Another DIY deck restoration
Here's some pictures of our front deck, which I've just finished restoring using Spa n Deck.
First pic here is how it started. The boards are basically back to bare timber where the sun hits them, and have a thick coating of some unknown stuff on them where it doesn't. The deck is under a verandah, so this reinforces what jimj says about the sun doing more damage than rain.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...G/IMG_4363.jpg
Another pic showing the old boards. I reckon they haven't had anything done to them for 5-6 years (we have only lived here 18 months, and other jobs were higher priority!)
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...G/IMG_4433.jpg
Tom Mcknight, the local Flood Company rep, came around on a Saturday to take a look and give me some advice. He reckoned Citrustrip would clean up the boards nicely, and tried some out for me. Sanding would have been quicker, but more expensive. So for $65 for 2 litres of Citrustrip from Bunnings, and a lot of elbow grease, I got the boards cleaned back to bare timber.
The deck is about 25m2 BTW.
This photos shows boards that have been stripped (on the right), those being stripped (in the middle) and yet to be done (on the left). You can see the amount of stuff the Citrustrip is lifting off the boards.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...G/IMG_2915.jpg
After stripping all the boards I washed them with a pressure washer ($175 from Bunnings). Next I cleaned them using no-name nappy wash from Woolworths (about $7 for 4kg). I probably put about 3/4 kg of nappy wash in a bucket of water, and used 3 buckets all up. This stuff really went to work and lifted some serious dirt out of the timber. I basically following the advice of others, and let the napppy wash mix sit on the boards for 15 mins or so, while scrubbing with a stiff broom.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...G/IMG_2946.jpg
I even had some help! (Note use of safety gear on slippery surface). And the observant people will have noticed I have painted the house since the first photo was taken.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...G/IMG_2956.jpg
I then washed with Spa n Deck prep - about $40 for 4 litres. I used all of it. Compared with the nappy wash, this stuff didn't seem to do a lot. I wouldn't say the timber was a whole lot brighter afterwards. But maybe it was doing good stuff I couldn't see...
This is a photo after all the preparation is done.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...G/IMG_2992.jpg
Then I did the first coat of Spa n Deck - $179 for 10 litres. This coat goes on with the timber wet. I used the Merbeu/Kwila colour.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...G/IMG_2994.jpg
I didn't get a photo after the second coat, but this is the photo after the third coat. I don't think I have enough Spa n Deck left to do another coat, so this will be it for now. I'm really happy with how it has turned out. I've used Sikkens and Integrain products before, but I think the initial results from Spa n Deck are better. It was also easier to apply. Will be interesting to see how it lasts.
http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...G/IMG_3026.jpg
Finally, thanks to jimj, UteMad and others on here for their valuable advice/information. Hopefully there is something useful in this post for others.
Read the full thread at RenovateForum.com...
