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Porches & Decks Design Dilemma

deck redo or sand and stain

WestCoast Hopeful

last year

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
last year
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
last year
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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at lowes they have cleaner made by olyumpic..itbsays it does not kill plants,in fact i used it to brightning my deck,worked good..its called OXY-DECK.. I AM GOING TO USE IT ON MY VINYL SIDING BECAUSE I OVER SPRAYED IT WHILE CLEANING MY DECK, OH BOY DID IT TAKE THE FILM OFF HOUSE.. sorry for caps..its worked great..
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We've had our pool for 8 years and used pavers. A big reason for our choice was drainage. They did a great job and we've had no settling issues, there was even a leak that required repairs under part of the decking so that turned out to be a good choice. We did experience some mold in the wetter sections and weeds growing between pavers after a while. We recently hired a highly rated, professional paver company to redo the sand between the pavers which requires a good powerwash cleaning, replacement of the joint sand, machine-tamping it all, and a sealant. Unfortunately after a couple strong rains the sand was partially washed out in some areas. They came back and redid the entire job again only to have the issue repeat itself and now we're discussing next moves.
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Comments (2)
Polyurethane is best removed with a solvent gel type of stain like Strypeeze. I've used it on antique oak furniture and it works well. It does have pretty strong solvent fumes so be prepared for that. Start on a small area, paint on, let it sit a few minutes and try scraping with a putty knife. If the finish doesn't come off, wait longer. After scraping most of the finish off, use fine steel wool wetted with stripper, or a toothbrush, to get in the nooks and crannies. Have plenty of rags at hand to wipe. After the finish is all off, do a final rinse/wipe with mineral spirits to get the last residues off. It's tedious for trim and carvings but you can't haul your staircase to a dip-and-strip place. I'm not that fond of sanding it off because it can damage the curves and edges.
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Comments (3)
For re-staining, you have to go down to the wood. If you get a lot of sun exposure, then yes, that's likely causing the cracking. I would try to limit direct sunlight with some window shades or something similar. There are also some clear finishes that are more UV stable than your typical oil polyurethane, but I didn't think UV was a problem indoors. For stain, use a pigment stain such as the yellow Minwax cans.
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millworkman
last year
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 year
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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