Merbau Deck on balcony

[micklejohn]

Hi all,
Been a while. I have recently started to build a deck on the balcony of my apartment. The existing balcony is a concrete slab. Since I didnt want to raise the deck so far off the concrete slab, I also used 19mm merbau deck as my beams (dynabolted into the concrete slab). I have now laid half the merbau deck ontop of the beams using stainless steel screws.
When I purchased the merbau deck, I was told about its issue with regards to bleeding, but to be perfectly honest, I did not know what to expect. I was also unaware that its best if you let it weather for a while before laying the deck. Too late.
With the rain in Sydney lately, I have noticed the bleeding, and it is running off the front of my balcony and staining the outside of the apartment building.
I need to stop this from happening. Can I apply 3 or 4 coats of Spa N Deck now, to seal the merbau beams? Should I sane them back first?
Any help would be great.

Thanks

John

[UteMad]

Sorry mate to hear it but it was to be expected unfortunately... Merbau was a risky choice for your situation ... Putting mebau decking as the battens is another fopar i am sorry to say cause every time it rains they get soaked sitting in water and will leach out tannin which is staining the building.. The battens should have been treated pine say 70 x 35 which would leave only your deck to do the staining ... I would clean the deck asap if using spa n deck go through the procedure as per the bottles .... powerlift then prep then 3 coats spa n deck ... this will help greatly but wont stop the battens from leaching every time it rains....

good luck with it

cheers utemad

[micklejohn]

Cheers Utemad.
Yet another learning experience. I plan on coating the battens with spa n deck as soon as possible. Its lucky that I have not laid all the deck yet. Rain only hits about a foot of my balcony, which is the section I have not laid yet. Hopefully this will fix the problem. If I knew more about the bleeding, I wouldnt of used merbau in the first place. See how I go.

[Gaza]

another point is the concrete where you have drilled into membraned if so how have you sealed your new holes.

[micklejohn]

Hi Gaza,
No the balcony was not membraned. Its was just original slab. Built in the 60's.

[UteMad]

Be interested to hear how long and what size screws you used and did they bite down tight seeing as the batten is only 19mm

cheers utemad

[micklejohn]

Hi again. Is there any advantage to sanding the boards before doing the prep etc...with Spa-N-Deck?

[Waldo]

Hi again. Is there any advantage to sanding the boards before doing the prep etc...with Spa-N-Deck?

you let the tannins leach out easier, leave it for 3 months, wet down, let it dry, give a good scrub with a hard bristled broom and coat, let the coat settle and absorb, come back a day later and coat again.

That about the guts of it?

[micklejohn]

Hi all, again,
Deck is now fully finished. Utemad, for you interest, I used 34mm 8g Galvanised Screws to attached the deck to the 19mm battens. It is definitely a solid hold.
After using the prep, powerlift then Spa-N-Deck on the battens then on the deck, the tannins have stopped leaking out. Its an amazing product. Since the deck has been completed, we have some wild weather up here in Sydney, and still no tannin has leaked. 5 star product.
Also, that powerlift is pretty good stuff too. Used it to clean up the stains on the outside of the building which occurred during the initial build. Stains come straight off.

Ive included some pics of the completed deck. Like I said, the whole deck only sits 19mm off the concrete slab, so as it is not noticed from front of building.

[Waldo]

Powerlift, what's that? An agent that you apply to merbau to hasten the speed of tannins leaching and thus negating the 3 month waiting period?

[pharmaboy2]

deck clean is oxalic acid, and best for getting tannins out - can buy deck cclean (cabots) for about $29 for 4 litres, or diggers brand oxalic powder in 2kg for $18 which makes dozens of litres "deckclean".

The other redomendation common here from the professional deck restorers, is to use napisan, which is an oxygenated bleach - cant remember whtehr it should be used before or after he oxalic acid, so a search will yeild that i'm sure.

[micklejohn]

Powerlift is a prep product from Spa-N-Deck. I have heard its the same as using Napisan in water. It washes away any surface stains.

[UteMad]

Powerlift, what's that? An agent that you apply to merbau to hasten the speed of tannins leaching and thus negating the 3 month waiting period?

Power lift is a flood product and is designed for use with the spa n deck.. It pulls the tannins out and also remove old deck oil as spa n deck is a water based product

Cheers utemad

[UteMad]

deck clean is oxalic acid, and best for getting tannins out - can buy deck cclean (cabots) for about $29 for 4 litres, or diggers brand oxalic powder in 2kg for $18 which makes dozens of litres "deckclean".

The other redomendation common here from the professional deck restorers, is to use napisan, which is an oxygenated bleach - cant remember whtehr it should be used before or after he oxalic acid, so a search will yeild that i'm sure.

BEFORE

[UteMad]

Heres a link to a resto i posted using spa n deck

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=71734

cheers utemad