Decking Oil

[Trav]

I'm just about to start laying the boards on my christmas decking project. I've built a 3o sq metre deck that will be topped with recycled spotted gum/blackbutt milled out of old joists and 4x2 taken from demolished buildings. The timber looks great.

My question is:

what is a good decking oil/sealant to use. I don't want an impervious layer on the top of the deck - this would make it kinda slippery in my view when wet, and this deck will be, for example, the best way to get to the backyard/clothesline etc.

I've looked at the sikkens stuff, but that seemed to put that totally waterproof layer over the top. Does anyone have any recommendations? Cabots? Feast Watson?

Trav

[Suresh]

Try the Sceney's decking oil, it is available through the Bristol paint shops and also rebadged in Bunnings.

[Justin]

Hi Trav,

Speaking from experience of laying a spotted gum deck, don't use Intergrain DWD. It gives the timber a orange tinge, doesn't seem to last well, and recoating over the old finish makes it look worse.

I think you're on the right track using an oil. The maintenance coats might be more frequent, but in the long term you've got a renewable finish that will lead to a sustained quality appearance of your deck.


Cheers,


Justin.

[Trav]

Thanks Justin. That is exaclty what I was worried about. I think the oil is the go - it probably doesn't really matter what type. There will obviously be more work in maintaining, but rolling 30sq m every 12 months or so doesn't sound too bad.

[Ben from Vic.]

Suresh,

Could you tell me what they call Sceney's at Bunnings?

Ta.

Ben

[Geno]

I have 50sqm of Merbau decking, I tried to get something like the recycled blackbutt you have got, but could not get anything here in Canberra. Deck is about a year old and under cover (LaserLite roof). I have used Wattyl's decking oil on it and the deck comes up great when freshly oiled. The problem is the finish only looks good for a few months or so, depending on how much dirt and crap the dog and kids transport and deposit upon it. End result is that I re-oil it every 8 weeks or so because I am a fastidious bastard. This only takes an hour so it isn't that big a deal.

The Wattyl Decking oil is also available in a "No Name" version; exactly the same gear but not called "Wattyl" and hence is cheaper (go figure). Blackbutt should come up great using this stuff. Personally, I would go with a tint free oil.

I would recommend taking a few off-cuts into your local paint place and trying a few different products on them and seeing how they come up.

Nexr door neighbour has a Ulin deck (similar to merbau) and they have used Bristol decking oil on it. It seems to come up harder and glossier than the Wattyl stuff. Looks great and I am tempted to try the Bristol gear next time the deck is up for a coat.

[Trav]

Hi Geno

Thanks for the message. I too have gone with the Wattyl decking oil - I laid the first 10 or so boards over the weekend. Slow process....

I picked up the recycled timber from Thor's Hammer, which operates out of the old Yarralumla Brickworks. They are pretty helpful and have a few different choices for decking timber. I'd recommend them to others who want to use recycled timber. Most of the boards are dead stright, although quite a few have old nail holes and chips/chunks out of them. You can hide most of this underneath, and the old nail holes give a nice old rustic feel to the deck.

Trav

[Geno]

Trav,
I did suss out Thors hammer but they didn't have much at the time of my enquiry, which is understandable as they are recyclers.

What timber are you using for joists and bearers? Did it also come from Thors Hammer?

You going to putty the nail holes?

How does it look with the Wattyls decking oil?

Lotsa questions!

[Trav]

No probs with the questions.

I used treated pine for the sub-structure. Hardwood was too expensive and much harder to work. I picked this up from Pinus sawmills. It was 190x45 - bearers were twinned along their length.

I'm leaving the nails flush with the surface. Drilling and then nailing is enough for me without puttying as well. I like the look anyway.

It looks great with the decking oil - a bit of mixed colour among the boards, but on the whole it looks fantastic. SWMBO is happy, so that is good enough for me.

I'm building (will build) a couple of garden screens using the same timber and I'm kicking around the idea of building some kind of small pergola/handrail with it too.

Trav

[Geno]

Trav,
Seeing that you are happy with the questions, may I ask how much you paid for the recycled decking. I assume it is machined to a 90x19 or 75x19 section, or something similar?
Next deck will be similar timber to yours if I can get hold of any.

