Sanding a deck

Tell us more - are you removing paint or stain? How much area? What are you doing after you sand - staining, painting?
 
A hand sander like that can take forever and a day to do a deck.

If I were you I'd consider renting a floor sander like this one
The professional ones draw too much current for a standard wall plug but the home models will work and make it harder to screw it up and dig ruts in the wood.

Joe
 
woodstock said:
Hi

If I wanted to sand my own deck, would a small unit from Home Depot do the trick do you think? I probably wouldn't even sand the entire deck, just the parts that needed it.

For instance:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Is it pressure-treated wood?
Would it be quicker easier to replace the decking that needs to be fixed?
Would powerwashing work?

What's the objective or what is the problem you are trying to address?
 
Hi

The wood is not painted - it was sealed once (clear) about 3 yrs ago. I probably wouldn't sand the entire deck, just spot sanding. Probably tops of rails, and the few jagged spots.

The same company who cleaned/sealed my deck the last time is doing it again, but, I was considering having them sand as well until it turned into a big hassle.

Areeda, thanks, I didn't know the professional sanders would over-draw a typical home plug. They did not inform me of that. I have no idea if this company would have used a sander that used alternative power (do they even make gas-powered sanders??) but if it would tax my home electricity I definitely do not want that.
 
Bob Noel said:
Is it pressure-treated wood?
Would it be quicker easier to replace the decking that needs to be fixed?
Would powerwashing work?

What's the objective or what is the problem you are trying to address?
Click to expand...

The company already pressure washed it. It looks good. It is a 6 yr old deck that has never been sanded. My Dad built it, it was good wood and all, but it's 6 yrs old. There are some jagged spots. They are going to seal it soon so if I do sand, I better do it soon.

I'm not sure there is a problem, per se, I just thought you needed to sand these things down once in a while. There are a few places that have jagged edges - woudn't hurt to sand.
 
woodstock said:
Hi

If I wanted to sand my own deck, would a small unit from Home Depot do the trick do you think? I probably wouldn't even sand the entire deck, just the parts that needed it.

For instance:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Thanks.
Click to expand...

For more than, say 5 or 10 square feet - no way.

Areeda said:
A hand sander like that can take forever and a day to do a deck.

If I were you I'd consider renting a floor sander like this one
The professional ones draw too much current for a standard wall plug but the home models will work and make it harder to screw it up and dig ruts in the wood.

Joe
Click to expand...

Way.

They also have a large random orbital floor sander that does less damage, but of course, doesn't remove as much material.

Depends on EXACTLY what you are trying to do.

Are you sure a pressure washer won't do the job?
 
woodstock said:
Hi

The wood is not painted - it was sealed once (clear) about 3 yrs ago. I probably wouldn't sand the entire deck, just spot sanding. Probably tops of rails, and the few jagged spots.

The same company who cleaned/sealed my deck the last time is doing it again, but, I was considering having them sand as well until it turned into a big hassle.

Areeda, thanks, I didn't know the professional sanders would over-draw a typical home plug. They did not inform me of that. I have no idea if this company would have used a sander that used alternative power (do they even make gas-powered sanders??) but if it would tax my home electricity I definitely do not want that.
Click to expand...

Ok, for just the rails and some spots, the sander you first linked would probably be OK. Or a belt sander. Faster but potentially more destructive.

The big sanders are for sanding the entire deck surface.

The stuff you rent at Home Depot (or your local rental place) will work OK from your regular outlets.

BTDT.
 
woodstock said:
The company already pressure washed it. It looks good. It is a 6 yr old deck that has never been sanded. My Dad built it, it was good wood and all, but it's 6 yrs old. There are some jagged spots. They are going to seal it soon so if I do sand, I better do it soon.

I'm not sure there is a problem, per se, I just thought you needed to sand these things down once in a while. There are a few places that have jagged edges - woudn't hurt to sand.
Click to expand...

:needpics:

Might help provide answers. :D
 
Thanks everyone

The pressure washer did a good job. It actually looks pretty good. There are some spots I think I could soften up though.
 
