Need some advice with deck repair

Would I need to sand them smooth? The wood is weathered quite rough, and stain/paint is still in the grooves. I think new stain (solid stain) won't stick. Then, I assume, a primer? I suppose that if the wood was done up right, future maintenance would be easier…although doing that much sanding would be tough.

I'm not looking forward to replacing the wood, and carpenters/handymen around here are scarce and arrogant, as well as expen$ive.

Agree with BG they are good to go. AFA sanding is concerned use a floor sander (rental) with 60 grit pads & you will be done soon, failing that a belt sander with 60 grit. Clean well after sanding. BTW if you can slide a piece of tin/alum under the post on top of concrete pile. Wood concrete contact will accelerate rot in the posts. Then yes solid deck stain. Using a solid will cover up any missed paint chips.

Frozen Canuck got it right. This is what I was talking about. You do not need metal for this particular app though as STB said. I think he may have misunderstood what I was talking about. I would recommend using metal at the ledger board though but the OP is not concerned with that at this point.

For covering the tops of joist below deck boards I actually prefer to use the same self sticking membrane that is used around windows and doors in modern construction such as that made by WR Grace and others. It is more expensive than roofing felt though.

If you do go with PT anywhere make sure and use the proper corrosion-resistant fasteners. The newer types of PT wood are much more corrosive (in general) that was the old arsenic-based stuff.

2 suggestions
1 on the underside wash it down with straight clorox bleach, it will look new. do not waste money on deck cleaner, it is bleach that they charge you double for.
2 Lowes carrys a product called deck restore, it is a coating you can put on after cleaning. looks like a "rubber" product making it maint free and slip resistant

As semipro mentioned....this stuff is awesome for protecting the joists:

http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Vycor-P...46254216&sr=1-2&keywords=vycor deck protector

if your joists are PT and totally solid, its less of an issue....mine were not PT and were starting to 'go' in spots when I replaced the decking.

While I can't swear to it the underside looks like it is structurally fine. A sanding (you don't need it totally smooth) and sealing (this will also fill some of the groves up) job should work well.

Proper fasteners are needed for any outdoor work and for the newer PT stuff it is supper critical that use use something compatible with all of the wood the fastener is going through. As for "flashing" the tops of joists you can forgo that with non PT wood as long as you seal the area with a good sealant which is what the "flashing" is in this usage. I built a set of steps out of non PT stuff that was removed after 20 years to allow a small PT deck to be built at my folks place. Someone picked up the steps and I believe they are still in use. Take your time and do it right.

I got a chuckle out of what I saw when removing the old "porch/steps" the use of non PT wood for everything not ground touching along with non coated nails (plenty of rust on them nails along their entire length. Six years and rotting at least I can use the stuff to make raised beds out of. Currently I have some made out of pine boards and some out of tree trunks. This is how I compost my scrap lumber and down trees. I really doesn't take that long.

I wouldn't be worried about weathering anywhere near as much as finding any soft rotting wood.
Weathering is rather normal.
I don't like stain nor paint on a deck ( I've done both )and would prefer to just spray a clear preservative on every year.


I'd just repaint/stain what is there.