Help to identify decking wood and select paint/oil.

[Pav950]

Hello,

Recently bought a house and a neighbour told me that my patio needs to be repainted/reoiled. I am new to DIY and have no idea what kind of wood patio/decking I have teak, cedar, oak, pine or other types? Please could someone have a look at the attached pictures and help to identify the type of the wood?

Also I want to clean it first with pressure washer and then apply oil or paint (UV lights and moisture protective) What is better oil or paint and what brand should I look for?

Thank you very much in advance
Pav

 

[ericmark]

I have had to rip most of mine up, because it had gone rotten underneath it. My worry was if it fails and I fall as a result, and once the wood has been surface treated, you have no idea what is going on underneath it, so in real terms yes want to treat it, but it really does not matter as to with what, although would not use a paint, and most will change the colour of the wood, and a gallon can vary in price from £10 to clear offers to £30 so one walks through the shop and selects one which suits your pocket, I picked one for my wooden garden furniture which leaves a waxy finish that will repel water, great for tables and chairs, rubbish for decking as you can slip on it. It also turns the wood golden brown, the colour is a personal preference.

At work we have expensive wooden decking which will outlive me, but the supports likely will not, so once a year we lift the lot with a forklift, turn it over and put preservative on the support beams, this is not really an option at home. And even then where we can we are going plastic, using plastic railway sleepers which will likely last 200 years even with a train running over them, we find the wood sleepers we still have some original 100 year old, when creosote was permitted, but some laid only 10 years ago need replacing, and a row of 100 sleepers we may need to replace just 2, we have to walk the line to inspect them, problem with decking you can't see underneath, and so often the decking is sound but below is not, so been replacing with brick sets.

 

[Munroast]

It will more than likely be tanalised pine, but can you get a picture of the end grain so we can be more sure. very very unlikely it is a hard wood

if it is what I guess then lightly scrub the surface with a well diluted 'thin' bleach to remove any greeness then re-oil with any decking oil. (I wouldn't pressure wash wood you will damage the surface, esp if you have a decent power washer)

 

[Odds]

The photos show the surface doesn't look that bad...i've seen worse.
Brush loose dirt away and use Ron seal Decking Cleaner, i'd say.

 

[Pav950]

I have had to rip most of mine up, because it had gone rotten underneath it. My worry was if it fails and I fall as a result, and once the wood has been surface treated, you have no idea what is going on underneath it, so in real terms yes want to treat it, but it really does not matter as to with what, although would not use a paint, and most will change the colour of the wood, and a gallon can vary in price from £10 to clear offers to £30 so one walks through the shop and selects one which suits your pocket, I picked one for my wooden garden furniture which leaves a waxy finish that will repel water, great for tables and chairs, rubbish for decking as you can slip on it. It also turns the wood golden brown, the colour is a personal preference.

At work we have expensive wooden decking which will outlive me, but the supports likely will not, so once a year we lift the lot with a forklift, turn it over and put preservative on the support beams, this is not really an option at home. And even then where we can we are going plastic, using plastic railway sleepers which will likely last 200 years even with a train running over them, we find the wood sleepers we still have some original 100 year old, when creosote was permitted, but some laid only 10 years ago need replacing, and a row of 100 sleepers we may need to replace just 2, we have to walk the line to inspect them, problem with decking you can't see underneath, and so often the decking is sound but below is not, so been replacing with brick sets.

Thank you very much Eric, I had some parts of the decking that are not screwed and lifter them (please see short video attached) not sure if they are good or bad. Anyway i will treat the decking then but how long the wooden decking will last i guess no one knows as it can get rotten fast i believe.

 

[Pav950]

It will more than likely be tanalised pine, but can you get a picture of the end grain so we can be more sure. very very unlikely it is a hard wood

if it is what I guess then lightly scrub the surface with a well diluted 'thin' bleach to remove any greeness then re-oil with any decking oil. (I wouldn't pressure wash wood you will damage the surface, esp if you have a decent power washer)

Thank you very much Munroast, yeah i've had some parts unscrewed please see attached pictures of the end grain. Ok understood i will use a well diluted "thin" bleach but diluted with water right? and will use any decking oil. Yes pressure washer is Karcher K4 - 130 bar. Maybe i'll try on a small part and see what happens.

 

[Pav950]

The photos show the surface doesn't look that bad...i've seen worse.
Brush loose dirt away and use Ron seal Decking Cleaner, i'd say.

Thank you very much Odds, its not expensive actuall only £12.99. Will buy it for sure.

 

[ericmark]

Looks OK at the moment, seems like mine was, concrete underneath it. So for next few years an annual treating seems order of the day. I found heavy rain the concrete had pools of water on it, not deep, but enough to be walking in water, so the brick sets allow water to drain so not walking in it before going in house. With slate chipping between house and bricks so no need to cut bricks.

 

[Munroast]

Thank you very much Munroast, yeah i've had some parts unscrewed please see attached pictures of the end grain. Ok understood i will use a well diluted "thin" bleach but diluted with water right? and will use any decking oil. Yes pressure washer is Karcher K4 - 130 bar. Maybe i'll try on a small part and see what happens.

difficult to be sure what type of wood that is, you would need to cut and sand so we could see the end grain - doesnt matter, it will almost be certainly treated softwood, and if it is tanalised and just subject to rain water (not stood in permanent dampness) then it will last decades.

Oiling them just gives them a nicer appearance and possibly slows down the slippy green stuff that likes to make decking dangerously slippy.

I just use thin bleach (mixed may be 20 or 50 to 1 (I just slosh some in a bucket and then fill it with water) dampen the decking first then brush in the diluted bleach into the wood. do it on a damp but not raining day to gave the bleach time to kill all the green stuff before it dries. May be rinse it off with a hose the next day.
VERY IMPORTANT - don't mix bleach with soap, it can gave off chlorine gas which is the same chemical gas used a weapon in WW1 on the trenches.

and don't walk about on the wet bleach decking then go ito your house, don't want white footprints on the carpet - the missus will shoot you.

 

[Pav950]

difficult to be sure what type of wood that is, you would need to cut and sand so we could see the end grain - doesnt matter, it will almost be certainly treated softwood, and if it is tanalised and just subject to rain water (not stood in permanent dampness) then it will last decades.

Oiling them just gives them a nicer appearance and possibly slows down the slippy green stuff that likes to make decking dangerously slippy.

I just use thin bleach (mixed may be 20 or 50 to 1 (I just slosh some in a bucket and then fill it with water) dampen the decking first then brush in the diluted bleach into the wood. do it on a damp but not raining day to gave the bleach time to kill all the green stuff before it dries. May be rinse it off with a hose the next day.
VERY IMPORTANT - don't mix bleach with soap, it can gave off chlorine gas which is the same chemical gas used a weapon in WW1 on the trenches.

and don't walk about on the wet bleach decking then go ito your house, don't want white footprints on the carpet - the missus will shoot you.

Thank you so much once again Munroast for very useful insights. All noted.

 

[foxhole]

Decking oil , paint flakes off very quickly.

 

[Pav950]

Decking oil , paint flakes off very quickly.

Thank you very much Foxhole, understood.