Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair 1 Aug 08, 2012 5:20 am Hi, First time poster here. I recently bought a house with quiet a large deck area. All up the deck is around 150m2. The deck is built around a pool and I’m pretty sure the decking is 120mm hardwood. The decking is held in place with stainless steel decking screws, the ones with the little square drive on the head. Most of the tapered head screws are either flush with the deck or maybe 1mm recessed. The deck is in need of a good clean, sand and protective coating. I have done a little research and this is my plan. Clean the deck with Sodium perc (napi san) then gurney off the dirt etc lifted from the sodium perc. Let the deck dry out and start sanding. Once sanded I am looking at using a product called Spa-N-Deck. It is an acrylic I think? I was told this product is one of the best and I would only have to wash and stain once a year after a sanding? My main question is when sanding what is the best/easiest sander to use? I don’t mind hiring one. Also the decking screws being flush am I going to risk sanding to much of the head away? I’m guessing ill sand away 1-2mm off the decking boards? I have never done this before and the deck is a really beautiful on so I really don't want to mess it up. Thanks for the help in advance. Gavin Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 3Aug 09, 2012 10:49 am Quote: you shouldnt need to sand an outdoor deck. I've seen a few decks around swimming pools that needed a good sand and clean before being recoated with a good sealer to bring them back to life, I think it was the chlorine or salt that did the damage. I'd unscrew the S/S screws and either drive them in a bit deeper or remove them and countersink the holes a couple of mm then put the screws back in. A long job but worth it in my opinion. Stewie Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 4Aug 10, 2012 5:14 am Stewie D Quote: you shouldnt need to sand an outdoor deck. I've seen a few decks around swimming pools that needed a good sand and clean before being recoated with a good sealer to bring them back to life, I think it was the chlorine or salt that did the damage. I'd unscrew the S/S screws and either drive them in a bit deeper or remove them and countersink the holes a couple of mm then put the screws back in. A long job but worth it in my opinion. Stewie The deck has not been treated for about 7 years and it definitely needs a sand. As for the screws I was really trying to avoid unscrewing them as they are so tight and probably very vulnerable to the heads snapping off. I have bought the tool to unscrew them but would you know of a power screwdriver that will do the job? My mate has a battery powered impact screw driver but it's not powerful enough to get these screws out, they are tight as! Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 6Aug 10, 2012 5:33 pm Don't try and remove or tighten the screws, either way you will snap the heads off at least half of them. I'd use something called Intergrain Reviva, if used correctly you should get the timber back to the original colours. Nappy san may do the same job, i've never tried it and it may be cheaper. Once you have cleaned it you will only need to give it a light sand because it tends to go a little fury when you pressure clean it. Go straight over the stainless, a floor sander will have no trouble with them even if there raised slightly. And don't forget to take a before and after pic. BTW, i've done decks that have taken better than 5000 of them screws, just so you know when I say don't try to take them out I have a bit of experience there. Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 7Aug 10, 2012 9:05 pm If the joists are treated pine they'll come out easy - at least with a decent screw gun anyway and if they're 60mm long or less. Hardwood may be a different story though. Stewie Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 10Aug 11, 2012 11:35 am The only reason I suggested it mgilla is that a few friends have had theirs sanded and recoated. In one case half the nail heads were sanded off ( I suggested going over the deck and punching all the heads in deeper first ). They had to sand 2 - 3 mm off due to boards cupping and twisting plus a bit of cracking. The other timber deck was screwed but likewise they didn't screw those in further either and some of the screw heads were sanded half off too. Some of the boards have shrunk or moved a little ending up with razor sharp screw edges plus I just don't like the look. Maybe I'm just too fussy A big job to screw or counterpunch a whole decks worth of fixings as you state but I think you end up with a better look to be honest. Stewie Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 11Aug 11, 2012 12:24 pm Thanks for the reply guys. Really appreciate it. It will be a huge job to remove all those screws and id say there probably are about 5000 screws all up. What i'll do is see how hard they are to get out and see how deep I have to sand to get the hardwood looking good again then make a decision. I agree that the sharp sanded screws would be a disaster. If the screws are to tight i'll see how the deck comes up with a good clean first then go from there. Thanks again for the help. I'll take some before and after pic's as well. Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 12Sep 30, 2012 9:16 am I finished my deck finally and have the before and after pictures below. I didn't sand the deck I used Flood wood prep and then finished with spa-n-deck wood finish. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 14Oct 01, 2012 10:57 am Stewie D I like the before shots better Stewie You like mould Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 18Oct 02, 2012 8:19 am I was really pleased with how the deck came up without sanding. I am so glad I didn't sand what with all the hassles with the stainless screws. I didn't build the deck but I would assume the screws are 316 because they don't have any signs of rust. It did take me 12 solid hr's with a gurney and a bit of scrubbing but the woodprep seemed to do the job. The deck is close to 150m2 downstairs now ill be doing up stairs which is about 100m2 so ill post more photo's of the before and after on the deck up stairs. Cheers Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 19Nov 02, 2012 11:39 am just piggybacking onto this thread. I'll be coating my deck this weekend. The deck was constructed about 5 months ago and the timbers have weathered and gone grey. I'll be using Intergrain reviva to renew the timber colours. My question is what products do I use next? I dont want to stain it, I just want the natural timber to show through. What is best to use? Intergrain DWD or ultradeck? Re: Sanding deck with Stainless steel decking screws 20Nov 02, 2012 12:03 pm MarineEngineer.. Your Deck looks amazing.. good job with cleaning that whole deck up.. I too prefer to the after shots (of course).. Building Henley Monaco Nouveau Q1 - Mernda Villages https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=57810 http://razbuild.blogspot.com.au/ Brass or 2) Stainless steel made - which Kitchen tap is good for drinking.Brass kitchen taps in Australia contain lead… 0 6734 Sam There is a much stronger glue than liquid nails. It's called T Rex and will stick your timber to the concrete. Cheers Simeon 1 1551 |