Reconditioning outside platform questions

[Jim Mackell]

We have a very large outside pressure treated platform that has been painted in the past, many, many times. Paint of course is now loose and scaling. If the deck was in perfect shape, I'd rent a floor sander and have the job done ASAP. But it's got various issues that won't accommodate a sander. Ideal solution would be some machine like a floor buffer with a moderately aggressive wire brush to run over the surface. Know of anything like that available?

[Richard Coers]

How old is the decking since it's been painted many many times? What you are suggesting might just blow up the wood. There are siding planers that mill off the paint, at least there used to be before vinyl siding.

[Mel Fulks]

Use 1/4 inch tempered Masonite covered with canvas and paint with exterior floor paint. It’s been done many times over decades and ,
works. Yeah, you won’t find it in the new magazine’s, they want new stuff….doesn’t have to be good …just NEW !
Should have a little slope .

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Use 1/4 inch tempered Masonite covered with canvas and paint with exterior floor paint. It’s been done many times over decades and ,
works. Yeah, you won’t find it in the new magazine’s, they want new stuff….doesn’t have to be good …just NEW !
Should have a little slope .

Since the OP referred to the structure as a 'deck' I assume it is outside exposed to the elements. Is tempered Masonite waterproof? Even painting won't keep out all the water.

[Jim Mackell]

Yes, it's an outside deck exposed to weather all year. Decking is in reasonably good shape except for the peeling paint. At this point we're probably going to get a work party and try using scrapers by hand.

[Doug Garson]

How about power washing it ?

[Richard Coers]

Yes, it's an outside deck exposed to weather all year. Decking is in reasonably good shape except for the peeling paint. At this point we're probably going to get a work party and try using scrapers by hand.
You'll need a lot of beer to market that concept!

[Tom M King]

What fasteners? Here for docks on the lake we turn them over when the tops start to check badly, and get another decade out of them. If you can turn them over and install with screws a little below the surface it can be sanded. We often need to replace a few boards when doing this, but it will still last a long time, and much cheaper than replacing the whole top. I use a floor buffer with 80grit sanding screen to sand them after the new surface is up.

This would eliminate having to deal with the paint.

[Mel Fulks]

Since the OP referred to the structure as a 'deck' I assume it is outside exposed to the elements. Is tempered Masonite waterproof? Even painting won't keep out all the water.

Tempered Masonite is pretty durable, and even a slice of white bread ain’t gonna go bad packaged in painted canvas . It’s like Corvette
fiber-glass …only stronger.

[Cameron Wood]

How about power washing it ?


If the paint is loose, it will make a very large field of paint chips, semi impossible to clean up. Ask me how I know...

[Doug Garson]

I can picture the mess a regular power wash nozzle would make but I wonder of one of those surface cleaning attachments for a power washer would contain the mess. Tried to post a picture of one but the site kept converting it to text and exceeding the text limit?

[Mel Fulks]

That sounds like a good idea for quarter- sawn stuff, but not for slab-cut ,which will often have have a lot of pop-up sharp edges on the
concave grain side . But leather pants and non bare feet will make it work.

[Mel Fulks]

Tempered board is pretty tough and hard. The cloth filled with paint will protect like 5 mil plastic, but for a much longer time.

[George Yetka]

My first attempt would be to try something like the restorer Rockler has one but I believe they were originally PC. If that wasnt cutting it I would remove the boards and run them though a drum sander if the wood was in decent shape. Depending on how long the paint has been chipped up you may not be able to safely powerwash. I would check the wood before starting that.

How big is this platform?

[Larry Frank]

Without a picture, not really possible to make a good suggestion.

[Jim Mackell]

Answering various questions in no particular order. The deck is about 15 x 35. It's in an isolated picnic grove with no power or water supply. Whoever laid it originally used sheetrock screws, so the suggestions to try and flip over the boards and reattach might be a good one. I know those damn screws will break as soon as we touch them. I'll grab a picture tomorrow or Wednesday.

[Tom M King]

Up until about 17 years ago, deck screws were nothing more than coarse threaded sheetrock screws that were galvanized. If you catch it when the wood is soaking wet, you can get out over 90% of them. If the wood is dry and tight around the screws, forget it. I used them back then and before, and have flipped more than a few boards put in with them. You might loose 10% of the boards from breaking screws and bad board sides, but it's still worth a try.

I use something like this for boards with screws that break, and even then you can save some of those boards. Often, if the head has popped in trying to unscrew it, the rest of the screw will just pull through. I just beat those screws back down, which usually breaks them. You can unscrew them with visegrips , but that takes more time.

https://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Pallet-Buster-Yellow-Handle/dp/B07C8CQV35/ref=sr_1_24?crid=1C1SNZV9LI23I&keywords=deck+board+removal+tool&qid=1692650883&sprefix=deck+ripping%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-24

[Bill Dufour]

I would be very worried about rot and the entire deck coming down killing everyone on it. It only took ten years to rot and fall. It does not rain that much in Berkeley and not at all in summer.
How many stories is it off the ground?
Berkeley closed their public fishing pier soon after due to rot.
Bill D.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_balcony_collapse

[Mel Fulks]

I agree you have to be careful. Lots of old apartment buildings still have old fire escape - porches. For seven years I lived in on the
3rd floor and we often had a bunch of hippy friends covering it. But it never crashed …. some of the friends ‘crashed’ , but were fine in the
morning. Good times !