Problems with a deck today

[Ted H 14]

Today I attempted to clean a neglected, dirty, mildewed, greyed out pressure treated deck. This deck sits facing salt water, about 100ft. from the water. I used some F-18 that had been mixed about a week at 4 oz. per gallon. Then neutralized. Well in the center of the deck is an 8 ft. wide carpet that we pulled back. It looked like new wood under it. For the life of me I could not get the surrounding dirty deck to match up with any satisfaction to the section under the carpet. I'm going back tomorrow to try again. Any suggestions on mix(was I way to weak), dwell time, etc.. Thanks in advance for all responses.

[Beth n Rod 1,278]

Ted,

The dirty exposed areas will not match the protected wood.

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,278]

The out lying areas not covered by the carpet were darkened by UV exposure and will not come as light as the covered areas.

Rod!~

[Ted H 14]

Thanks Beth & Rod, had to step away for a few to help with homework. The homeowners said they just had some guy do it 2 years ago and he made it match. I told them I would clean it again to try and lighten it even more. Should I make F-18 8 oz. per gallon and try about 10 min. dwell.

[PressurePros 248]

Put the rug back down and apply your acid again. Like BNR mentioned, it is unlikely the spots will ever match. If you got more time than jobs, go for it. It will be a good learning experience.

[Freshlook 14]

ha ha ha.. ken I've got a 13" planer I recently acquired I'll let him borrow!!!!

[Greg R 82]

May need to break out the sander if matching is that critical.

[Deck Guy 14]

ha ha ha.. ken I've got a 13" planer I recently acquired I'll let him borrow!!!!

Only if he sets the nails/screws first, I'll bet. I imagine the blades cost a pretty penny!

[John Orr 206]

The homeowners said they just had some guy do it 2 years ago and he made it match.

OK, so why are YOU doing it now - if "some guy" was so good. Aside from that, it has been another 2 years of UV exposure - duh!

Now that I have that out of my system...

When I encounter such situations, there are a few things I do to blend-in a "clean" area:

Do not apply any chems to it;

Apply a stronger oxalic mix around it;

When staining, apply 2 coats on it.

Oh yeah, I always try to remember to let the customer know that it may not match. Think about replacing a board and trying to perfectly blend it. Much worse when its only sections of boards.

[Freshlook 14]

Only if he sets the nails/screws first, I'll bet. I imagine the blades cost a pretty penny!

The blades aren't too bad and i charge an additional $30 per deck for the expense. I've done 3 of these so far and still on the same blades without reasonable snipe, or cutting imperfections. Have 4 sets just in case thou.

screws are a problem, but via the method I use to resuface deck floors usually involves removing them. It's simple as long as you have access to the underside of the deck and using a tap block just remove boards, remove nails from board, plane down 1/16 of an inch maybe 2 passes if fail to remove imperfections and re-install boards. Goes fairly quickly with a helper doing the removal and nail-outs. I then plane, and reinstall

Typically I may run into a few boards here or there that have major cupping or other nasty imperfections where I tell the customer before hand they have the option to replace any distorted boards, or I will simply make them look the best I can

I don't offer this option on screw set decks as if the deck is in bad shape, I don't feel like messing with a bunch of rusted screws and the inevitable broken heads...

[Greg R 82]

Wow that sounds like alot of work :) I have a power planer (hand held) we keep on the truck for narrowing replacement boards when needed (when the gaps are too tight) but I couldn't imagine doing a whole deck like that. Good work ethic for sure!

Try a makita disc sander with 80 grit paper. You can sand out about 100 to 200 sq ft an hour (depending on what your taking down).

Another note on the nailed decks. You can use a Framing nailer minus the nails to set the nails deeper into the deck boards. Just use it as an airpowered nailset. Never tried it on screws but I would tend to think it may sink them some anyway.

[Aplus 525]

Two reasonable approaches as I see it. First, explain to the customer what has happened, regarding the UV exposure, etc. Either leave the rug off and deal with the lighter spot for a year or so, eventually it will blend in somewhat better. Or, put the carpet back down.