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Electric Hand Grinder For several months, I pondered how to get rid of the unsightly cracks in my pool deck and give it a coat of paint or two. It didn't need resurfacing, according to the contractors I called for estimates. The hard work, they said, would be cleaning out the cracks and filling them. One contractor, who charged my neighbor about $1,500 to restore his pool deck, used laborers on their hands and knees with foot-long metal files. At age 55-plus, I didn't see that as an option, so I kept pondering. (My wife says it was procrastinating.) Months later, while visiting the power tool aisles at Lowe's, I spotted the ultimate cement crack cleaner: an electric, hand-held disk grinder. It was just $50. I loaded it with a quarter-inch-wide concrete cutting disk and cleaned out about 60 feet of cracks in an hour. The rest of the job was easy and saved me about $1,250. The going price for restoring decks runs from $2.50 to $8 per square foot, depending on your deck's condition. My pool deck has the popular Kool Deck surface - a product applied over new concrete. Kool Deck and its competitors significantly lower a deck's surface temperature and have textured finishes to prevent slipping. They are also harder than concrete, waterproof and available in colors. Ready to get your pool deck in shape for the summer? Materials You can find these at paint shops, Lowe's and Home Depot. Amounts are subject to the size of your deck. 1. Concrete sealer. There are water-based (easy cleanup with soap and water) and solvent-based acrylic deck paints (clean with solvent). I used H&C solvent-based acrylic concrete sealer in white to match my deck's original color. There are several color options. Deck paints or sealers sell by the gallon or 5-gallon containers. A 5-gallon H&C tub costs about $90. The sealer won't stick to deck paint, so test to see whether your deck was painted or treated with concrete stain/sealer. Wet a rag with Xylol solvent and rub it on your deck surface. If the rag removes the existing product, it's a concrete stain sealer. If it doesn't, you'll have to use deck paint. 2. Xylol solvent to clean brushes. 3. For painting around the edges, use a 4-inch-wide acrylic paintbrush and a 4-inch roller 4. Use 9-inch medium-texture rollers for decks and stucco. Buy the roller extension to save your back. 5. Caulking and a good caulking gun to fill the cracks. I used both the expensive special polyurethane caulking made to adhere to cement and cheap construction adhesive, which worked just as well. A foot-long tube will fill about 15 feet of cracks. 6. One gallon of concrete and driveway cleaner. I used Simple Green from Lowe's. 7. Safety glasses, work gloves and dust mask. 8. You can rent a power washer and a disk grinder. I already had a power washer. I bought the disk grinder because it was so cheap, and I love power tools. 9. An extension cord long enough to reach all the cracks. DO NOT allow the energized cord to fall into the pool! 10. A 4-inch putty knife and a hard-bristle brush with a long handle 11. One gallon of muriatic acid. Step 1 Wearing safety glasses, work gloves and a dust mask, drag the disk grinder through the cracks. Start with a new disk. Go slowly, allowing the grinder to leave a gorge about one-quarter-inch wide and three-eighths-inch deep so the caulking can penetrate and seal the crack. Step 2 Scrub the deck with concrete cleaner and a hard-bristle brush. Rinse with the power washer. Make sure to remove all mold and dust in the cracks. Step 3 When the deck is thoroughly dry, fill the cracks with caulking. As each long crack is filled, use the 4-inch putty knife to flatten the caulk so it's level with the deck surface. If the caulking shrinks well below the top of the cracks when it dries, apply a quick second coat. Flatten it level with the deck again. Allow the caulking to dry completely. The directions on the caulking tube will indicate the correct drying time. Some take 48 hours or more. Step 4 Before applying the concrete sealer, use a cheap yard sprayer to wash the deck with one part muriatic acid to 10 parts water. Leave the solution on for about three minutes, then rinse with a hose. Step 5 After the deck is completely dry, use the 4-inch brush and roller to paint the edges. Paint the remainder with the 9-inch roller. To avoid streaks, keep plenty of paint on the roller and apply it in several directions. After the deck is dry, apply a second coat, a must. For future routine cleaning, use a garden hose and nozzle. The power washer can damage the new surface and remove its semigloss sheen. The keys to erasing those spidery cracks are 1) avoid over- or under-filling them with caulking, and 2) allow them to dry properly. Practice on one small section. Once the surface is painted, the deck looks like new.