Replies

1. 
   calvin | Dec 02, 2002 02:28am | #1

   Which way does the flooring run?  from the house or across the house?

   Backpriming and priming all cuts is good advice.

   I have only used t&g porch flooring (fir) both stained/sealed and painted.  Good ventilation, priming/sealing all sides and flooring running away from (with fall away from) the long side of the house and regular maintainance should give you long life on the finish.  Best of luck.

   __________________________________________

   Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

   http://www.quittintime.com/

2. 
   Piffin | Dec 02, 2002 03:48am | #2

   Everyone already mentioned backprimning all surfaces before installation.

   The SYP we get here is on the green side, and I expect it to do some shrinking. We only use it for less expensive camp style structures. On porches, we use clear vertical grain fir, which is stroinger, lasts longer and is more stable. For either, the resins in the wood make it a little hard to get adhesion with the paint. Talk to your paint store expert and let them know what kind of wood you are using.

   I use a Ben Moore oil based First step primer for the tannins and then ####deckl paint. Deck paints are more limited in colour availability but they are formulated to stand up to foot traffic. A deck needs to be re painted every two or three years.

   Persaonally, I prefer an oiled deck instead of painted. Penofin.

   .

   Excellence is its own reward!

   "The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.

   The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."

   --Marcus Aurelius

1. 
   JDRHI | Dec 02, 2002 05:36am | #3

   My Ben Moore rep. claims it is best not to prime prior to painting with "Ben Moore Porch Floor" paint...I`ve done several with no problems.....just my two cents. J. D. Reynolds

   Home Improvements

   "DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"

1. 
   mmoogie | Dec 02, 2002 06:23am | #4

   The reason they don't reccommend primer with the Ben Moore Urethane porch floor paints is that they are all softer than the Urethane, and would be a weak link between the paint and the substrate. That floor paint sets up like rock.

   Steve

1. 
   Piffin | Dec 02, 2002 05:15pm | #5

   in other words - more prone to chipping off.

   Somne deck paints just say to thin them for the first prime caot to get penetration. My reason for oil prime is to seal against resin bleed. I suppose that the oil prime would seal the resin and I could sand again to get the mechanical bond for the finish coats..

   Excellence is its own reward!

   "The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.

   The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."

   --Marcus Aurelius

3. 
   dabonds | Dec 02, 2002 06:59pm | #6

   Been there, done that. I have seen your problem on virtually every rebuilt balcony here in New Orleans. It is almost impossible to avoid. I rebuilt two balconies on my New Orleans home about 6 years ago. I did EVERYTHING that I could think of to avoid what happened to you. I bought the wood (t&g syp) from a lumber yard that kept it dry then I cut it to about 2" longer than its final length. I stickered it and let it sit in the sun for 3 months, turning it once. Then I bought a section of 4" plastic pipe and a cap. I capped one end and filled it about half way with Thompson's Water Seal and dipped every board. It was amazing how much Water Seal that wood drank, you could watch the liquid level drop when fresh wood was dropped into it. Then I stickered it again for 3 more months. I rebuilt the balcony framing and laid the wood on it upside-down where it cupped and shrank noticeably. I then turned it over where that surface shrank and mostly eliminated the cupping. I took it all down and painted all sides except the top with urethane deck paint, no primer. I then installed it tight, belt sanded the top to get rid of any cupping and painted it. After the first summer a gap had opened up of about 3/32" between the boards. The moral of this story is that there is almost nothing you can do to eliminate natural wood shrinkage. I would have to recommend one for those plastic composits. There is one available in T&G but I don't recall the name. I'm relatively happy with my balconies, they are much better than anyone's around here. The only other things that might work would be to order it specially kiln dried to get the water content way down. I think that one of the reasons that your paint is peeling is that the wood shrank but the paint didn't. It seems like a shame to throw out all that flooring. My point is that now, it really is very good flooring, all dried and hard. You could pull it up and plane it flat again and then re-lay it. It would be better than any wood you would buy.

   Good Luck