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Porches & Decks Design Dilemma

deck redo or sand and stain

WestCoast Hopeful

3 months ago

We have a 4 year old cedar deck and then stairs leading down to our backyard. When we put this in I always wanted to go with composite bs cedar and be done with it. I will say the wood has grown on me. Every year I wash and pressure wash it all and it comes back enough that I still like it. But this spring we will need to refinish it and stain it or make a change. When we built it was seeming like composite was about 50% more than wood. Is it still that much more expensive? Are there new products people like that weren’t around 4/5 years ago?

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Comments (4)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 months ago
I guess I would want ot know why it needs to be redone now? I have had the same cedar deck for 15 yrs the only part that might need a redo soon is the part arounf the pool where the wter and the intense sun are doing a number on the deck. I think we have decided that there dura deck is probably a better choice .
WestCoast Hopeful
Original Author
3 months ago
Everything I’ve read says that sanding and restraining is common every few years. There are tons of stains on the deck from the kids hanging pool towels to dry. Probably the chemicals from the pool water. I don’t need to replace the whole deck etc but I’ve always wanted to have composite. So was thinking if we are going to pull everything off and do something how much would it be.
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millworkman
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Composite was always considerably more than lumber. I had a deck built last year and the spread was larger than ever between the two.
WestCoast Hopeful
Original Author
last month
Just circling back to this. We met with two different companies and will be doing a full clean of the decks spaces. They do a power wash, not at full pressure, and some kind of wood cleaner. We will assess if new stain is needed once that is done but even if we do it will be a clear coat type.

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