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Floor sander for deck….

hipaul | Posted in Construction Techniques on October 18, 2009 01:47am

Waddya think?

I’ve got some folks with about a 1200 sf deck with 10 year old weathered cedar decking. It’s not the best stuff, but they’re thinking about trying to refinish/reuse it for both environmental and economical reasons.

I had said let’s just redo the whole thing because the framing wasn’t exactly up to snuff either, but it got me thinking about doing a real refinishing job. If I really wanted to do it right, I’d probably take up all the boards, bring em down to my local millwork shop and have them run the pieces through the planer/sander and then reinstall. It would still cost a little less than buying new, and be reusing what they already had.

But I also wondered about refinishing them in place. I could use a handplaner (electric) but that would take forever and a day. I could use a hand sander, but that would take forever and 2 days. What about a floor drum sander? It seems like I could pound each and every nail down (only take forever and a half a day) and then sand down 1/8″ or so and try to get back to some raw wood.

It seems like the drum sander would work ok. The floor screens on a screen sander would probably get caught in the cracks and chewed up pretty fast, but I could always hit it with a RO sander real quick (half of forever) afterwards to smooth it out after the drum sander.

Any thoughts on this?

Paul

www.pauljohnsoncarpentry.com
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Replies

  1. Pelipeth | Oct 18, 2009 02:26am | #1

    What about power washing, yes, I know it raises the grain, but with cedar or redwood it should look brand new. Hit it with a pole sander and a clear finish. You might also try flipping the boards over, seems as though $$$ may be the main concern here.

    1. clinkard | Oct 18, 2009 02:34am | #2

      Our floor guy doesn't like to do it however has done it in the past. I would get a rental and HD if anything goes awry. I don't like pressure washing, I believe it ruins the wood.

    2. hipaul | Oct 18, 2009 08:19am | #4

      Money is a concern for them, but then again they have enough money for sure, so I'm going to try to steer them in the best direction for their long term benefit.But while I didn't think the wood was nice enough to try to save and/or reuse, I'm changing my mind and thinking maybe it would be a good reuse of the materials, and certainly less expensive for them just to refinish in some way. Probably need to replace some boards anyway, but I might just give it a go with a drum sander and see how it does.Paul
      http://www.pauljohnsoncarpentry.com

  2. User avater
    mgard38 | Oct 18, 2009 02:55am | #3

    We just finished a porch that the floor was locust. My floor guy took his drum sander and edger to it.  And it turned out fine>

  3. pixburd | Oct 18, 2009 02:25pm | #5

    One danger -- sparks from hitting nails CAN ignite the dust bag. This is usually not an issue with T&G flooring.

    Another solution is to flip the boards over.



    Edited 10/18/2009 7:25 am ET by Pixburd

  4. TooManyToys | Oct 18, 2009 04:08pm | #6

    I would first use a two step pro cleaning process and see how the wood turns out at that point. A drum sander on the deck can cause issues but if sanding is where you're headed there are orb deck sanders for doing the work. A indoor orb should also work.

    There are tons of stories about sanding thru google. Some deck pros do sand, but many just chem clean them.

    This guy is in CA and sells some good products, but there are others out there. I used to use the box store products, but they are a waste. Get the pro stuff.

    http://www.restore-a-deck.com/deckcleaning.html

  5. User avater
    hammer1 | Oct 18, 2009 04:14pm | #7

    Use a proper deck wash and a wood brightener, no sanding, no power washer. The boards will look almost like new and you'll have it done in a day.

    Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

  6. User avater
    prescottk | Oct 18, 2009 05:27pm | #8

    interior floor drum sander works until you reach the tight corners, cracks and railing details. I have had some luck with it and the tight stuff use an angle grinder with a sand disk to fit (local home center) and belt sander. Our project was to be be restained, deck only, and turned out great. The old surface was 50% flaked latex exterior paint on cedar deck. I normally would turn down this work but we can't turn down existing good clients no matter what the job is. 

  7. unTreatedwood | Oct 19, 2009 07:23pm | #9

    I am very interested in what you end up doing...I have a very large wrap around deck in NE PA (poconos) and have not done anything because of just this problem.  The homewners before me did not handle it correctly, just slopping stain on what I was told was mahogony, but am not really sure.  The stain never really soaked in and I was contemplating just what you were talking about.  Problem is same for me: framing is not consistent and the level of the boards has quite a variance.  So I have done nothing.  Pls let us all know what you do and how it works!!

    At its most basic level, capitalism offers people the freedom to choose where they work and what they do … the dignity that comes with profiting from their talent and hard work. … The free-market system also provides the incentives that lead to prosperity -- the incentive to work, to innovate, to save and invest wisely, and to create jobs for others.” -President George W. Bush

    In other words, free-market capitalism is the best path to prosperity.

  8. Sbds | Oct 20, 2009 02:30am | #10

    I sanded my PT deck with a flat pad sander. I got it from a rental place and since it is about 80 pounds it did a good job. Took about two days to do.

  9. nycarpenter | Oct 20, 2009 05:54am | #11

    Make sure you get all the nails down- sanding off the galvi is sure to be a rust spot call back. My floor guy does a good job with decks but it will never be as good as new- make sure you tell the owners you get what you pay for!

    1. hipaul | Oct 20, 2009 06:01am | #12

      Yes, rust is a no go... I may end up taking out the nails and screwing down w/ ss to match the new portions of deck that I'll put in anyway.They fully understand the result won't be like new, but they have a pretty rustic looking backyard (if you look past at the pool and basketball court and hot tub ;-) so they like the look of the decking not begin "perfect".
      http://www.pauljohnsoncarpentry.com

      1. nycarpenter | Oct 20, 2009 06:17am | #13

        Sounds like a nice house- tell them to go for the entire new deck! Mixing old and new might be a problem. Ever see a crappy bodywork job on a really nice car?

        1. hipaul | Oct 20, 2009 06:29am | #14

          "Ever see a crappy bodywork job on a really nice car?"Hey where did you see my car?!We'll see what they end up going for. I gave them estimates to do each different scenario for the decks, refinish, replace decking, and replace entire thing. I gave them my reasons for wanting to replace the entire thing so we'll see what they end up wanting.Paul
          http://www.pauljohnsoncarpentry.com

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