Sanding savings
Right up front I have to say that I’m not a cheap person. I’m really not. But I’m also the kind of person that hates to spend more than I…
Right up front I have to say that I’m not a cheap person. I’m really not. But I’m also the kind of person that hates to spend more than I need, even if it takes more work.
That’s the case for refinishing my deck. We’re actually thinking of replacing it but decided that a refinish could get another two years out of it. So, I checked the cost and got estimates ranging from $600 to $900 — and that’s just a powerwash and staining. No sanding, no repairs.
The aging deck boards are cupping, and splintered here and there, so it definitely needed sanding. Estimates including that bumped the cost up over a thousand. Being a handy person of thrift, I decided to do it myself.
The four-hour sander rental was about $65 plus materials, but the closest place to rent one was 45 minutes away, immediately subtracting an hour-and-a-half from my working time. An all-day rental was about $90. As it happened, I would have had to rent that floor sander for a second day — I got rain halfway through — so it would have cost double. However, I found that I could buy me a drywall sander for about a hundred bucks. Sure, it’s not intended for decks, but with some 40-grit sanding discs I thought it’d work.
As an aside, I’m still trying to wrap my head around 40-grit sandpaper for drywall. Seems it’d be way too easy to sand a 9" hole before realizing it. I figure they make 40-grit discs so guys like me could use the sander for things you’re not supposed to.
So, I bought the sander understanding that it’d take longer, but I miscalculated just a bit. Oh, the sander worked great, but it just wasn’t really heavy enough to do it all. I ended up using my belt sander to first take the high spots off the cupped boards, a hand sander for the posts, railing and balusters (which I would have had to do even with a floor sander), and then the drywall sander to finish-sand the deck surface.
It took longer with more sweat, but I got the deck done for a fraction of what it would have cost to have someone else do it, and for less money than renting a sander (and the gas for two 90-minute drives to get it and return it). Best of all, with everything done I now own a drywall sander.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.
