Advice on cleaning up/restoring this deck?
Beth S asked:
We just bought a new house and moved in last week. The deck is a mess (all grown up with weeds & bushes). The wood looks very dry and weathered. it’s dark and mildewed in some areas. I don’t know what kind of wood it is. It appears to once have been stained a redwood color, but now it’s just blah. The house is 12 years old, and I doubt the previous owners did much to help protect it. I don’t know a thing about getting started on this, but hubby & I aren’t afraid to tackle it if we can get some advice. Here’s a link to some pictures I took this morning:
We just bought a new house and moved in last week. The deck is a mess (all grown up with weeds & bushes). The wood looks very dry and weathered. it’s dark and mildewed in some areas. I don’t know what kind of wood it is. It appears to once have been stained a redwood color, but now it’s just blah. The house is 12 years old, and I doubt the previous owners did much to help protect it. I don’t know a thing about getting started on this, but hubby & I aren’t afraid to tackle it if we can get some advice. Here’s a link to some pictures I took this morning:
http://myweb.cableone.net/bethrn/deck/
thank you so much for any help! 
5 Responses to “Advice on cleaning up/restoring this deck?”
First, your photos don’t look as bad as your written description! Your deck is actually not that bad looking. My husband and I are cleaning up our deck this weekend…we are also DIY’ers.
Start by clearing away the weeds & brush. You need good clippers for this. After you’ve cleared away the weeds, you’ll need a power washer to wash the deck down of all the dirt. You mentioned something about mildew but it’s not in the photos. You can ask at home depot about mildew cleaners for outdoor decks, or try a mildew remover for bath tubs such as Tilex. It’s also a good idea to get an expert deck builder/repairer to look at your deck after you’ve cleaned it (and before staining it) to make sure that your deck is stable and not structurally damaged. He (or your hubby) should also look for any hazardous dangers such as nails sticking out of the ground.
The last step after everything has been checked above is to re-stain your deck using paint stain or sealer found at Home Depot or Lowe’s. The link below is to Lowe’s and it is a deck treatment guide.
My hubby and I re-do our deck every two years and he was the one who originally built it (along with carpenter helpers). Good luck!
beth , this isnt an easy project , but never the less it will look great once your thru with it it ,
pick a good warm day, not 90dgrees ok just warm , power wash the deck with a deck cleaner, once to remove the top scum dirt etc, then wait say about two hours, and brush on the stain of your choice, leave over nite to dry. then re apply a new coat of deck stain , leave it over nite, then in the morning , apply deck sealer,
this should cost about $100 for stain $50 for sealer. and the hire of a power washer. plus a good 4in brush , useing a good brush will give you a good finish spend about $12 to 18 on a good one ……
sounds cool . email me if you need further help
Get the high power washer….if you take your time you can get all the stuff off…..then stain it with water repellant stain…We used Honey Gold by Thompson…..beautiful
The deck looks pretty good as stated in other posts, so i am not sure refinishing will satisfy your desires.
2 options are:
1. sand, wash (10% bleach and mild soap) and stain: will have to be repeated every couple of years, (painting would have to be repeated every year and will look terrible very quickly)
2. replace the decking with composite decking, this will cost about $1000 per Sq hundred feet but will last for an extremely long time with an occasional scrubbing
If you plan on composite then do it now so you don’t add more work later
Buy some Messmers wood and deck renewer “wd liquid” After applying it work it in well and then you need to wash it with a power washer. Once dry re-stain it. This product cleans and brightens old wood.
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