Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - painted deck.. help!

the house we just bought has been painted all white and the footings rest on concrete blocks.....


is it feasable to try to remove the paint and stain/seal the existing wood or should i just rip them all off an replace the decking boards?

the footings are resting on what looks like patio blocks... is this ok or should i change these to posts that are cemented into the ground?

thanks for the help :)

Vaard,

It sounds as though this is a free standing deck, not attached to the house. This is usually alright unless frost has heaved the ground and made it uneven. But then, it can shifted back to level if this problem develops.

Paint or solid acrylic white stain can be removed from a deck with a commercial stripper, usually sodium hydroxide. It can be a diy project but precautions for yourself and surrounding greenery need to be taken. You may want to call a few deck finishers/pressure washers and get a few estimates for stripping the deck. After you have the estimates you can decide if you want to replace the decking. For strpping alone, the estimates should be around a dollar a sq. foot.
fred