What Can I Put Over My Deck to Make It Look New Again

A wood deck can last decades with the right maintenance. This deck needed a bit of restoration, merely you tin bring the shine back with the correct tools! Learn everything you need to know from checking the structure to tips for staining a deck.

It's the summertime of big remodeling projects! In fact, we had not ane but iii deck restoration projects this year, and started working on a quaternary. They range in condition from well maintained to severely neglected. Whew that is a LOT of decks to refinish!

Why did I take and then many deck projects? For the last iii weeks, in addition to our own home projects, we had been helping to renovate my childhood home to become it set for auction – then many emotions with that! If you want to come across our other deck projects, cheque out how we added a waterproof ceiling under the deck, and creating storage space under a deck.

Withal, even with very different weather condition of the decks, the procedure of deck restoration remained the same, then today I wanted to share how to restore an old deck or restain a new i.

5 Things to Check Before You Start

Ever give your project a thorough inspection to cheque the full land of the deck and so you lot don't have surprises later on. Always do repairs kickoff.

1. Structural Integrity. Check underneath and around the entire structure for whatsoever move in the framing, joists, footers, as well as warping, gaps, or severe cracks.
2. Rot. Walk around with something similar a flathead screwdriver and poke any areas that are darkened, white (fungus), or splintered. Check the footers especially because sometimes rot can happen from the inside out (hidden).
3. Tighten Loose Screws and Hardware. If necessary, apply them at a new angle to grab new wood.
4. Pest Damage. Look for signs of pest harm including borer bee holes, termite impairment, and nests.
5. Moisture and Drainage. One of the quickest ways to ruin a deck is non have the proper gradient or drainage underneath. If yous accept significant rotting problems or debris collecting water under a deck, that needs to be repaired.

How To Prep Deck Surface

Step 1 – Clean the deck and remove any peeling or chipping stain. If using the same make of stain and colour equally before, complete removal of the previous stain is non necessary.

To clean the deck, y'all tin can use a pressure level washer that isn't too high. We used 2800 PSI on this deck without outcome. A loftier corporeality of PSI tin can dig out the wood grain and cause pitting in the boards, so be careful. We pressured washed the deck, and so scrubbed off whatever peeling solid stain with a deck scrub brush.

Step 2- Sand. While sanding is optional in many cases, a light sanding volition help the stain penetrate and bail improve to the wood surface. If all of the stain must exist removed, I recommend renting an orbital deck sander with multiple heads. A floor sander is less optimal but doable. You can ordinarily rent them from a large home improvement store. It will cut time by several hours or even days merely in that location are a few pitfalls.

• Exist careful around spiral or nail heads. If you have nails in a higher place the surface of the boards, remove and supercede or hand sand around.
• Flooring sanders are specifically designed to sand completely flat surfaces. Deck boards are generally more uneven, so yous will still have to sand some areas, and possibly round off edges with a palm sander (still worth it on a large deck in my opinion).
• Ideally, deck boards should accept a convex or rounded surface and then water runs to the edges and over.
• Upright sanders probably won't be able to become nether railings.

Pace 3 – Remove mildew and Grayed woods, if necessary. Finally, the entire deck was cleaned with deck brightener to remove all mildew and greyness wood for a fresh surface to stain. Nosotros didn't have to practice this on a well maintained deck, because the forest surface was in practiced status.

Step five – Staining. I always apply stain with a sprayer and so back brush. A roller or brush will accept forever! If nothing else, a sprayer eliminates yous going back into the tin can for more stain. Information technology's worth it!

For weathered wood with lots of cracks and splinters, I recommend a product like Behr Deckover to fill up those cracks and resurface the deck. I generally recommend at least a semi-transparent stain on a deck because transparent stains but await adept for a few years and have the lowest protective properties.

On our own raised deck where a ladder will be required, we are using the Wagner Control Pro 130 sprayer, which has a 25 foot hose and holds up to 1.v gallons of stain in the tank. What I love most about this particular sprayer is that the tank can exist left safely on the ground as we piece of work up high. No lugging paint up a ladder!

Proficient Tips for Staining a Deck

• For large projects similar decks, I HIGHLY recommend using a quality paint sprayer. Information technology cuts possibly 50-80% out of the work time. Cover nearby bushes and windows with plastic to make cleanup easier, just they aren't that messy once you get the hang of information technology. I only brush near them.
• Stain top to bottom with railings starting time, followed by the floors and then skirting.
• Even with a sprayer I recommend brushing the stain in. This helps catch any drips and, for transparent or semi-transparent stain, will aid the stain penetrate the wood.
• I usually do at least 2 coats of stain, 3 for clear or light transparent stain. Bank check the product labels for how long to wait between coats.

Ofttimes asked questions:

What paint sprayer should I use?

Different paint sprayers can be a ameliorate choice depending on the project at hand. You lot can check out my consummate list of the best paint sprayers for yous hither.

Tin I use a floor sander on my deck?

Floor sanders are specifically designed to sand completely flat surfaces. Deck boards generally have a slightly curved surface, so y'all would cease up with an uneven result.

How ofttimes practice I need to stain my deck?

It depends on the type of stain you're using. If y'all have a semi-transparent stain, you will probably need to refinish your deck every two to three years. If using a solid color wood stain, your deck should exist proficient for about ten years (unless you take large dogs like I practice). If your forest is beginning to await patchy, discolored, or showing signs of deteriorations, it'due south time for a fresh glaze. Another sign it needs to exist re-stained is if the woods fails to repel h2o.

Should I sand my deck before staining?

Although I won't say that it is required, I would recommend at least a low-cal sanding to ensure the best bond with the stain and to avoid patches or splinters.

Because it looked so good, nosotros were inspired to create a minor garden space around the deck and summers are going to exist great out hither!

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  Pressure Washer

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  Deck Brush

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  Painting accessories

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  Stain Brushes

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  Paint Sprayer

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  Condom Equipment

• ▢ Deck Brightener For grayed, mildew, or mold decks
• ▢ Stain Color

• Inspect and repair, equally needed, the structural integrity of the deck. Supersede any boards that are showing signs of rot, pest damage, or loss of support. Inspect the entire structure from all angles.

  

• Clean the deck and remove any peeling or chipping stain. You can use a force per unit area washer with up to 2000 PSI pressure level, but exist careful not to gouge the woods.

  

• Remove mildew and Grayed woods, if necessary. For decks that take grayed severely or been neglected, a deck brightener volition remove the top layer of gray woods and impale mildew.

  

• Sanding. While sanding is optional in some cases, a light sanding will always help the stain penetrate and bond improve to the wood surface. If all of the stain must be removed, I recommend renting an orbital deck sander with multiple heads. Sweep and vacuum upwardly dust.

  

• Utilise stain. I always apply stain with a sprayer so back castor to work the stain into the grain. A sprayer cuts time past fifty-fourscore%.

  

Staining a Deck Tips:

For large projects like decks, I HIGHLY recommend using a quality paint sprayer. Information technology cuts maybe 50-80% out of the work time. Cover nearby bushes and windows with plastic to brand cleanup easier, but they aren't that messy once you lot get the hang of it.

Stain top to bottom with railings first, followed by the floors and and so skirting.

Even with a sprayer I recommend brushing the stain in. This helps catch any drips and, for transparent or semi-transparent stain, will assist the stain bond with the forest.

I usually exercise at least two coats of stain, iii for clear or calorie-free transparent stain. Check the production labels for how long to wait betwixt coats.

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Source: https://www.cravingsomecreativity.com/how-to-restore-old-deck-stain/

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