Creative Reuse: Flip Your Old Deck Boards

We recently got a tip from a Re-nest reader about her friend who, instead of buying brand new boards to replace the old, beat-up boards on her deck, decided instead to give the deck a "face-lift" by prying up the existing boards and flipping them over! Totally thrifty and practical. We love it! Jump below for more pics...

The owner blogged about it on DIY Domestic, and here's what she said:

The boards were put in with old nasty nails in need of being removed anyway so our plan was to use deck screws this time to attach the boards. Our only cost in this project was about $30 - $40 in deck screws and the cost of a new crow bar to replace my neighbors which we broke.

The boards were not perfect on the flipped side but they were in a lot better condition than the side we had been using. A little bit of stain and they look brand new. It was a lot of work but so worth it. I love that the whole family worked on this together and that we saved a lot of money and lumber.

You can see more pictures at DIY Domestic and on her Flickr page.

Thanks, Emily!

Comments (4)

Great idea! Just wanted to add the suggestion of trying a scrub brush, soap, and water to clean/refresh a deck or other graying outdoor wood. We did this on a family member's deck last year with Dawn or Ivory soap and totally refreshed a gray, sad-looking deck.

posted by april3 on July 9th 2009 at 12:33am
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Thank you so much for posting about my deck project. Just wanted to mention the name of the blog is actually DIY Domestic.

thanks again!

kacey
http://diydomestic.typepad.com

posted by rockergirrl on July 9th 2009 at 6:48am
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There is a reason deck boards should be nailed down on a certain side. If you nail down boards with the rings opening up, they will warp into a U-shape as they absorb water, and they will end up trapping even more water, leading to even more warping.

posted by jyw on July 10th 2009 at 1:18am
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Powerwashing will give a deck a whole new look. We moved to a house that had a deck that was in good shape but grey and weathered. When we powerwashed it, it looked practically new. For a rental property, we got some old decking from Freecycle, flipped it, built a small deck then power washed. Worked very well. Good for extending the life of exterior wood. Loved the pictures of this project! Good work!!

posted by teapotrose on October 2nd 2009 at 8:20pm
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