Old Decking - Oil, Stain or Paint??

ILIKEFOOD

Hi All

I'm sure it's been asked before but..

Recently bought a home which has a massive deck that is a bit worse for wear. I would say it's at least 10 years old. The boards have had a brown oil or stain on them at some point but that's pretty worn. The wood is fine in some places but in other parts the wood is fairly shredded on the surface with wood flaking off.

I can't deal with looking at it all summer and the house needs a lot of attention so I was going to fake grass over a large part of it and then paint a smaller section that is raised.

Ideally I'd like to do this section in black or grey. I feel like paint will flake away easily.. would a black stain be best? Oil?

Probably take it up in a a year or two.

What will give me the best result?

Cheers!

policarp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058242397/old-decking-oil-stain-or-paint

What type of timber is it?

Hard wood or treated timber?

ILIKEFOOD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118953449#Comment_118953449

Oh you have me scratching my head there.. when I look at the plank ends I can see the rings of solid timber.. So these are planks of solid wood plained on the surface with grooves typical of decking.. I couldnt saywhat type of wood it is.. certainly some of it is beyond repair and its totally soft and flaky when dry..

Lumen

If it's grooves up you could try flipping a couple of boards and see what state the underside is in.

IMO decking should always be installed grooves down.

Fine Cheers

Last year I did a cheap and cheerful refresher of our 20 year old timber deck.

Scrub in Ronseal deck cleaner from Screwfix (half the price of Woodies) then power wash then 2 coats of clear decking oil also from Screwfix own brand.

You can also get the oils in Oak, Pine or Cedar. €26.95 for 5 litres.

From a little bit of research, varnishes or paints are to be avoided on decks.

Osmo do oils in various colours which are expensive (€68.50 for 2.5 litres in Goodwins) but apparently are one of the better brand names out there with good coverage.

I am tempted to try out the grey this year just to see.

Igoe Paints also do the Owatrol Textrol range which again is pricey but decent and available in colours.

ILIKEFOOD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118984976#Comment_118984976

I went with the ronseal and bought a few tins of stain, all from screwfix. Just in the middle of scrubbing.. the ronseal does a very nice job on it.. let's hope the stain is ok too.. softwood decking in Ireland is a bad idea I've concluded. It will be composite next time round!