Deck restoration in Pakenham & Cardinia.
Sand back the UV-grey, repair damaged boards, re-oil. Most 12–25 year old hardwood decks have another 10–15 years of life if the substructure is sound. Cheaper than rebuilding, faster than rebuilding, sometimes nearly as good-looking.
When restoration is the right call.
Good candidates.
- Hardwood deck (merbau, spotted gum, jarrah) over 8 years old
- Surface gone silver-grey from UV but structurally sound
- 1-3 cracked or split boards (replaceable)
- Substructure (bearers, joists, footings) still solid
- Original boards still 80%+ thickness (some sanding meat left)
Bad candidates (need full rebuild).
- Treated pine deck more than 12–15 years old (rotting from inside)
- More than 5–10 damaged boards in a small deck
- Substructure has fungal rot, termite damage, or footing settlement
- Boards already sanded once (under 70% original thickness)
- Composite deck (different process — specialist re-capping or replacement)
Our restoration process.
- Inspection (free): Walk the deck, check boards, probe-test substructure for rot/termite, measure board thickness. Decision: restore or replace.
- Repair: Replace damaged boards with matched hardwood. Tighten or replace fasteners. Repair joist hangers if needed.
- Sand back: Drum-sand or random-orbital from 60 to 120 grit. Removes UV-grey, mill marks, old oil residue.
- Clean + neutralise: Wash with timber cleaner, neutralise tannins (merbau bleeds red without this), let dry 24-48 hours.
- Oil application: Two coats of penetrating decking oil (Cabot’s, Intergrain, Sikkens). Drying time 24h between coats.
What we use.
- Cabot’s Aquadeck — water-based, low-odour, easy re-coat. Best for Pakenham summer humidity.
- Intergrain UltraDeck — oil-based, deeper colour, longer between recoats.
- Sikkens Cetol — premium for high-traffic / pool-side decks.
- We avoid solvent-heavy old-school decking stains — environmental and re-coat issues.
Pricing.
Standard restoration (sand + oil) on a sound hardwood deck: $50–$80/m². With board repairs: $70–$100/m². With substructure repair / partial joist replacement: $90–$120/m². Typical 30m² rear deck: $2K–$3.5K all-in.
Maintenance after restoration.
Light wash + spot-oil every 12 months keeps the deck looking new. Full re-oil every 18–24 months. With reasonable care, a restored deck goes another 10–15 years before needing the next major work.
Where we work.
Free deck restoration assessment.
Honest restore-vs-replace call. Fixed quote in 48 hours.