Sanding a Deck: How little can I get away with?

HK10036 — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:47:55 -0800

Sanding a Deck: How little can I get away with? We have a a neglected deck at the back of our house. It's about 700 sq. ft., it was painted at one time but about 70% has worn off. The exposed areas are thoroughly sun bleached and the whole thing is fairly warped, cupped, etc. It's not excactly falling apart, just ugly. It's built of pressure treated wood and I'd guess it to be 20 years old or so. I've used a powerwasher (fun!) to clean the whole thing and against all the warning used the 'laser blast' nozzle to get as much of the remaining paint off as possible. I'm not trying to restore the thing, just clean it up and make it hold up for a few more years.

It's pretty splintery at this point. I plan to use clear deck sealer when weather permits but I suspect it should get a bit of sanding first. I think renting a big drum sander, like you use for floors, would be overkill. Considering ther un-eveness of the surface I imagine it getting caught on corners and grinding off the nailheads that hold the deck together, running amok, etc.

Can I get away with a handheld random orbit sander to just get the high points? Is there some kinds of spongy/flexy sanding device that'd reach below the high points (like the lower areas of a cupped plank)? I don't want to spend more than necessary but I don't want to go through all this to end up with a bed of nails either. I'm a total novice. Any suggestions?

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Sanding a Deck: How little can I get away with?