Wooden Deck Problem, Please Help!

[nospam]

The previous owner of my house built a cheap wooden deck with the cheapest pressure treated wood possible. That was maybe two years ago and he didn't stain or paint the deck. When I stain the deck last year, I noticed some good cracks along the grain line so I stained the whole deck thinking it'll hold up to the elements.

This year, I notice even larger cracks and some surfaces are starting to flak.

What should I do to preserve the deck? I am thinking of getting some fillers and restain the deck. Do I need to seal this surface at the end with a clear coat? I don't think so because it's outdoor. But the stain doesn't seem to be able to seal the large cracks though.

Please help! Thank you.

[m Ransley]

Moan moan moan, so what is good pressure treated, who makes it..

[Edwin Pawlowski]

In reality, you should never have to do anything to pressure treated. It may not be pretty, but it will hold up for a long time with no additional treatment.

Very typical. Looks crappy, but not a structural concern. I have some of my deck like that and it is 20 years old.

Typical, unfortunately.

Fillers will probably do more harm than good. By clear coat, if you mean a polyurethane, NO, that will not help. Avoid Thompson's stuff also. Stain does not hold up more than a couple of years on horizontal surfaces.

If you can't stand the appearance, as long as the rest of the deck is structurally sound, you can replace the top with better quality woods like mahogany or ipe. Not cheap, but better looking and longer lasting, especially with a coat of Penofin oil. Ipe was 2.09 a linear foot a coupe of years ago when I looked.

[nospam]

Really, I thought you're supposed to stain or paint the wood surface to preserve it.

I don't care about the deck as I'm not a deck person. As long as it won't rot so that I have to replace it. Well, guess I'm just gonna restain it and put those green plastic or what not cover on top of it so that it's not exposed to the sun.

Thanks for the tips, they do ease my mind a bit.