confused about micro vs string for ground array in empty field

[tmprof]

Ok, this is a big question, but I will get it down to 2-3 things.

1. if there has not been any coating/sealer/preservative added to that deck, and it is clean with no mud/dirt/debris, then lightly sand it, blow it off, then stain it. 80 grit maximum. (to be read, not 100 and up, it can close the pores in the wood)

2. if there is no coating/sealer/preservative, but it is dirty because food has been dropped on it, muddy feet, animal droppings, then clean it. Use sodium percarbonate and water, get a stiff brush, brush it, rinse it, rinse it, rinse it, let it dry, sand any conspicuous marks in a very wide area, then stain it

3. if there has been a previous coating applied to it, sand it out (heavy sanding including using a random orbital floor sander which you can rent), chemically strip it out, wash it, let it dry, stain it. I normally tell people at this step, depending on what they put on it, call a contractor. You can do a lot of harm here.

That is the .02 short version. If you want the really long version, you'll have to go to some trainings.

I built the deck myself about 3 years ago, no sealers or paint. I'll look into the sodium percarbonate. Thanks.

 

[stuffnjunk]

I built the deck myself about 3 years ago, no sealers or paint. I'll look into the sodium percarbonate. Thanks.

You can buy bags of it on the zon. Gotta mix it in warm water or it will clump on the bottom. It will fuzz up a little once applied. Apply with a pump up, or out of a bucket with a deck brush since it is a small deck and you are getting rid of organics. Brush it around a little (agitate), let it dwell a couple of minutes, then rinse, rinse, rinse. Do not let it dry. If it looks like it is drying before you are ready to rinse, just mist the top again to keep it wet. Hopefully you used ceramic coated or stainless screws so there aren't any rusting screw heads. If not there are other steps to take to remove that and another chemical.

A lot of places will tell you to strip with a pressure washer, be super careful with that. If you don't regulate your pressure with the correct nozzle size you can leave wand marks (gouges) in the wood. I do this professionally as part of my side hustle, so I'm pretty familiar with it, but I do use a pressure washer, random orbital floor sanders, and tons of other doodads. Your deck didnt look bad, but I would recommend a little work before applying stain. You may be able to get by with just slapping some stain on it if you just want some color and protection. I would never advise this as I don't see it being the best choice for the longevity of the wood.

As with all things, I am just a rando on the internet, feel free to get a contractor's opinion (estimate). good luck to you and thanks again for posting that information and picture. Pictures help.

 

[shadowmaker]

My apologies, I must have seemed like a stupid American. I mistakenly used a frame of reference from when I went to Germany. Mentally I was putting you in my relative terms of Canada and you are more Greenland. No wonder your winter loads are so high. My low is about 0 Fahrenheit so 32 degrees celsius, sometimes we get fronts that pass through and we get to -10 to -15 (about -9C). Your wind loads must be very high. I only have about 4-5 months of winter, you sound more like the Alaskans I have talked to with only 6 months of sunlight. I have to keep my blinds closed in winter on sunny days because the snow blindness will get you indoors., which is why I was thinking I could go E-W orientation.

I went and read your thread about your build. I'm impressed, that was a lot of work.

No worries. Actually while we are high up north, the Atlantic Gulf-stream makes our climate quite tolerable.

You should try PVWatts calculator with your location info. It is really easy to use and you can choose bifacial panels from it. You can try different azimuths/tilts so you can get better understanding what might be useful for your area. Also Sun calculator can be helpful. It looks very complicated, but is very easy to use. Even I can do it.