Hi,
I have an 1100 sq ft deck that has about 3 double coats of semi transparent behrs on it. It has been peeling for a while now and I'm trying to figure out whats the best solution for the problem. Pardon me if this gets lengthy. For one thing I am sick and tired of staining. With a deck that big its a never ending job. Although it has been about 3 years if I'm not mistaken since I did the deck boards. The main thing I hate about staining is the way Behrs is you have to do two coats and you can't let the first coat get too dry before applying the second. If you can accomplish this without it raining and without applying too much it actually last quite a while. My deck is 12 years old. I have looked at composite and it will cost around 5 grand either composite deck boards or tile. I'm not willing to do that even over time because I'm going to be moving sometime in the distant future. Right now I am thinking about taking up the boards and sanding them about 5 feet at the time and staining then while they are off the deck then putting them back down. For two reasons. I want to gain full access to the joist so I can easily inspect them for bee damage and I also want to increase the space between the deck boards. I'm also thinking about wrapping something like aluminum screen around the joist so maybe the bees cant get to them. I would like to find a stain that is either easier to put down. Or last a long time. Or both. Behrs is ok as far as performance as far as I can tell as long as everything goes ok and mainly it doesnt rain after, Which it always does with me no matter what the forecast. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to the forums!

3 yrs is about normal for a decent deck stain. IMO taking the boards off to sand them down is more trouble than it's worth. I'd either chemically strip the deck where it sets or clean it and switch to a solid deck stain.

 

If you plan to move, don't do anything until that time. Why spend time & money? At most, I would pressure wash it.

 

When I say move I mean it will be in the distant future, the longer the better but I would say within the next 10 to 15 years. I tried Woodrich hd-80 and it didnt even make a dent.

 

There was no reason to mention the move, if it's not for 10 more years.

 

The reason I mentioned it was for the argument against composite. If I were going to spend the rest of my life here that would be the way I would go.

 

Can you recommend a good solid stain?

 

Make sure it's a deck stain! Siding stain will not hold up on a deck. You'll always find better coatings at your local paint store versus a paint dept. You can still expect to have to clean and recoat the deck every few yrs - just the nature of decks.

 

That's right. Composite would be the way to go. Would you be doing it yourself or with some helpers?

 

By myself. I wouldnt mind putting the money in composite if I thought I could get even half of it back. When you sell a house who knows? Ive also thought about composite tile. It would cost more but be a lot easier to install. Plus if I really wanted to I could pack it up and take it with me when I move.

 

I don't know anything about the composite tile but if you lay something over the deck it will be prone to trap water shortening the life of the wood.

When you figure your payback with composite decking don't forget to factor in the time and cost of recoating the existing deck every so many years. I don't know how much composite will raise the value of the home but I'm sure it would be a selling point.

 

I wouldn't expect a big return on money that you invest. These days, when a young couple buys a house, they usually make changes that you wouldn't expect. I know of a suburban section where the common procedure is to level the house to the foundation & rebuild bigger & better. Whatever you do to that deck will be for your benefit not for the new owners'.

 

The tile is raised up on plastic grid that is made to go solid surfaces such as a deck. And is very easy to install. Besides having to make some cuts to go around the post and cut the tiles that will go against the house you basically snap it together. and you can mix the pattern making it very attractive. The tile would be around 5400. Thats after ive negotiated 5% off. There nothing else you have to buy with the tile. The downside to the tile is the plastic grid up under them would catch leaces and acorns and would be hard to clean out. The boards are around 5100 before any discount if I could get one. And I would have to either buy screws or clips. The tiles I can order any amount and get free shipping. Even one box. The boards are 79.00 per shipment no matter how many you order. And if I get the boards I would have to do something with the deck boards I take up. I will probably go by lowes tomorrow and see what kind of discount I can get to see if that helps me make my decision. And as far as the move goes I have no idea when its coming . I'm being willed a house thats been in my family for generations. I'm not going to sell it and I cant have both. So it could be two years or 20. I hope its the latter.

 

So you got 12 years out of the original decking. The chance of successfully removing the wood plus the effort to sand and reinstall 1100 square ft of decking and have that look reasonable is minimal.

Composite is an initial cost hit, but you have already stated you are there for the long run. If you are capable of doing the rework then it seems like you would be able to install the composite so the $5k seems high.

As a long time multi home composite deck owner I know it's a pleasure to own, and my experience it's a great selling feature.

It's a win, win, win situation.

 

So I guess the question now is tiles or boards? Here is a link to the tiles. This brand only had one bad review but the guy said his curled up and came apart do to being in direct sunlight which some of my deck is. To me the pros for the tiles are they are easy to install, you can remove them and take them with you, they are attractive, I can buy them in any amount with free shipping. The cons are no one has really given a review thats had then a long time so theres a question of durability. And I think they will be hard to keep clean . Heres a link
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Naturesor...OTM4/204147540
The pros for boards are when I install them I can get to my joist and wrap some screen around them to help keep the bees out and see how much damage has been done without having to crawl under the deck. And I can space them like I want. The cons are I will have to install them but due to the length of my deck I shouldn't have to cut. I will have to add some short joist. The deck was originally built around a pool some of the deck boards will run perpendicular to the deck boards. I will elliminate the square pattern if I go with the boards. And I will either to buy screws or clips.I will have all that leftover decking and I will have to pay 79.00 every time I need some so I will have to buy as much as possible at one time Any more thoughts? I swear I'm about to wrap this up. Thanks for the comments!

 

I don't know, replacing with composite boards is a known entity, something like this will cost $5300 for 1100 sq ft and if that goes bad then what!

 

Thats true. Theres always the fear of the unknown.The tiles have a 20 year warranty but that doesnt mean it wont be a headache to get them replaced or get my money back. Ive looked for reviews from people who've had them a long time and cant find anything. I'll post what lowes tells me tomorrow.

 

I went by lowes today and I got the 34.40 16ft boards for 30.00 ea. not bad. Plus 25.00 delivery. So I figure I'll have around 4400 in it. I can live with that. I got 50 today and will get 40 and then 41 and that should do it. Thanks for all the advice! I will post before and after pics when I finish a section. Thanks again!

 

Not trying to throw a kink in your plans but double check to make sure your framing is adequate; both by being in good shape and some composite decking requires 12" centers instead of 16"