Restore old splintering deck


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Old 02-26-18, 01:21 PM
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Restore old splintering deck

We recently bought a home that has a small deck leading into the yard. It is quite old and clearly hasn't been cared for. Ideally I would get it professionally replaced but the quotes i have received are very high. The main issue (aside from the ugliness) is that it is splintering and is unsafe for our kids, so am seeking advice on how to restore it so that it looks better and doesn't hurt anyone.

It seems to me the two options are to either use a product like deckover (which has terrible reviews and is unlikely to survive Canadian winter) or to sand it down and stain it.

​​Would really appreciate some advice on what steps to take and products to use. For instance, should I pressure wash or bleach before sanding? And what about after sanding? How and what grit to sand etc? Thanks in advance!
 
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Old 02-26-18, 01:39 PM
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Welcome to the forums!

I only sand a deck as a last resort. I normally clean with a bleach/water solution and then rinse with a pressure washer [water hose will also work] Stain when dry.

Hard to say about the splinters without seeing the deck. Minor ones are easy to sand out but bigger ones work better with either cutting them out with a chisel or replacing the board.
 
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Old 02-26-18, 02:09 PM
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Using Rustolium 10X will provide you with a short term fix. Many people will reject this as solution, but short of removing and replacing this will give you a few more years of use.
 
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Old 02-26-18, 05:17 PM
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Do it yourself

My husband and myself just replaced our deck boards ourselves. It was not that difficult and very rewarding. You will need a saw and maybe a jig-saw. We did it over several weeks. We would demo a few rows and then nail in the new boards. I am not sure how old your kids are but I am sure it would be difficult to do while trying to watch little ones. In the mean time, I would clean with TSP. I would only use bleach if you have some moldy black boards. Give it 2 coats of thick semi-solid stain.
 
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Old 02-26-18, 05:26 PM
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How big is this deck?
If it's a small deck it would be worth while to go with composite decking so this would be an issue again.
The very last thing I would suggest is using any product like Deck Over!
Everyone I've seen has failed and they ended up replacing all the boards.
It would be a huge help if you could post a picture so we can see what your seeing.
 
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Old 02-27-18, 06:52 AM
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Thanks for all the responses so far. Much appreciated. I would like to upload a picture but cant' seem to figure out how.

The deck is extremely small though. It is really just a landing and 2 steps leading into the yard. My kids are very young (2.5 and <1) so splinters are a big issue when it is being crawled on.

Ideally I would get the whole thing replaced with a new composite deck but I am receiving quotes of $4000-6000 which is outrageous given the size of the deck.

I agree that using deckover or 10x type products seems destined to fail. So I am leaning toward cleaning it, sanding it, and then staining/sealing. Would like to avoid sanding but I don't think that is possible given the concern with splinters.
 
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Old 02-27-18, 07:03 AM
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You mentioned that the deck is very old and you mentioned unsafe. Is the underlying structure solid and worthy of a face lift of the decking? If the posts and framing are in poor shape it's probably not worth doing much to address the splintering deck boards.

If the underlying structure is OK you could install outdoor carpet. A quick sanding with coarse grit could knock down the worst of the splinters then cover it all with carpet to make it safer for little hands & knees.
 
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Old 02-27-18, 07:08 AM
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One of the footings could be in better shape but the structure should hold up okay. Absolutely agree though that it doesn't make sense to invest too much in a deck that is in such poor shape. However, the solutions I am considering would be very cheap ($100 or so).
 
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Old 02-27-18, 07:13 AM
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think i finally managed to upload a pic
 
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Old 02-27-18, 01:38 PM
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I'd consider that more of a stoop than a deck
It wouldn't cost much to replace the deck boards but removing the worst of the splinters should be ok. The railing looks a little funky but it might just be the pic.
 
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Old 02-27-18, 02:32 PM
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I agree with Marksr. That's not a deck but a stair. Well worth replacing. You can get premade steps. You might loose the bit of landing that you have now but so what. At the very least apply some 4X or 10X. You're only talking about $30 and it will do the job until you replace it with something better.
 
 

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