Gorilla waterproof rubber paint on flat balcony wood decking

Aj_newbie

My 4th floor flat has a wood decking on its 20x5 feet balcony, which is exposed to weather. The flat is tenanted.
I am looking for a long term solution, with least hassle. I had applied Ronseal wood oil, but it stopped doing what's said on the tin, after 3 years.
The wood now has multiple holes and cracks (though not dangerous at the moment).

One option is to apply weatherproof Gorilla (or any other good brand) rubber paint. Is this option any good?

casper_gutman

Decking generally works best when the void underneath is well ventilated and the timber is exposed to the air and free to dry out. There will inevitably be imperfections in any paint and these, plus gaps around the edge of the decking or between the boards, will allow water in.

I'd have thought that applying a waterproof paint over decking on a balcony would be a recipe for trapping whatever moisture finds its way to the wood, ultimately leading to damp, mould and rotten decking. 

Aj_newbie

Thanks casper_gutman for your inputs.

What do you suggest is a better solution then?
(I'd rather replace the decking with a weatherproof material like metal or so, but the builder/management company approvals wouldn't be easy)

subjecttocontract

I believe you can get composite decking which doesn't require painting or preserving.

CliveOfIndia

Aj_newbie said:

Thanks casper_gutman for your inputs.

What do you suggest is a better solution then?
(I'd rather replace the decking with a weatherproof material like metal or so, but the builder/management company approvals wouldn't be easy)

Would composite decking be a viable alternative?

Aj_newbie

This being an apartment flat balcony, changing the decking material involves a lot of bureaucracy and approvals. (and our builder and the property management agency, both are difficult entities to deal with, as we have taken them to court because of cladding related mess).

What I may be able to do is to replace only the damaged boards (4 pieces) for now, with the same type, and begin the bureaucratic approval process for replacing entire deck with composite decking material.

GrubbyGirl_2

Aj_newbie said:

This being an apartment flat balcony, changing the decking material involves a lot of bureaucracy and approvals. (and our builder and the property management agency, both are difficult entities to deal with, as we have taken them to court because of cladding related mess).

What I may be able to do is to replace only the damaged boards (4 pieces) for now, with the same type, and begin the bureaucratic approval process for replacing entire deck with composite decking material.

I hate to encourage you to be devious, but once it's in place how would they know it's composite?

plumb1_2

Just inform them you are replacing with like for like old decking for new decking. Unless they ask for specification composite should be ok.

Tucosalamanca

Imagine if everyone in the block decided to be devious.
God forbid that there's an incident and no one knows who's done what where.
The bureaucracy and approvals are there for a reason...

RonRamsgate

The last leasehold flat i owned has balcony's, large enough to sit 8 around a dining table. Turned out the 1600  balcony's in the development for maintenance reasons were the responsibility of the freeholder.
Something about the balcony being attached to the freeholders property (wall) Property built in 2006.
Anyway the freeholder increased the service charges   to include the balcony and set about refurbishing them with new decking and more. Also we were ordered not to store flammable items, smoke cigarettes etc or use bbq's on the balcony's to deter external fire spreading from outside to inside. So all good.
Maybe your freeholder is fully responsible for your balcony, i would refrain from rubber paint and if allowed replace the  necessary planks as per plumb1_2

Good luck

plumb1_2

Tucosalamanca said:

Imagine if everyone in the block decided to be devious.
God forbid that there's an incident and no one knows who's done what where.
The bureaucracy and approvals are there for a reason...

There’s good bureaucracy and silly bureaucracy, like try to get permission to change your wooden toilet seat to a soft close plastic seat. Where does it stop ?
Approvals didn’t stop combustible cladding being fitted to buildings, maybe bureaucrats gave the approvals?

And fitting fire retardant composite decking is better than fitting combustible wood.