Your Materials Checklist

• Fine, medium & course sandpaper
• 50mm galvanized deck nails, galvanized wood screws as necessary
• Timber restorer (pre-stain treatment)
• Selected timber finish
• Filler
• Clean up rags
• Solvent (as necessary to clean brushes/surfaces)
• Exterior water resistant wood glue

Tools for the job

• Shavehook (for scraping timber in tight corners)
• Paint Scraper
• Hammer
• Nail Punch
• Power Drill and Drill Bits
• Paint Brushes
• Rubber Gloves
• Protective Glasses
• Dust Mask
• Power Sander
• Sandpaper and Sanding Block

Step 2: Maintenance work

Inspect the decking for signs of deterioration such as splitting or rot, loose boards and damage to other framework areas beneath the deck. Where necessary remove the offending timber and replace it with the same timber species. A common maintenance item on decking is protruding nail heads and loose boards. This is often caused by shrinkage of the framing timber over a period of time – all that is needed is to knock the nails down into the timber with your hammer and nail punch to a nominal 2-3mm below the surface (Fig. 1).

Outdoor furniture Inspect joints for rigidity and the method of joint construction. If the join is held together with screws or a bolt system then simple tightening may be all that is needed, or replacement of a screw with a longer and thicker screw. Be sure to pre-drill holes before inserting the screw to prevent splitting of the timber. Look at the end grain, particularly the bottom of the legs where moisture can cause problems. If rot has started it could be simply a matter of cutting some length off the leg to solid timber. Once this has been done you may want to cut all furniture legs so the heights are constant (Fig. 2). Where the joins are very loose and a screw is unlikely to hold them – and the end grain of the timber is sound – then some re-building may be necessary. Dismantle the furniture, clean all joining ends and sides and reassemble with the aid of 10mm dowell and water resistant wood glue (Fig. 3). Locate the dismantled members in position to each other on a flat work surface, drill a 10mm hole through one side member into the joining piece. Spread a liberal amount of glue on the join and into the drilled holes, push the dowel into the timber members, cut off to length and clamp the furniture until the glue is set. 

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Step 3:  Preparation 

Preparation can be undertaken in several ways. Where a stained or clear finish is required one of the following steps should be undertaken. The surfaces can be sanded clean to reveal the hidden natural colour of the timber – this method is necessary where a finish has been applied previously. This is accomplished either by hand with sandpaper and a sanding block or with the aid of a sanding machine. By dampening the surface to be worked on with water prior to sanding the grain will be lifted, which will assist a smoother surface after sanding. On large deck areas the use of a drum sander will be of great assistance. Some Mitre 10 stores will have drum sanders available for hire, otherwise, they are available at most tool hire shops (Fig. 4). Any grease spots can be removed with the aid of mineral turps. On timber which is weathered which has had no added finishes to it use a proprietry outdoor timber cleaner which restores greyed timber back to its initial natural colour, and will remove mould and algae buildup. For paint or solid colour finishes on previously painted surfaces remove any loose or flaking paint using sand paper and a scraper. Where paint is holding well to the timber sanding over to break the surface for the new paint adhesion is necessary. In areas you may come upon spots that have paint and bared timber, this will show a step or ridge at the edge of the paint. Feather off this edge with sandpaper so that the defect will not show through on your finish coat of paint (Fig. 5). 

Fig. 4

Fig. 5