Episode #10 - Deck Woods and Refinishing
The Handyguys March 27th, 2008
The Handyguys discuss decking materials and refinishing your deck.
The weather is starting to get warmer and many of us are thinking about getting outside again to use our decks. If you have a deck, it is time to think about cleaning and refinishing your deck for the summer season. If you don’t have a deck, then you may be thinking about building one. But what material should you use to build that deck?
Most decks are built with pressure treated wood. However there are many alternatives to this common decking material. One of the more popular new materials is composite decking which is sometimes made with recycled plastics and saw dust. The Handyguys discuss their opinions on several kinds of woods and composites, including cedar, red wood, ipe and tiger wood. So whether you are considering composites or Brazilian hard woods, you should check out this podcast.
The other issue that many of us face is refinishing that deck (unless you already have a composite deck). There are a few methods for cleaning and refinishing so check out episode 10 of the Handyguys podcast!
Comments are always welcome. Also, feel free to contact The Handyguys with your DIY or Home Improvement questions.
- Handyguys Podcast Category
- Comments(2)
What do you think of Australian Timber Oil? I have used Behr semi-transparent oil base in the past, but Home Depot no longer carries Behr alkyd based deck stains. I have always custom-tinted the Behr stain, but I tried a small sample of Cabot’s Australian Timber oil in the Mahogany Flame and it looks great.
How do you think this will work on redwood in the harsh UV sunlight of mile-high Colorado?
David
David - Great question - I have used Cabbots Australian Timber Oil on mahogany for an exterior application. I have found that it needs re-coating about yearly, maybe two, to maintain the freshly applied look. Its not a semi-transparent stain, its purely an penetrating oil finish. The great thing about the Timber Oil is it imparts no un-natural color and does not form a film that could peel off which make renewal very easy. Personally I prefer the look of a natural finish and would not hesitate to use it on redwood. If, down the road, you want to use something with a tint you could certainly do that instead of the renewing with the timber oil. I would make sure what ever you used in the future was also oil based just to help ensure compatibility.