Porch Floor Re-Painting

[ToeNailer]

Hey there! I have a large L-shaped covered porch that has a good bit of paint peeling issues, especially the outside 4 feet or so.  The house is over 110 years old and the porch was added in the early teens.  The last painting, probably a year before we bought the house 2.5 years ago, was applied without primer and there is a frank peeling and chipping. Closer to the house it is much better.   I am trying to figure out how best to tackle the peeling. This is about 700' sq ft. 
Is this a get on my hands and knees and use a scraper? Then sanding edges?    
Do I rent a floor type sander? 
Do I use a belt or palm sander?
Chemicals?

Anyway, looking to see what you all think.  I do have a good bit of time, as a lot of us do now, to do what I need to do to make it better. 

Thanks in advance.

[Cooler]

Hey there! I have a large L-shaped covered porch that has a good bit of paint peeling issues, especially the outside 4 feet or so.  The house is over 110 years old and the porch was added in the early teens.  The last painting, probably a year before we bought the house 2.5 years ago, was applied without primer and there is a frank peeling and chipping. Closer to the house it is much better.   I am trying to figure out how best to tackle the peeling. This is about 700' sq ft. 
Is this a get on my hands and knees and use a scraper? Then sanding edges?    
Do I rent a floor type sander? 
Do I use a belt or palm sander?
Chemicals?

Anyway, looking to see what you all think.  I do have a good bit of time, as a lot of us do now, to do what I need to do to make it better. 

Thanks in advance.

It depends how it was screwed down.  If the screw heads are significantly below the surface, you can sand.  I would rent a four disc sander to remove the loose stuff.  Have you tried using a pressure washer?

[tomsteve]

i would want to keep the paint thats adhered good alone. get rid of whats peeling and feather the edges by sanding.
due to the possibility of a screw/nail damaging the drum/pads, theres a chance ya wont be able to rent a sander if they know its for a deck. 
pics would be good to help with suggestions.

[ToeNailer]

i would want to keep the paint thats adhered good alone. get rid of whats peeling and feather the edges by sanding.
due to the possibility of a screw/nail damaging the drum/pads, theres a chance ya wont be able to rent a sander if they know its for a deck. 
pics would be good to help with suggestions.

While I wouldn't doubt there are some screws, most boards are nailed on. And I could imagine a rented sander would have some risk, but there are remarkable few nail heads to deal with. But there is irregularities that could be a problem.    Thanks for your input so far.      Here are some pics.      " />

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[Cooler]

I would try a pressure washer first.  If you are not satisfied, a media blaster would be kinder than a floor sander.  If have not used it, but the baking soda (soda blasting) is supposed to remove the paint and leave the substrate unharmed.  The rental companies have these.

[brnhornt]

Sink any nails with a set, and then get to town with something like:

https://diamabrush.com/diy/

Never used one myself...but looks pretty effective.

[tomsteve]

While I wouldn't doubt there are some screws, most boards are nailed on. And I could imagine a rented sander would have some risk, but there are remarkable few nail heads to deal with. But there is irregularities that could be a problem.    Thanks for your input so far.      Here are some pics.      " />

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doesnt look to bad in pics. it looks rather narrow making a drum sander real fun to run on it.since your painting, you could sand on a diagonal with a drum sander . start with the lowest grit they have then skip grit up. dont need to go to 220 as yer painting.
when i did my deck i started with the lowest grit-24 i think- because i had some serious leveling to do. hit a nail head. not one that was sticking out and glaring at me. it was just under the surface. that 24 grit paper is hard to damage. i think the problem the rentals have had is people not going over their deck first looking for nail/screwheads. sink any you can see and you should be good.
there will still be some hand sander sanding to do but its a good change after running a drum sander for a while. but i think that would be the least time consuming.
that angle grinder wheel brnhornt posted looks intersting. if it lasts through the whole deck and ya dont mind being on your knees for the day it would be worth it., from the video it looks like it would work. buuuut, product videos can sometimes exaggerate the product a bit.

[MstrCarpenter]

Looking at your pic.s, the porch (specifically the decking) looks much older than 8 or 9 years so I'm assuming it was added in the early 1900's. If the decking is more than 40-50 years old it most likely has lead paint. Sanding lead paint is highly discouraged; to the extent that it's actually illegal for a contractor to even offer this service. I've held both lead abatement and R.R.P. licenses so I know enough to be afraid of what even a small amount of lead dust can do (especially) to children, and what a defense/settlement for permanent brain damage may cost. There are low cost, easy test kits available at hardware stores and home centers. If you're dealing with lead paint, please learn how to do it safely. Here's a good place to start https://www.epa.gov/lead .

[ToeNailer]

Looking at your pic.s, the porch (specifically the decking) looks much older than 8 or 9 years so I'm assuming it was added in the early 1900's. If the decking is more than 40-50 years old it most likely has lead paint. Sanding lead paint is highly discouraged; to the extent that it's actually illegal for a contractor to even offer this service. I've held both lead abatement and R.R.P. licenses so I know enough to be afraid of what even a small amount of lead dust can do (especially) to children, and what a defense/settlement for permanent brain damage may cost. There are low cost, easy test kits available at hardware stores and home centers. If you're dealing with lead paint, please learn how to do it safely. Here's a good place to start https://www.epa.gov/lead .

The decking is much older excpet fo the 8' wide section at the front door. That has been replaced when the last painting was done, which is within the last 8 years, probably closer to 3-4.  But yes, the remaining decking is decades old. 
While there appears only 3 layers of paint, suggesting the decking is not original,  I would be checking for lead before doing anything. 

Thanks for all the input so far.