Restore/salvage Deck

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cgarcia6445

cgarcia6445

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Hello. We just bought a home built in '86. Has front and back decks. Looks like has been stained with oil based stain to match outside (have can of stain in garage)
Wood appears to be very weathered. Boards are solid underfoot, no feel of weak joists. We would like to salvage for at least a couple of years before we save for likely composite/pvc or similar.

What are people's thoughts on Deck Restore versus Deck over (Rust O, Behr)?

With the look of this I was thinking I would need to strip, power wash, and sand before applying. Some are telling me sanding won't be needed. But I fear that after washing the splinters and grain will be worse.

Would these size cracks need a crack filler as well?
Thanks!

Thumb typed on iPhone

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A year or so ago, there were reports that the Rustolem product had problems with bonding. I think there's a thread about that somewhere in here. You probably want to check into this problem before purchasing the product.
 
Looks like a lot of nails have been added to supplement some screws over the years. Any sanding will require those to be set first. If you are just trying to get a few more years out of it I would just spot sand the places where you are getting splinters and give it a couple good coats of quality deck stain. The first coat is really going to suck right in. The second coat I think you will be surprised at how good it will look. I built a deck out of an old deck I tore down a couple years ago and I flipped them all over and it turned out great. Mine looked worse than yours to start. Forget the restore products IMO.
 
The cracks between the boards should be cleaned out from time to time as the junk in there will hold water and advance the growth of mold and rot.
 
Forget any form of filler, just not going to work.
Also I 100 agree to not use any form of coating like Restore.
Everyone I've seen is peeling off.
I would not waste my time and money on those deck boards, I'd wait and replace with new decking.
 
I've used the Behr "Deck-Over" several times to usually good effect though I also had some delaminating where the wood got wet and didn't dry out well because of shading. It's not cheap nor does it go very far but it looks great while it lasts. Prepwork would be to screw down anything which needs that (including places where nails pulled lose), set any loose nails, cut away or glue down any edge splintering, then give the deck a good cleaning. Ideally, I'd seal the wood first then use the Deck-Over when it was fully dried. That should give you best appearance for the few years you want.

A good painting will be equally effective in preserving the deck a few years although it won't hide the cracks and splits like the Deck-Over does. That will be the cheapest option.

IMHO a good composite decking is the way to go if you don't use one of the 'exotic' woods like Ipe'. It lasts at least as long as the framing wood does which is all you can hope for with a deck.

Phil
 
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