Unconventional deck sealing

mwagg737

mwagg737

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Aug 13, 2016
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Mooney man
Putting a new deck on. HATE pressure treated lumber because of the shrinking and warping as it dries.

I used motor oil cut with diesel fuel (to thin it) and soaked my other deck. This worked pretty well... Especially compared to the Thompson's crap.

Any different ideas for treating (sealing) non-treated lumber?

Will not use composite. It's hot, warps and stinks.

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Just use boiled linseed oil, but you'll get better results using a deck sealer with a little pigment to scatter UV rays.
What kind of wood did you use?
 
When I built mine I was given free lumber, I coated each board 3 coats Kilz primer on all sides, then I put a caulk in each screw hole, and then put heavy dose of sand in gray battleship paint, painted all surfaces, even underneath. Repaint every 2 ish years, and still fine after 11 years.
 
I don't like solid stains, I prefer the transparent oil-based stains. They will have some pigment in them.

I've used Penofin and Olympic over the years on cedar. Regardless of what you use, it seems like it's an every 2-3 year project.

My deck has Azek floor boards (PVC) and cedar all the way around, including the ceiling, with treated joists underneath.
 
mwagg737 said:
Putting a new deck on. HATE pressure treated lumber because of the shrinking and warping as it dries.

I used motor oil cut with diesel fuel (to thin it) and soaked my other deck. This worked pretty well... Especially compared to the Thompson's crap.
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Don't let any smokers around your deck.

Consider joist tape to prevent rotting.
 
FORANE said:
Don't let any smokers around your deck.

Consider joist tape to prevent rotting.
Click to expand...
Structure will be treated. Yes, joist tape will be used

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Try this again, for the high traffic areas, we bought pressure treated from a big box store - as straight as we could find. Then we stored it in the loft of a barn for about 8 weeks to let it dry before installing. Deck has been done 3 years and no warping of the pine yet. It is due for a pressure wash. IMG_3876.JPG
 
Motor oil cut with Diesel fuel? Holy crap that thing’s going to stink to high heaven in the sun. I’m just glad I don’t live next door. I used linseed oil on ours... I’ll do that again, maybe once, then it’s getting regular oil based stain. The BLO gets a little stinky for a few weeks too.
 
DaleB said:
Motor oil cut with Diesel fuel? Holy crap that thing’s going to stink to high heaven in the sun. I’m just glad I don’t live next door. I used linseed oil on ours... I’ll do that again, maybe once, then it’s getting regular oil based stain. The BLO gets a little stinky for a few weeks too.
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Believe it or not, didn't smell at all after the first couple days and smelled very little before that. I thought it would be bad, but no.

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Ever hear of harmful outgassing?
 
Composite warps and stinks?

I've had mine for a few years. No smell or warpage. Forget which manufacturer it is.

It is hot-ish but I got a darker color so it was expected.
 
In defense of the composites, we used Trex 11 years ago and have had no problems at all. Granted, our front porch is covered so it only gets the morning sun but we’ve had no warping or fading. I’d definitely make the same choice again.
 
Like most other things that have come about in the past 20-30 years or so, the very early composite deck materials were probably nowhere anywhere near as good as what you can get now. I remember looking at plastic deck boards and thinking, "No way in hell I'd ever use this crap on a deck". That was some time in the 1990s, I think. Now some of the materials look and feel good enough that I'll probably use them the next time I have to re-do my next deck (which will be another year or three at most). Things change, materials get better, manufacturers learn.
 
I've installed quite a few Trex decks, the material can be "noodly", but once installed it looks great, and needs little maintenance. It ain't cheap!
 
If you are thinking of Trex, price out Fiberon Horizon decking materials (essentially a functional clone of Trex). I installed it on a small balcony 20x10 approx. and it looks great and now four years along it looks great, maintenance is a mopping with warm water and rinse. This balcony is in full shade from 10am to sunset per day so no real problems with hot feet. It is outside so no problems with outgassing.

-Skip
 
Skip Miller said:
If you are thinking of Trex, price out Fiberon Horizon decking materials (essentially a functional clone of Trex). I installed it on a small balcony 20x10 approx. and it looks great and now four years along it looks great, maintenance is a mopping with warm water and rinse. This balcony is in full shade from 10am to sunset per day so no real problems with hot feet. It is outside so no problems with outgassing.
-Skip
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I have that on my deck as well. Horizon is the typical composite decking inside, but is covered with polyethylene. It's six years old and still looks great. It is more expensive to install but will last longer than any wood. I use a oxygenating cleaner on it once a year and it sheds all the dirt and pollen for the year. I will never go back to a wood deck. Just last night I was looking through some old pictures and saw one of our old deck surface. We had stained it multiple times to try to get some life out of it, and it looked terrible.

Ours is out in the Georgia sun. Does it get hot in the summertime? Yes, but so does everything else! Nothing out in the summer sun will be cool, short of planting grass on your deck.

The railings on our deck are cedar, they are a pain to keep stained, and a couple of pieces already need replacing.
 
Skip Miller said:
If you are thinking of Trex, price out Fiberon Horizon decking materials (essentially a functional clone of Trex). I installed it on a small balcony 20x10 approx. and it looks great and now four years along it looks great, maintenance is a mopping with warm water and rinse. This balcony is in full shade from 10am to sunset per day so no real problems with hot feet. It is outside so no problems with outgassing.

-Skip
Click to expand...
I've been using "off brands" of composite decking for several years as well. Heck, I trimmed around new patio doors with the stuff. No more wood decks for me!
 
I've never used composite decking but I've seen lots of it. If my choices are composite or wood soaked in diesel, I think I'm going composite every time.
 
Luigi said:
Ever hear of harmful outgassing?
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kgruber said:
Don't tell AOC
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She doesn’t like competition. LOL

We did our deck in the paint like stain to match the house. It was properly primed and such and still has small areas where it’s chipping. Very small but annoying to me considering the price tag.

Should have done an oil and let it soak in and enjoyed the look of ... pine. Well, can’t win em all. Ha.
 
I decked my front porch in composite, no issues at all. My back deck is pine, has to be painted pretty much every year. I finally tiled over it.
 
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For concrete sealer try JN 25. Motor oil? Dark ages.
 
I found a discontinued PVC decking material called CEVN and was able to purchase all I needed at about the same cost as wood boards. It has held up tremendously well. It does seem to collect pollen and benefits from an annual or biennial pressure washing. As someone mentioned, it is noodley especially in summer sun heat. These products seem to benefit from joist spacing less than 16 inch centers.
 
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