Slippery steps

[Marc]

I have a set of steps from the veranda to the backyard and they do get slippery when wet. They are made from 2x4 treated pine and have a few coat of exterior varnish.
I was thinking in sanding them and apply poliuretane mixed with sand, but it strikes me as a rather primiteve solution. Do you have a better idea? :confused:

[bitingmidge]

Marc,

There are a couple of brands producing a clear product which will provide slip resistance. It is also useful for tiles and other hard surfaces.

When finished it is invisible, and the original gloss is maintained.....I haven't a clue how it works...perhaps it's a bit like the emperor's new clothes??

Rather than sand, if you wish to go the other way, sprinkle some epsom salts or sugar into the wet varnish, let it dry, then dissolve the sugar/salts. You will end up with a clear-ish finish with anti-skid properties.

Use masking tape to create stripes or whatever, (you can just do a 2" strip along the edge of the tread for instance).

Practice on a piece of timber and let's know what you think.

Cheers,

P

[scooter]

Midge, good idea with the sugar/E salts, new one on me (nothing unusual there !)

Have heard in the US you can buy crushed walnut shells, to use as an additive to paint for this purpose.

MMMMmmmmmmm, Cali. walnuts...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


Cheers..........Sean the nut

[ozwinner]

I dont get it??

What are you doing with your nuts??

Al :confused:

[echnidna]

Sounds like "suck it and see"

[Marc]

Thank you, I'll try to find an anti skid agent I can apply. There is a Canadian product, epoxi with a granular aggregate, sounds a lot like my varnish with sand.

[scooter]

Thanks for the offer, Bob, but I'll stick with the missus :eek: .


Cheers.........Sean the shrinking violet

[soundman]

mixing the sand into the varnish seems a lot of hard work, just sprinkling from a big shaker on wet varnish or paint has worked for me.

but I've heard the sugar thing too before & its suposed to work well.

If you are using paving paint berger do an additive for jet dry called "true grip" which is grit & some stuff to help it distribute & stay in suspension.

As for the grit, graded aluminium oxide from your adrasive supplier may give you some choice in the size and texture of the grit.
go for some finer gritt (180,240) & it probably wouldn't look as bad.

cheers

[jackiew]

this won't look good on wood but you can buy tape ( think its made by 3M ) from Bunnings which has a non slip surface and an adhesive backing.

My dark grey concrete steps to my house were lethal in the wet but I stuck strips of this stuff to the steps and problem solved. Its been down about a year so far and still seems to be going strong. Wasn't particularly cheap but almost certainly cheaper than paying the medical bills of some visitor coming a cropper on the steps.

[Harry72]

I have a set of steps from the veranda to the backyard and they do get slippery when wet. They are made from 2x4 treated pine and have a few coat of exterior varnish.
I was thinking in sanding them and apply poliuretane mixed with sand, but it strikes me as a rather primiteve solution. Do you have a better idea? :confused:

Can you lift them without damaging them?
If you can, grab a router and cut some grip on them!

[Jon]

I had slippery wooden steps at my previous place. You can actually buy a product that looks like a 50mm wide roll of 60 grit wet 'n dry with an adhesive back. Available from Mitre10 or Bunnies.

I used a strip of this along the front edge of each step and it worked a treat and looked okay. From memory I never had to replace it in the six or so years I lived there. Friends saw mine and bought some for their place as well.

We cut it too length and then very neatly rounded the corners before applying so that it looked good and did not lift.

[Marc]

Thanks guys, the tape may be the go.