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House I bought has a deck that frankly, strikes me as some guy the previous owner knew who offered to do it for them - and had no idea what he was doing.
I want to do something about it, at some point. Not now, but in the future.
Problem is, looks to me like they just put the thing up, didn't finish it, didn't seal it, just painted it with standard spray paint. There is faint paint splatter all over the siding (mind you, the deck is a red while the siding is white).
Now, the wood is slightly split in places throughout and the paint is peeling, due to constant rain. In my opinion it's not at replace status yet, but I could very well be wrong. The understructure looks fine - it was never painted, and of course isn't exposed to the elements.
My thought was:
Powerwash the deck
Sand down the existing surfaces to remove the paint and level the wood
Caulk any cracks/splits that are large or fill with wood glue
Treat and seal the surfaces to resist water damage
Stain the whole deck
The deck isn't large, figure about 10 feet by 10 feet with a few steps, and then a smaller piece that's about 3 by 3, plus rails. I'm figuring I can get this knocked out in a day and about $150.
Question 1: Am I off with my steps (for example, should I stain BEFORE I sealing?)
Question 2: Am I missing any steps?
Question 3: Am I off with my estimate?
Tear it down, rebuild with new material, and take care of it like you should.
By your description there's no-telling what's on the deck now. Whatever you do to prep it may not be enough to get good results- so, don't waste your money!
Don't forget the cost of replacement to proper railing if you do replace it. Deck board isn't too much work/cost. Proper railing may add quite a bit of cost.
Yeah, so I'm not averse to replacing it. However I question that it'd be $500 to do so.
Here's a top view of the deck from a second-story window so you have a sense of what I'm talking about here. Again, not averse to replacing it, but this looks to me to be salvageable.
As a side note, I am reaching out to deck specialists locally, but contractors in this state like to rip people off, thus me asking here.
Skip seal step.
Stain with oil-based stain.
Two coats.
Can I ask why you suggest skipping the seal step? Mind, this home is in Western Washington, so rain is a frequent enough occurrence - not daily, but frequent.
Are the screws they used galvanized? If not, they'll rust through, which would be another reason to replace it. I have a deck that was built well, but with steel nails/screws which are clearly rusting out after 6 years. I'll end up replacing everything down to the posts in the future.
Sure, it looks OK for what it is.
But again, not knowing exacting what is on the deck, and if a pressure washer would "remove" everything and allow a good stain/sealer to be applied and last is a BIG QUESTION MARK!!!
As I previously mentioned, By your description it sounds like that cheap-ass latex "red wood stain"- and that S#!T will definitely F-up a good stain&seal.
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