A few weeks ago I was pressure washing my back deck which, due to various remodeling projects had become a real mess. I had stained the deck two years earlier with a Home Depot latex stain. Anyway I washed it down to the bare treated wood figuring I would just stain it again and it'd look like new. Wrong. I was so impressed at how "clean it was gitting that I didn't realize my Little Honda washer was basically chiseling a fine layer of the wood off the top. Now the surface, however clean, is barely a bit smoother than rough cut lumber. (Okay, I'm an idiot.) I am in North GA where we use this large covered deck almost year round and this surface is horrible for barefoot runs to the hottub. The decking is probably ten years old and it has always been covered. Here's my idea: Could I rent one of those big walk behind sanders from HD and sand the boards smooth again.? If used them to resurface floors inside before but never treated deck wood. Has anyone done this? Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks.
Deck surfacing question
Sep 30, 2006
8 Replies
You might be able to burn the "fuzzies" off with a torch without charring the wood. A resident pressure washed our dock, raised a lot of grain, but I think it just wore off. No sanding has been done.
And what of the nails? Not to mention nasty, chemical laden sanding dust.
absolutely you can sand it like new again although it may be rough on the sander
Is the deck CCA treated ,it probably is, read up on dangers of breathing cca sanding dust.
I would not be willing to sand any pressure treated wood.
Unscrew the boards and flip them over. While you've got them off, treat them with CPES:
formatting link
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required