I will post a few pics later... sounds like for a few random spots the small one isn't awful though. Would be a lot cheaper.
 
woodstock said:
Thanks everyone

The pressure washer did a good job. It actually looks pretty good. There are some spots I think I could soften up though.
Click to expand...
That makes me feel good. My deck is going on 18 years of age and has not been sealed for about the last 5 years. There is a lot of aging going on. I am having a deck guy come in and replace one board that has some rot on it, power wash the deck and then seal it with opaque stain. Hopefully I will get another 10 years out of it. You can see the current condition here: http://picasaweb.google.com/N8116B/LandscapingPhase3#

The deck guy comes in on the 21st to start the work. I'll post the after pictures when he is done.
 
woodstock said:
Areeda, thanks, I didn't know the professional sanders would over-draw a typical home plug. They did not inform me of that. I have no idea if this company would have used a sander that used alternative power (do they even make gas-powered sanders??) but if it would tax my home electricity I definitely do not want that.
Click to expand...
What they do is take a long extension cord with alligator clips to your breaker box and clip onto the buss bars. It is safe but you don't want to use one of those the first time on your deck.
 
Areeda said:
What they do is take a long extension cord with alligator clips to your breaker box and clip onto the buss bars. It is safe but you don't want to use one of those the first time on your deck.
Click to expand...



errr, I don't like the sounds of that at all.
 
ScottM said:
That makes me feel good. My deck is going on 18 years of age and has not been sealed for about the last 5 years. There is a lot of aging going on. I am having a deck guy come in and replace one board that has some rot on it, power wash the deck and then seal it with opaque stain. Hopefully I will get another 10 years out of it. You can see the current condition here: http://picasaweb.google.com/N8116B/LandscapingPhase3#

The deck guy comes in on the 21st to start the work. I'll post the after pictures when he is done.
Click to expand...

OK, mine doesn't look too bad then. No offense. :wink2:
 
First, sand the deck. Then, paint the fence. Then, wax on, wax off. Only then Miyagi-san teach more.
 
woodstock said:
OK, mine doesn't look too bad then. No offense. :wink2:
Click to expand...
No offense taken. We have been doing a multi-year rehab and upgrade of the whole outside over the past several years. Four years of landscaping, a year to repave the drive, re-side the house, new fence, etc. The deck is the last thing and then I am done outside and start working the inside issues.

Inside is to upgrade the bathroom, kitchen, repaint, new rugs, etc.
 
woodstock said:
errr, I don't like the sounds of that at all.
Click to expand...
Just to be clear, I am referring to the heavy-duty professional models. The ones you can rent from Home Depot that plug into the wall have much less power. That means it goes slower but the technique is still to keep it moving when the sandpaper is moving. Letting the sander sand while the machine is stationary just digs a hole.

If you are just touching up part of the railing and posts and are a patient person the hand vibrating sanders like you originally posted will work. I thought you wanted to work on the floor part of the deck.
 
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Areeda said:
Just to be clear, I am referring to the heavy-duty professional models. The ones you can rent from Home Depot that plug into the wall have much less power. That means it goes slower but the technique is still to keep it moving when the sandpaper is moving. Letting the sander sand while the machine is stationary just digs a hole.

If you are just touching up part of the railing and posts and are a patient person the hand vibrating sanders like you originally posted will work. I thought you wanted to work on the floor part of the deck.
Click to expand...

Hi

I knew you were referring to the heavy duty ones - I mean I don't like the thoughts of this guy doing this to my house.

There are a few places to touch up on the floor, too.
 
I have a wood deck that needs to be stained about every other year. I decided to sand it in the hopes that the next application of stain might adhere better. Additionally, the deck planks had developed a bit of roughness to them, so I was worried about splinters. I used hand sanders (orbital and belt) for the rails, and just that little job was time consuming. It would take forever (weeks?) to use a hand sander on a deck of even a modest size.

Go to the local rental store and rent a deck sander. I rented one and it still took a 12+ hour day to do my ~40x20 deck. Buy plenty of extra sanding pads, most rental places will allow you to return them if unused. This type of sander runs on 120VAC (standard wall outlet) just like any other appliance. I used it on an outlet that has a 15A breaker, and it never tripped.
http://www.edsrental.com/sander-floor-deck-12-x-18-orbital

On the bright side, after all that labor, the deck looked practically brand new. It didn't help with the stain adhesion though. It still needs to be restained about every 1.5 years.

One last thing. If the deck has nails for the planks, make sure to re-set all of the nails before sanding, else the sanding process will sand the nail heads (which will then rust), and the nailheads will increase the usage of sandpaper substantially.


woodstock said:
Hi

If I wanted to sand my own deck, would a small unit from Home Depot do the trick do you think? I probably wouldn't even sand the entire deck, just the parts that needed it.

