On Tue, 25 Aug 2015 23:33:13 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 8/25/2015 10:58 PM, FTR wrote:
Hi. I have an 11x15 wooden deck (pressure treated) that's maybe 25 years old.
I am on Long Island (not too close to the water - about 3 miles) and the deck is east facing if that matters.

Structurally, it's in good shape and is really solid. But the surface of the wood floor is in pretty tough shape. The boards are PT 2x6 and the surfaces are getting pretty badly splintered. One piece is starting to peel the top layer off. There's no rotting - just very worn top surfaces.

Question is, what to do with the deck. I was thinking of using a deck restore product like Behr Deckover or Rustoleum Restore but have seen very mixed reviews. It seems that peeling is a big issue with these products. A painter friend suggested using a solid stain instead. He said the stain will soak into the wood and do a better job protecting the wood, and it should last about 3 to 5 years before it starts to peel. He thinks the Rustoleum and Deckover products will last a year or two at the most before they fail and start peeling.

Any advice how to proceed? Another option is to just do nothing. I could leave it alone and replace the deck boards several years from now with composite material when they get really bad. Keep in mind I have no desire to walk barefoot on the deck so the splintering isn't really a problem in and of itself. I am just looking for advice from a maintenance standpoint, and also what will last the longest. There's no point in using a product that will fail in a few years and make the deck look worse than it does now.

Any advice is appreciated. TIA!


I have no experience with the deck resurfacing stuff.

Are you sure the deck is 2 x 6? That is much thicker than normal
decking material.

2X6 is the most common decking material around here 5/4 is fence
board.

Have you considered replacing the top of the deck? If the framing is
solid, consider taking up the deck boards and replacing them with other
material and you are set for a few more decades. I did that two years
ago and put down tigerwood.
This is what I have
http://www.advantagelumber.com/tigerwood_decking.htm
Figure about $48 per board. It should last 40 years or so.

I did mine by taking up 3 boards at a time making it easy to keep the
same spacing.

You have to decide if you want a quick fix for a couple of ers to fixed
right for the rest of your life.