wooden deck refinishing

[EddieWalker]

I think the cupping is from how it’s dries after being installed. Bark side up or down doesn’t seem to matter. The boards are so wet when you buy them that anything is possible while they dry.

 

[MossRoad]

I can still remember going through picking the deck boards many years ago, one light as a feather, the other 20 pounds of water. I was looking for the ones with the most grain and straightness. Soooooo many were crooked, cupped, bowed and twisted. I can only imagine what they'd do when they dried. I'm sure the yard guy wasn't happy, but I wasn't going to order them for delivery only to have to take a bunch back.

When we built our garage addition my wife got pretty good at eyeballing the 2x's while we picked them up.

 

[Gord Baker]

No. Most deck boards are 'cupped' and that side should go down on installation to help shed water.

 

[EddieWalker]

I built this deck a couple of months ago for a client. It took three loads of 2x6's, plus a lot of other boards. Of all the 2x6's I used, none of them where cupped. I had quite a few that I rejected because of twisting or really bad knot issues, but that's fairly common.

I was there last week to install the outlet for their hot tub and noticed one board that was cupping already. I'll sand and stain it in the Spring. I tell all my clients to wait 6 months before sanding and staining so all the boards will dry out and all of the weirdness that happens will be done.

 

[Gord Baker]

Cupping is normal on these cheap boards and should be place cup side down to avoid water retention. All of them

 

[tstex]

More work than washing but I have a 35 year old treated deck that has been stained and looks bad. I screwed the boards down when I built it, so am in the process of flipping the boards before restaining. The flipped boards look like new. It's a do as time permits project so it's easy to work on as time permits.
Have you conidered flipping yours?

I tried and a lot of the heads are stripped...it was installed in 2002 and those phillips screws are not as near as good as the hex type today - thanks

 

[tstex]

A lot of people do not look at the side grain to determine which way to properly install up or down... as stated: the upward curves of the grains should always be installed facing up, never a "u"-install. The former repels, the latter soaks.

For wooden fence structures, you can always tell what rails were improperly installed bc of how they warp and split. Many times deck installers and non-informed DIY'ers install the side that looks best or less knots, disregarding the end-grains bowing or cupping. As stated, p-treated wood that has had no drying time and is water-logged, if installed immediately and soon subjected to the blistering sun, is a recipe for disaster. Furthermore, installed w cup side up, that board is gone way prematurely.

 

[EddieWalker]

This used to be common practice, before the change was made to Treated Lumber. Now the goal is to install the deck boards with the best-looking side up and wait for the changes to happen to the lumber when it dries out.

If you install them bark side up, which was the common practice for decades, you will still get cupping, but even worse, you will have the ugly side of the lumber showing a lot more then you want it to.

Whatever you do, plan on coming back in six months to sand it if you want a smooth deck.

Wait until you sand it before staining it.

 

[JeffLewisofe]

I’d scrub it clean, let it dry well, then roll on a good penetrating oil‑based stain. I redo the sun‑blasted spots more often, and it keeps the boards from cracking.