For instance:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
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Have you talked to a contractor that specializes in floor sanding? It's surprisingly affordable. I had 2500 sq ft of hardwood floor resanded for finishing and the cost was in the realm of $300. Well worth it. Had them do the kitchen cabinets too.
Got the name through a flooring store. Lots of contractors looking for work these days.
 
woodstock said:
Hi

If I wanted to sand my own deck, would a small unit from Home Depot do the trick do you think? I probably wouldn't even sand the entire deck, just the parts that needed it.

For instance:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Thanks.
Click to expand...


Sounds like you're just trying to get a good clean up on it. Go to a marine hardware store like West Marine and buy a 2 gallon/2 Part kit of deck cleaner/brightener, (part A is just a strong lye and part B a mild acid like Phosphoric or Oxalic, I often substitute strong industrial "Rig Wash" and industrial phosphoric acidn or Oxalic acid crystals at a much reduced price.) and give it a good scrubbing with part A and bleach it back up with part B. Works well, lots less work than sanding.
 
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Thanks Henning. The guy actually did finish the cleaning part. The only thing left is sealing now that I did cancel the sanding he was going to do.

Here are some photos, for anyone who is interested. It rained a little last night, btw.

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woodstock said:
Thanks Henning. The guy actually did finish the cleaning part. The only thing left is sealing now that I did cancel the sanding he was going to do.

Here are some photos, for anyone who is interested. It rained a little last night, btw.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the stuff I told you about will get rid of all that gray and get all the wood nice and bright with a warm tone again. Use it before you seal it.
 
Henning said:
Yeah, the stuff I told you about will get rid of all that gray and get all the wood nice and bright with a warm tone again. Use it before you seal it.
Click to expand...

haha. the pressure wash they already did was supposed to do that. to be fair, 2 weeks ago when they did it, it looked a lot better. the rain last night didn't help either.
 
woodstock said:
haha. the pressure wash they already did was supposed to do that. to be fair, 2 weeks ago when they did it, it looked a lot better. the rain last night didn't help either.
Click to expand...

Too late now,
Do not pressure wash to clean the surface of treated wood... Pressurized water will blast off the upper surface of the wood and spray contaminated particles all over the place.
It also degrades the effect of the treatment.
Do not use commercial deck washing solutions. These solutions can convert chemicals in the wood to a more toxic form.
NEVER, NEVER sand a arsenic (CCA)-treated(PRE 2004) deck. If wood is smooth enough that splinters are not a risk let it be. If not, replace it. Avoid sanding a deck to prepare the surface for sealing—use a simple soap and water wash instead.
 
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woodstock said:
haha. the pressure wash they already did was supposed to do that. to be fair, 2 weeks ago when they did it, it looked a lot better. the rain last night didn't help either.
Click to expand...


Pressure washers destroy wood, never use them.
 
Thanks for the info... so once I seal this, this time, just seal every year - don't worry about washing as much?

Ps. I think I know the answer to this, but I'll ask anyway...

I was thinking of getting an outdoor carpet runner for the deck - it is just splintery enough that I don't want to go barefoot (yes, I know, I can wear flip flops, but when I am in my house I'm barefoot, and I'm lazy, so sue me).

Anyway. Most likely I'd leave it rolled up by the door and just roll it out when needed. How very bad is it to have a carpet of any size on wood for any length of time? I'd expect it's really bad to have it on the wood when it's raining or really humid, not an issue as long as it stays dry.
 
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What kind of sealer? If it's a clear, penetrating sealer (non film-forming) just recoat when you see water doesn't bead up any more which will probably be every other year. If it's a film-forming sealer (i.e., a coating), strip and re-do it when it looks ratty.

Personally, I think both kinds are a waste of money and time.
 
woodstock said:
Why is it a waste of money and time?
Click to expand...

I've never seen anything from a credible source that shows that sealing prolongs the life of treated lumber. The money you spend every other year pressure washing and sealing treated southern yellow pine would be better spent building the deck out of cedar.
 
woodstock said:
OK, mine doesn't look too bad then. No offense. :wink2:
Click to expand...
It was power washed this morning. Almost looks new!! Compare that to the picture I took just a couple of weeks ago

I have to let it dry for several days and then it will be sealed with a semi-transparent stain.
 

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ScottM said:
It was power washed this morning. Almost looks new!! Compare that to the picture I took just a couple of weeks ago

I have to let it dry for several days and then it will be sealed with a semi-transparent stain.
Click to expand...

And now it has had the 2nd coat of stain on it.


I also added the before shot so you can see how it came out.

The wood on here is close to 18 years old.
 

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