Would this work?

Are you sure that your jigsawed design would be trip-proof? Could your design be enough smaller than an adult shoe to be safe?

Have you thought of deck paint? You could have all sorts of trip proof art with deck paint.

I thought about paint but I would like to get away from that whole "stripey" deck thing.

I imagine that I could cut a pattern that wouldn't have any more separation than there currently is between the deck planks.

I was thinking of maybe a leaf pattern with the large leaf jigsawed out, then sanded down and reset into the pattern, with leaf veins just cut as small slits. The separation would really be created visually by using green and brown stains.

I like the sound of your vein-in-leaf plan--and there would be little to trip over. After all, I might come to visit some day--and I trip fantastically with great enthusiasm.

Sounds like a good idea to me too

How would you guarantee that the water went through the artistic drip holes and straight through the cracks in the original flooring without puddling and rotting the flooring surrounding the artistic covering?

Noddy, if you come visit I'll make sure that there is enough red carpet to prevent any tumbles!

I imagine that I would seal the floor from both sides. Using something cheap like polyurethine (?) on the back and something nice like orange varnish (oh I love that stuff) on the top - then hope for the best!

I would probably need to treat it someway to avoid slipperyness, maybe by sprinkling a very fine sand on top of the varnish layers.......

Hi colorbook! Thanks for the vote of confidence.

I think "they" make a non-skid paint with sand. This is the sort of project that your friendly local hardware store--or even the chain Home Depot--clerks might have a lot of advice and short cuts.

I just love "they".

Thats a great idea for a product to look for. Thank you, Noddy.

Every so often, "they" do something useful.

You'd need to use Marine grade plywood for something like this. Regular exterior grade will delaminate within months once it gets wet.

Hi fishin'!

Thanks. Marine grade plywood is pretty expensive. Still, $200 for a nice looking deck, that didn't look like anybody else's deck, might be worthwhile.

Now, I'm going to show off just how dumb about this stuff I really am:

I wasn't thinking plywood but sheets of some harder, real wood.

Perhaps thinking in 6x6 sheets is impossible?

What if I thought in terms of 3x3, or 4x4 sheets. Would that open some possibilities other than plywood?

Or, would marine grade plywood be the best material for such a job?

What if I put on 10 coats of sealer? (I'm planning on doing this project in my garage over the winter and placing it in the summer so I do have some time to do such nonsense.)

I appreciate any advice you can give a dumb girl!

The only thing you are going to find in "sheets" is plywood, fiberboard or hardboard. Neither fiberboard nor hardboard will work outdoors for more than a few days. They both absorb water and swell up and then fall apart. All 3 of them are typically sold in 4'x8' sheets so 4' squares would be the easiest to get. .

Places like Home Depot sell some smaller (2'x3' or 2'x4') pieces that look like butcher block but are made of pine that you could do something with I guess but I'm not sure what sort of glue they use on them so I don't know if they'll hold up outdoors. You could always ask them though!

Any other "real wood" would come in boards instead of sheets and would be fairly pricey to boot.

I'm beginning to understand why decks have the same boring regularity no matter where you go.

I know that you used to be able to get big sheets of real woods - my family had a really beautiful den that was paneled in (maybe) 4 foot wide sheets that reached to the ceiling. It was gorgeous. I know I'll be talking to my mom tomorrow so I'm going to ask her what that was.

I live in such a wet climate that I certainly do appreciate your warnings fishin' - you saved me a lot of heartache there.

But I still feel that there has to be a way around this problem......

People told me I couldn't build a portable copper wall and I did.....

Stumbling on the right materials can make all the difference in the world.....

Think outside the plank....

C'mon, Noddy, colorbook, fishin' -- there has to be SOMETHING that would work.....

Remember, I am only Spouse-0of-Handyman and I tend to tune out after the first 4 hours of theory.

Your complaint:


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Can you do something sufficiently fancy with creative paint? Every pre-monopausal woman with a young child should try a many-square-foot project in oil based paint.

Oh Noddy!

I'm thinking Mr. B and Mr. Noddy might have a lot in common. I get so bogged down in "theory" and "nots" and can'ts" that I've learned to only involve him after I've done a bit of study.

I'm a fairly decent painter but Mo undoes almost everything I do, no matter the material. Our yard projects have rediscovered muscle that I'd long forgotten. Doing everything twice, or more, teaches one paticence and build muscle mass if nothing else.

If it gets worse after menopause I may just have to run away from home!

Run away from home or join one of those "professional" wrestling things, or some body building club or something!

One thing you could do.. if you can fiind the stuff. You know that white plastic stuff they make cutting boards for the kitchen out of? One of the local lumber yards here carries that stuff in 4'x8' sheets that are 1/2" thick. That would be entirely weatherproof and last for decades. I'd think it'd be a little slick when wet though - not really sure. You can cut that stuff with the same tools you'd use for wood.

Or you could use something like 4'x8' sheets of galvanized steel in 1/16" thick sheets. You'd want to paint it to keep it from getting to hot when the sun hits it but I'd think you could mix some sand in with some paint and create a slip-resistent coating on it.

Ohhhh. Very interesting, fishin'.

I think I need to make a field trip to a good lumber yard and hardware store!

Thank you for those suggestions.

One of the decorating shows recently used marine linoleum -- NOT the kind on gramma's floor, this stuff came in strips the size of a plank of wood (maybe 4 feet by 8 inches, had a photographic wood image on top, and was flexible and weatherproof.

It looked like a hardwood floor, but would stand up to water and lots of wear... They also said it was inexpensive, but didn't say what that meant (to some, a few thousand is "inexpensive")... They said it was used on ships... Might be something to think about.