Thread: New Spotted Gum Decking Issue, gone rough.

My guess is it just got wet and the grain swelled a little - this is standard for any wooden surface.
Sanding and immediately applying some sort of finish will minimize this problem

Agree with Bob - definitely looks normal if it got wet and then dried. Sanding and oiling is the way to go.

P.S. - the deck indeed looks great!

As already said, quite normal. Decking is supplied dressed only, not sanded. If the header has blunt blades it can tend to chip then flatten the remaining fibre as the timber goes through, these fibres will tend to rise when exposed to the weather. Now they have lifted, its time to sand back and they should never raise their heads again. If you want to be sure, wet the deck again after sanding and see how it looks. It may need another light sand before oiling.

Thanks all, sounding quite normal then. I read in another post on this site that they used one of these to sand the deck back, would it be suitable? What grit, 80/100 or 120?

Thanks again

oops, here is the link to that sander

KENNARDS HIRE - Orbital Floor Sanders

Originally Posted by liambarr

Thanks all, sounding quite normal then. I read in another post on this site that they used one of these to sand the deck back, would it be suitable? What grit, 80/100 or 120?

Thanks again

Hi Liambarr,
When sanding many people make the mistake of going straight to the their finishing grade of paper (ie 180g or 240g for furniture) whilst this can work it also means you will spend a lot more time sanding and waste a lot more paper because the fine grit has to work hard to remove large imperfections. The best way to sand something is to start with a rough grit and then work your way up to your finishing grit in stages. For your deck 120g would probably be fine to finish on so start with 60 or 80 and then work your way up. Two steps should probably be fine. If you are using a hand sander this will cut out a lot of time and effort. If you are using that machine then you may get away with just 120, depends how much that grain has raised, try a piece by hand and you will see what works.

Also, totally agree with the other posts here, the reason the wood grain has raised is because of humidity (being outside) or rain. This is usually fine after sanding back and applying oil (or whatever you are sealing with) although keep in mind that you will need to treat the wood regularly every year or two to keep it looking in top condition.

Good Luck and a fine deck you have there.
Cheers
Mat

thanks again all, very helpful. Ill push ahead with teh sanding option (monday next week looks like the weather to do it) and post back the results. I just want to get it all finished now, and kick back with a beer on the new deck!

Try some oxalic acid on the stain.

My 2 cents worth.

1 hire a drum sander and sand the deck( punch the nails first) on 45deg too the timber lay in both directions. use a coarse grit 40/60Grit)

2 this will level the timber, then sand down the length of the timber with 60/80 grit. this will give a good finish.

3 clean down, do NOT wet the timber with water, apply your preferred finish , first coat slightly thinned .

4 2nd & 3rd coats UN-thinned , allowed to dry between coats.

This should do the job.
I would not use a Poli-vac sander as these are really for final finishing of interior flooring , and the spaces between the boards may catch the discs and rip it off the base pad.

Jeff
vk4

Moisture (dew, rain, humiditiy) has caused the grain to rise.... knock it back with some anding and finish.

The timber yard and flooring guys are flat out lying to you. its common, and as you have heard from the reports from other here or it's there first week on the job and they just dont know better.

Good luck.

PS the floor sanders require a little learning curve practice on an out of the way area first.