybe screw the ones lifting up. That deck will be golden for under 200 bucks.

 

[bctbct]

After seeing the pics am not too sure that power washing is going to do much for you. That is pretty old and weathered, but does not have much mildew and such.

Going to look pretty odd when you replace random boards. Kind of WT but carpet until you can afford to redo the whole thing.

 

[blurredvision]

After seeing the pics, I like the old weathered look to it. Is it really in such bad shape that boards are creaking/moving around? With that said, don't let anyone walk barefoot on the thing.

 

[JinLien]

I would replace all if 45% of the boards are bad, because the work is more than 1/2 way there already. Or, go with bick/stone as suggested above.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: blurredvision
After seeing the pics, I like the old weathered look to it. Is it really in such bad shape that boards are creaking/moving around? With that said, don't let anyone walk barefoot on the thing.

My kids refuse to wear shoes in the yard, and splinters are a weekly occurance... :roll:

I'm tryiing to find out how much it will cost to replace boards and Lowe's has some online prices but the sizes they list don't match up to my measurement... is this a case of the spoken measurement not matching up to the actual size?

I measured the boards at 1.5"x5.5"x16' what size board should I be loonking for?

and bctbct I'm hoping that while it will be noticeable it won't be ridiculous if I
a)replace the boards
b)power wash which should take some of the brightness out of the newest boards?
c) stain a a touch dark.

I'm going for "passable without close inspection".

Oh... and actually the boards are pretty solid they don't creak or move, they're just cracked and falling apart...

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: JinLien

I would replace all if 45% of the boards are bad, because the work is more than 1/2 way there already. Or, go with bick/stone as suggested above.

I can't afford those options. I'm trying to make due for the next few years 'til we have some income flow....