How to renovate a timber deck?

[Powells]

We have a hardwood timber deck in a reddish stain.  We would like to change the colour to a lighter stain, more of an oak colour to better match the indoor timber floor (see photos below).  I don't know what the deck timber is however the timber is in good condition.  We will obviously need to sand back and clean thoroughly.  Does Intergrain Timber stripper work for this so we don't need to sand as much?   Can we lighten the look of the finish?  Most posts appear to either darken or enhance the reddish quality of timber rather than lighten as I want to.  Any tips or comments would be appreciated.  Many thanks.

  

[Akanksha]

Hello @Powells,

Thank you for your question about changing the colour of your deck. Our resident D.I.Y. expert @EricL will be happy to assist once he's back online later. In the meantime, let me tag Workshop member @marliemakesit to see if she has any thoughts. She also painted her deck in a lighter colour while giving a makeover to her outdoor area. Also tagging @Itai, @DIY4Knuckleheds and @NickiM in case they have any advice. 

While waiting, I'd also recommend reading the following guides by experienced Workshop member @Adam_W for some handy tips: 

• How to stain and protect decking timber
• How to restore a deck
• How to renovate a timber deck 

Please do keep us updated as your project progresses. I'm looking forward to seeing how you manage to transform your deck. 

Akanksha

[marliemakesit]

Hi @Powells,

Our old deck stain was not looking too crash hot. We sanded it back and painted using Cabot's Timbercolour Deck & Exterior paint. 

 Cabot's 4L Deep Base Timbercolour Deck And Exterior Paint - Bunnings Australia

It can be tinted to hundred's of different colours so I'm confident you could find a colour to match closely with the floorboards. 

Deck & Exterior Timber Paint | Cabot's (cabots.com.au)

We did apply stripper to a small area as a test at the beginning but found it was still a lot of work to scrape off the old stain so went ahead without. The paint applied really well with a paint roller (as if you're painting a wall) and still looks great a year later. 

I hope that helps!

Marlie 

[NickiM]

Hey there @Powells & all, 

I had merbu (red) decking, but proved to be extremely hard to maintain the wood and colour. I later painted it with a light grey outdoor wood decking paint. The colour is far better and still in the same condition a year on. 

I used a power hose to first clean the deck, then a decking cleaner and another wash over the top. I used two coats of paint. 

While I assume you can sand and stain it, it will be very hard to match your indoor wood floors. 

[EricL]

Hello @Powells 

My apologies for the late reply. Matching an existing wood floor finish is very difficult, I suggest visiting your local store and having a look at the painted sample boards for decking. This will give you a much better idea of what the finish will look like. 

The general steps to renovating your timber decking is to sand the surface free of the old stain followed by repairing any damage to the surface with timber filler. I often suggest testing a small portion of the deck to see what your chosen stain or paint will look like. If your happy with the outcome, you can then commit the entire deck.

Here is a link to the Cabots brochure: Cabots Exterior Timber Project Guide

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric