So you’re thinking of sanding a wet wood deck are you?
Well, let me tell you something…
You’re lucky you came here before you did something you’ll regret…
Listen up my eager little sander…
Do not, I repeat, DO NOT under any circumstances think about sanding a wet wood deck…
It’s an extremely bad idea…
The results could be catastrophic!!
You wanna know why?
Ha?
Ha??
Ok let me tell you why sanding a wet wood deck is such a bad idea…
Why sanding a wet deck is such a bad idea…
Ok, first up…
Sanding a wet deck will result in your sandpaper clogging up…
One of the expensive parts of sanding a deck is the cost of the sandpaper belts and discs…
And if you sand a wet deck, your sandpaper will clog up so fast, it’ll be unusable…
You’ll be changing sanding belts so often you’ll use 5 to 10 times what you would normally use if your deck was dry…
Let’s do a little maths real quick…
Let’s say a sanding belt costs you $5…
Just to be clear…
I only buy high quality sanding belts…
And I recommend you do too…
So my belts actually cost $5 per belt…
You can get sanding belts as cheap as $1.60, but you get what you pay for…
Anyway, where was I?
Oh yeah…
You just bought belts for $5 each…
And normally you’d use 20 belts on a deck…
That’s a total of…
20 x $5…
Carry the 1…
That’s $100!!
Now let’s say you only use 5 times the sandpaper you’d normally use…
Let’s see…
$100 x 5…
Whoa!
That’s $500 on sandpaper…
So if you sand a wet deck, you could blow your budget right out…
And the experience of trying to sand a deck while the sandpaper keeps clogging up is an horrendous experience…
And if that isn’t enough for you, let’s look at the next reason why you shouldn’t sand a wet deck…
It will take 3 times as long to sand a wet deck…
Think about this…
Your sanding belts will clog up so fast that you’d sand maybe 1 metre before you’d have to stop and change to a new sanding belt…
Sand 1 metre, stop to change your sanding belt…
Sand 1 metre, stop to change your belt…
Over and over again…
This alone will take you 3 times longer to sand a wet deck compared to a dry deck…
A small 25 square metre deck could take you 4 hours of sanding…
Now imagine if it took you 3 times as long because you’re crazy and want to sand your deck while it’s still wet…
That’s 12 hours of gruelling, back braking deck sanding…
If you like to punish yourself, go right ahead…
Buty I know the pain of being hunched over on your knees, sanding a deck for extended periods of time, and it sucks…
You don’t have to live that way…
There’s a better way…
Wait for your deck to be dry and save your knees and back from a world of hurt…
Trust me, you don’t want that type of pain in your life…
If I still haven’t convinced you that sanding a wet wood deck is a bad idea, then I’ve got one more reason for you…
If you sand a deck while it’s wet, the finished surface will be uneven…
The thing with a wet deck is that the wood fibres on the top of the deck will be softer than the fibres deeper in the timber…
In other words, a wet deck will be softer than a dry deck…
Think about it…
For centuries, people have soaked nuts, seeds and beans in water to soften them…
A timber deck that is soaked in water will become soft just like the nuts and seeds…
The thing with a wet deck is that some parts of your deck will be softer than others…
Now if you sand a deck that is wet and has some parts that are extremely soft and others that aren’t as soft, you won’t get an even finish on your sanded deck…
The softer, wetter sections will be “chewed up” with a belt sander and the harder sections will sand smoother…
Once your deck is dry, you’ll see how uneven the finished surface is…
And guess what?
You’ll have to sand that entire deck again to fix the mess you made…
Do you understand what I’m saying?
Just in case my message hasn’t been clear enough for you…
Let me say it again…
Don’t even think of sanding a wet wood deck!!
Capish??
Good…
I think I ‘ve said enough…
If you’re gonna do it, you gonna do it…
There’s nothing I can do…
But you look like a smart one, so I know you’ll listen to my advice…
Get yourself a mop, a squeegee or a bag of rags and soak up as much of the water from your deck as you can…
Then give it a day to dry off…
Then and only then can you sand your deck…
Come to think of it, if your deck is wet, you can strip it with a chemical stripper instead of a sander…
Yeah, it’s a really great option…
The reason I bring it up is because some experts don’t recommend stripping a deck with a sander even if it’s dry…
You should use a chemical stripper instead…
Either way, you’re not going to sand that wet deck are you?
Ok?
Excellent…
If you have any questions, drop me a comment below…
Otherwise, I’ll see you in the next episode…
Peace,
Jason…
Need some Expert Advice?
If you’ve been searching the internet trying to find an answer to a specific deck problem and you’ve found it impossible to get a straight answer…
Why not just reach out and ask me directly for an answer?
I’ve got 10 years of deck knowledge crammed into my noggin. I can pretty much guarantee I’ve got an answer to your problem just rattling around in there…
Come on, don’t be shy…
FAQ’s
No, you cannot sand damp wood deck. You need to make sure that your deck is completely dry before you sand it, otherwise you will damage the wood…
After it rains, you will only need to wait for your deck to be surface dry before you sand it. Depending on the weather, you may need to wait one to two days…
No, you can’t sand a deck when it’s raining. Firstly, it’s dangerous to use power tools in the wet and secondly, if you sand a deck when it’s raining, you will damage the surface of your deck…
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