Here is the outcome. You don't see me in there crying, but I am!

Contractor assures us they will sand and stain. But how do you stain lighter? How do you get rid of that horrible greenish chemical stuff?

The green colour of pressure treated wood fades pretty quickly.

You don't get rid if that, if allowed to weather naturally it will turn a driftwood grey color.

So just sand and seal? No stain? How long is quickly for weathering?

Any solutions for splintering? I don't want my grand kids getting splinters on their little bare feet.

Depends on your personal preference. If you don't want constant maintenance, don't do anything and just let it age naturally. That's what I do. The green will fade and probably not be noticeable within a few months.

It might take a couple of years off the life of the deck, but in my opinion that's better than going through the hassle of sanding and staining every couple of years. Plus I like the look better.

If there are rough areas, then sand them. But I've never had to do that.

BTW - I'm no expert, this is just my personal experience.

Do not seal that deck. Sealing will eventually crack, split, peel and spall. If left alone it will weather to a light cedar like colour as millworkman states.If you want to apply a penetrating stain then be prepared to pressure wash and reapply every 2 years. As for sanding pressure treated wood, the treatment applied does not penetrate deeply into the wood and you are removing protection.

Rule #1 for pressure treated lumber, Always wear footwear.

Rule #2 see rule #1

I do not recommend pressure treated as a pool deck, but it is common. 5/4 board cedar would have been my choice if wood. 5/4 board has a smoother sanded finish.

Hindsight. We seem to be stuck with this horrible stuff.

I may do walkways with indoor/outdoor carpet tiles so no splinters for the kiddies.

I'm sick about this. Not a fan of this horrible splintery wood poolside!

I'll just buy area rugs with carpet tile runners between. I wish our contractor had a brain in his head. He recommended it, we paid, and yep! Remorse! HUGE!
Suzi

Also it looks like they used a number 2 grade (lots of knots) a premium or number 1 decking grade would have looked a lot nicer and been smoother for certain.

OMG! Are you serious? They gave us grade 2? I'm dying here.

Seriously, we didnt know. We went with the contractor's recommendations.

lesson. I'm glad I posted this to help others.

Suz

So, I'm thinking runners of indoor-outdoor carpet with a few conversation rugs...

OMG! This is horrible. DH is devastated. He thought he did the right thing.

But I can't have splinters in the feet of the little grand kids.

Can't be 100% certain from here but looks to have quite a few knots. There should be a grade stamp though.

This is what sanding does....and restaining:

Closeup of the steps:

Wanna guess how old the wood is!??!

Faron

Faron,

That decking looks great, I believe you have put much love and labour into it. I don't. My wife loves the aged boardwalk look, thank goodness.

LOL SC!
Yes, over the years, I've put some hours into it...

OP-
The pic above was taken in summer '08 I believe, in the decks THIRTEENTH year. I use Sikkens SRD #089 Redwood.
All wood is "Construction-Heart" grade Redwood.
Barefoot use?? All the time....NO worries!!
Deck is on west side, NO shade.

Faron

But you got the good stuff! Redwood! We have this horrible Pressure Treated Wood.

I highly do not recommend!

And where does your pool lap up against your redwood?

Suzi