I actually went with screws for my merbau decking. A heap of work predrilling etc but I am happy with the look, nice and flush and I have not had any planks move after a year.

[Trav]

The price was $55 sq metre. I think this works out to be about $5 linear metre, because the boards are 85x18 or 19 (I cant remember).

How much was the Merbau? SWMBO was very keen on the recycled timber - merbau is definitely off her list as it is harvested from tropical rainforests in Asia. For me, recycled was the only option!

Thors also had tallowood - that looked pretty good too. It might even have been a little cheaper.

What kind of screws did you use? I saw some stainless steel screws, but they were WAY too expensive for the number I would need. Did you use 1 or 2 per board per joist?

Happy if you want to come over and check it out one day. Probably better to wait until I finish it though...

Trav

[arose62]

I just bought some Sceneys at Bunnings (it was labelled as "Sceneys"), as it was about half the price of most of the other oils.

I've used it on our outdoor furniture, not on a deck, and it's only been done for a couple of days, but each of those days has had a fair bit of rain. It does seem to add a bit of a reddish tint to the timber.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Geno]

I did try to source some recycled timber so I wasn't a party to the pillage of Asian rainforests. Unfortunately, it proved unfeasible at the time which is why I am particularly interested in your experience.

From what I can gather a lot of the Merbau on the market is from plantations in Indonesia and The Phillipines. I would like to think this is the case, but there are many unsavoury people in the Asian timber trade from what I can gather, so one can't be sure.

I paid $4.30 a liner metre when I built mine, but I notice merbau can now be had for about $3.75 per lm. A nice timber looking timber when oiled up, Class 2 durability which is about the same as what you should get from the Blackbutt I think.

Tallowood is supposed to be the cat's whiskers for decks, but again it is becoming very hard to source here in Canberra. Quite tricky to oil\stain from what I hear.

Screws are zinc-plated. Should last as long as the deck as she is out of the rain. Two screws per joist, 30 joists, 35 rows of decking, two screws per joist = 2100 screws! No wonder it took me a week to screw the decking on. Stainless steel screws are nice but way too expensive for me - hence the zinc-plated screws which aren't too price.

Glad to hear the deck looks great, beautiful Australian timbers those.

[Trav]

2100 screws sounds like a nightmare. nailing is bad enough!

interesting thoughts on the merbau. I don't know too much about it, but recycled was always a preference. I quite like the rustic look of it - even if there are a few rough bits...

Trav

[sinjin]

Hi guys, just a point.....when i was a boatbuilder so long ago i have forgotten more than i remember. But a few things i do remember. Some of the timber yards you refer to in Asian countries where owned by even less savory Aust companies who couldn't give a toss to what damage they were doing in other countries. The other thing is far more timber is burnt than even gets close to being exported in some countries.
The other is don't be to caught up thinking that SS screws are the way to go. The screws that will last you long after you are in the ground is Silicon bronze screws.
A point to think about if you are after the look of nicely oiled wood thats great. But if the timbers are cut properly so they won't warp ie 1/4 sawn you won't have any probs. and they will outlast you by years leaving them natural if you vent them properly.
Here in Aust we have some truly great timbers for what you are doing. But the sexy oiled look dose look nice.

[SteveI]

Back to the original question of what decking oil

I have a hardwood deck (not sure what but it is not tallowood which has an oily natural protector) and have used Cabots and Feast Watson on one part and Sikkens on another.

Have to say they all lasted about the same time before losing colour. (although the Sikkens is much more expensive)

Found with the Sikkens that it appeared to leave a coating which became blotchy, even after using the woodcleaning products (Deckcleen, WoodClean or similar??)

Found the areas I used Cabots or Feast Watson came up very well after using the cleaner but the Sikkens area is still blotchy. (re-coated with Feast Watson - not looking great even after two coats)

Also, the only part of the deck that has warped is the section that was originally coated with the Sikkens.

Having said that, the Sikkens on the adjacent timber doors looks great.

I'll use Cabots or Feast Watson next time round (with the "Natural" stain - be warned the clear one has little or no UV protection)

ps: The Deckcleen - or what-ever the brand name is, uses oxalyic acid to get rid of the grey timber coating - it is also good for converting rust - just leave a rusted steel ruler in full strength solution overnight and you'll find rust just wipes off with a little steel wool