Block the deck off from use for now until you can afford to get a reputable pro in to do it right and bring it up to codes.

If you insist on diy, check in with your local authorities and find out all that is required in your area to make it safe and meet codes.

Considering that you do have small ones that will inevitably touch the wood and put their fingers in their mouths - you should have the entire thing replaced since the wood from 25 years ago has chemicals that can make them sick. Since you mentioned it being all splintery, it may not even be worth trying to "protect" the wood with a sealer any longer.

John agrees with both,with the slight little hold back
>> no one was Ever hurt in Any way buy the chem make up of cca that was all media hype brought to you by the Green MafiaGet a few bids,defentley go to the Permit Store even if you have to actually get a permit, have them come out and tell you what you can do. J.

Hey John - I can give you the name of a contractor that would argue your point...and substantiate with medical documents!

And did this many people fabricate illness & death? I'm not speaking against CCA wood as a contractor totally - as long as it is properly cared for. I am simply warning as a Mom.

Here is a link that might be useful: CCA Poisoning stories

Probley,unusual nature of this deck,worst case scenario,more arsenic than allowed-over treated wood,much more than reqular treated wood, Burning cca lumber for heat Ghessssssssssssss give me a break.The warning not to burn that lumber at all not to mention in a wood stove was all over the old cca sticker.

It looks like the treater made a big mistake,with the given a lot of folks jumped on the lets get some money wagon>>maney people became ill while Looking at our deckThe green mafia tried evey angle they could to boot cca finaly the Co just said what the Hell we dont care how we treat it lets go with acq,bost the price and require ss fasteners and copper flashing make more $,lower the standards win win.
No place did this complaint show up in all the leagal crap that went on back then. In fact a study showed a 9 year old would have to eat a teaspoon of dirt right next to a.40 cca post 3 times a day to get close to the same risk as drinking 3 glasses of water a day.

So say half of that story is true,or all of it,that same mistake made with acq,the green mafia product we have to work with now, pools of toxic copper would kill not injure. CCA is still made and used in Com projects and any project close to water because water life from fish to frogs can handle Arsenis but die on the spot from copper.

Dont even get me started on this. J.

We had the same issue and decided to replace all the posts, the stairs, the rails, the deckboards, and some of the frame (where the wood was rotted). My hubby is very handy and money is tight so we are doing it ourselves. Setting the new posts was not too difficult and laying the deckboards was easy, though time consuming and back breaking. The one issue we are really having is with the steps. So just a heads up that it can be difficult!! And our other issue was trying to get it done while keeping an eye on our 3 year old. No family in town so we woke up at 5am to work while she slept, that just made things very difficult. We are not done and getting burned out on the whole project. I would say if you have the money pay someone to do it and if you don't you can do it but it is not that easy.
Martina