Good Morning, All,

I have an elevated deck over my carport. The kitchen door and bedroom door
open onto the deck and we have patio furniture there for meals and
gatherings. Because the deck is over the carport, it has to be waterproof.
I also barbecue on the carport because with the protection of the deck, I
can do it year 'round. Well, the old plywood needs to be replaced due to
moisture damage. I have it all torn off and will be replacing it soon. I
also have to replace some of the framing for the deck, which is mostly 2x8's
on 16" centers. The deck is 20'x20' plus a four foot section that runs down
the length of the house to the bedroom door. That portion is 2x6's on 24"
centers. The old deck was caulked at the seams and just regular deck paint
applied. It lasted about 10 years.

The old deck had two layers of 3/4" ACX plywood on it, which I believe is
overkill. My plan is to use one layer of 3/4" ACX, facedown for appearance
below, and a top layer of 3/8" ACX crossband, if I can find it. Apparently,
it has a void free second layer so the furniture won't punch holes in it. I
will also apply 1x2" flashing around the outer edges of the deck, then new
railing.

Then, when it's ready, I want to apply a deck coating so the new surface
should last for years. I've looked at several products but can only
remember one brand, Gaco. Everything I have looked at is multi-coat,
usually requires taping the seams and is very expensive. While I hate to
spend the money ($1,000+) for the coating, it seems that is the way to go.

So, my questions are, does all of this seem like the correct way to proceed?
Does anyone have experience with Gaco or some other brand and can share the
experience/results? The house is located in Western Washington so we deal
with a lot of rain, very little snow, hardly ever gets below freezing
temperatures and seldom above 80-90 degrees. What do you think?

Best Regards, Phil

Living in the Woods of Beautiful Bonney Lake, Washington
Visit my Web site www.philsfun.com