Ideas on resurfacing a deck? Which type of planer/sander should I use?

Don P asked:


An idiot I hired to stain my deck ruined it with a pressure washer. Fired him! Now I plan to flip the boards (5/4″ x 4″ cedar) after planing the bottom side about 1/16″ – 1/8″ to clean them up (joists are 16″). I’ll also plane down any new boards I have to buy. Sanding would just be too time consuming (even a surface vibrating sander didn’t help much on the top surface).

I have a hand planer, but with so many board-feet (big deck!) it doesn’t seem practical for this job. So I plan to buy a power planer. I also want something I’ll be able to use for future jobs, such as trimming 2×4″ to square the corners (I’m just an old-fart homeowner who likes to play with wood, but not an avid woodworker). I’m considering either a bench planer, or maybe a planer-jointer which might be more useful in the future because I could also use it to do rabbits, etc.

Which type of planer would be best for this application, and why do you think so? Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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Posted under Decorating & Remodeling by cpw007 on 03.24.2009

3 Responses to “Ideas on resurfacing a deck? Which type of planer/sander should I use?”

  1. lewlala44 Says:

    a belt sander would work and be less expensive — need to finish a deck, think back and go back to boiled linseed oil it is the best–lasts a lot longer than the spendy ones that are little else than water and Clorox. Just told a friend in Oregon and she is so pleased she is just grinning–she paid over $40. a gallon for stain last year and it was gone when spring rolled around. The linseed brings out the grain and you will be amazed how the water beads up. It also stops algae from growing.

  2. peddora Says:

    try renting a barrel sander…thats what we used when we restained and sealed our deck.

  3. robuttox Says:

    I was surprised to find that I could buy a Delta Planer for a bit less than $250.

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