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## Refinishing a deck - any tips?

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Cynic
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### Refinishing a deck - any tips?

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Post by Cynic » Thu May 14, 2009 2:21 pm

I'm trying to refinish my deck so my kid, all the extended family, and the kids to come from the sudden influx of the crazy "lets-have-a-baby-thon" that my family seems to have had in the last 2 years.
The current wood deck was installed 7 years ago and is all splintery.
I know I have to wash, sand, fill, and finish it.
My dad has all the health issues of a 58-year-old=man and he handles most of the handyman works around the house anyway. .I have severe bad back problems and I have seizure related problem + money problems. BUt I've said I'll do it. I don't want to get a professional.
So any tips on how to get this done?

> Ancient History wrote:We were working on Street Magic, and Frank asked me if a houngan had run over my dog.

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Maxus
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###

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Post by Maxus » Thu May 14, 2009 2:29 pm

See if you can get an electric sander--borrowing, renting, or whatever. If you have back problems, sanding a deck by hand is NOT going to be fun. Also, it's common sense for sanding, but use lower-grit sandpaper to get the splinters and stuff out, and then use high-grit sandpaper to get the deck looking nice.
Then seal and finish and all that.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
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Crissa
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Post by Crissa » Thu May 14, 2009 4:48 pm

Yeah, unless you're going to replace the wood, you'll want an electric belt sander and a nice pig-face particle mask.
You'll have to pound in the nails deeper, and then smooth out the slats, otherwise the nails will eat your sander. Nice even strokes, blah blahblah... If any of the slats are cracked, they should be replaced.
And you can totally 'wash' grey out or add grey in with modern products which will change the oxidation of the wood (wasn't possible twenty years ago). And a good sealant needs a smooth foundation to work.
-Crissa
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violence in the media
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###

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Post by violence in the media » Thu May 14, 2009 5:09 pm

Do you have any pics of what you're going to be working on?
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PhoneLobster
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###

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Post by PhoneLobster » Thu May 14, 2009 10:58 pm

Most of my carpentry skills are related to crude garden structures. So beyond low retaining walls I can't really tell you much.
But I happen to know that collapsing decks and balconies due to large influxes of guests at parties is a rather major problem and happens far more than people realize.
This thing is seven years old? It might just be old enough to be unsafe. I'd be more worried at around 15 years + but still.
Take the opportunity to check the decking itself for signs of softening, sagging, rot, termites, or just outright breakable weakness from old age. Similarly have a check of the support structure. And finally don't forget to give the railing a good rattle and make sure non of it is loose or wobbly and likely to tumble off the edge along with anyone who leans their weight on it.
I know it sounds like obvious advice but far too many people (apparently) don't realize that old decks and balconies are dangerous and do infact degrade over time. I know this one crazy lady with a 17+ year old deck about two stories above rocky scrub... and its a god damn nightmare every time she holds a party...
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Maxus
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Post by Maxus » Thu May 14, 2009 11:12 pm

I asked around. The consensus was, "When in help, go to Lowes or Home Depot and ask someone and see if those commercials are true." You know, the one that shows the employees remembering their own identical experiences.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
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Crissa
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  Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
  Location: Santa Cruz

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Post by Crissa » Thu May 14, 2009 11:37 pm

Yeah, my parents have replaced many decks. It's easier to do a patio than a deck, as a novice, as there's no underlying structure to fail.
But if you're just worried about splinters, simple refinishing will do.
I'd suggest a local lumber yard more than a Lowes or Home Depot; but that's because I've never, ever gotten useful help at the latter.
-Crissa
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Josh_Kablack
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Post by Josh_Kablack » Fri May 15, 2009 5:54 am

Seven years old you say?
That makes it pre-2003. That means it's most likely full of arsenic. Take all reasonable precautions in sanding (masks, gloves, keeping the kids away, cleaning all sawdust)
Relevant linky:
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infpre.html
"But transportation issues are social-justice issues. The toll of bad transit policies and worse infrastructure—trains and buses that don’t run well and badly serve low-income neighborhoods, vehicular traffic that pollutes the environment and endangers the lives of cyclists and pedestrians—is borne disproportionately by black and brown communities."
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Crissa
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  Location: Santa Cruz

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Post by Crissa » Fri May 15, 2009 8:44 am

I would be very surprised to find any arsenic in anything but wallboard post 1960 in the US.
Oh, right, treated wood. That's green or greyish wood that looks like it's been stapled all over. In fact, don't sand any treated wood at all. It will have tags and staple markings. It's meant to be used as-is, and isn't sold in unfinished lengths.
Do not sand that material, no. But it shouldn't be splintery; if it is, it needs to be just plain replaced.
While there's many worried over it leeching out, there's actually no studies of it leeching into anything else... Because there's already arsenic in our soil.
-Crissa
Last edited by Crissa on Fri May 15, 2009 8:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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