What to Know About Staining Your Deck
A deck our crew recently stained in Biltmore Lake.
Important info to keep in mind:
Deck stains do not perform like paint due to the nature of the product and horizontal surface.
A solid stain performs better than semi-sold or more transparent stains.
Staining may last 1-5 years based on sun and rain exposure, and the type of stain you chose.
Deck stains provide UV and moisture protection, but wood is a natural product so color will fade and decks will show wear. Transparent stains fade faster than semi-transparent.
A stained deck will show scuffs, stains, and traffic more than a non-stained surface. Color and transparency matter.
A stained deck still needs maintenance. Wash frequently with mild soap to prevent stains from penetrating the wood.
Properly preparing the surface results in a superior result.
At a recent Sherwin-Williams product training class the instructor had an insightful comment, “homeowners expect a transparent, semi-transparent, or even semi-solid stain to perform like a solid stain”. It was a good reminder to our crew that not everyone understands the impact sun, rain, and traffic have on a deck versus the other parts of your home’s exterior.
These days your deck is probably one of the only real wood elements outside your home. Your soffits and fascia are probably vinyl or aluminum. Siding and trim are typically Hardi-plank or some other cement-fiber product and your trim is likely made of a similar material, or a wood-fiber and resin composite like MiraTec or could even be a plastic like PVC. These products take paint well and they are typically painted a solid color and resist the sun’s UV rays. Since these surfaces are vertically oriented water runs off quickly. Painting your trim and siding can provide years of beauty and protection.
A deck is an entirely different situation for a few reasons. Wood is a natural product, which rapidly ages, the surface is horizontal causing water puddles, and is more exposed to UV rays. Even with pressure treating, lumber will dry out, crack, shrink ,and the color will fade over time. Take a walk on an old dock at the beach and you’ll see this. Most of us don’t let our decks get this bad, but a similar process is taking place at our homes. Modern day stains provide good UV protection and will slow this process, but no stain on the market will completely prevent it. A good comparison is sunscreen. Think of a solid stain like SPF 50, it blocks a lot of rays, but you can still get burnt. A semi-solid is like a SPF 30, a semi-transparent is SPF 15, and a transparent is SPF 8. Not exact science, but you get the idea. Applying a semi-transparent stain protects your deck better than nothing, but the wood will naturally continue to age. Areas of direct sun will also fade the stain. Solid performs better than semi-transparent and semi-transparent last longer than transparent, but over time the stain weathers just like the wood. The only solution is like much of your home, you have to maintain it. In this case you will need to strip the stain and re-apply.
Since your deck is a horizontal surface it’s subjected to a lot more wear and tear. Traffic, moisture, mildew/algae, and sun all beat up your deck. Just think about your deck vs. your trim. Water doesn’t shed nearly as easily as it does off siding or trim. Water sits on your deck and eats at the wood, and acts like a magnifying glass to the sun’s rays amplifying the damage. Also you will get tannin from leaves, dirt, algae, mildew, and other substances, which sit on the flat surface. Left for any period of time these penetrate the stain and affect the wood itself. Again the chemical properties of stains improve the durability, but no product will last forever. A solid stain can last many years under the right conditions and you can expect 2-3 years out of a semi-transparent stain. We’ve seen less time in areas which receive direct sun most of the day.
A stained deck, no matter which transparency, needs care. You can’t let leaves pile up on it for a month and then expect it to look pristine once they blow away. Wash it frequently with a mild dishwashing soap or for more serious stains and dirt use a bio-friendly product like Simple Green.
So, what should I consider when I’m going to stain my deck? A solid stain will last longer than any other stain. The downside is it doesn’t show the wood grain’s natural beauty. A semi-solid will be more durable than a semi-transparent, but you lose more grain. And the same applies to a semi-transparent versus transparent.
The color you choose and how you use your deck also impacts the look. Your deck is different from your hardwood floors. The stain penetrates the wood and unlike your floors you don’t have several layers of polyurethane protecting the surface. When you slide a chair on a hardwood floor the hard poly shell protects from scratches. On your deck the stain has added color and water/UV protection, but there’s no hard coating to keep furniture from marking or scratching. And, because the deck is typically stained a darker color than natural wood you will see marks easily.
The last item to consider is how the product is applied. Brush & Level follows a strict protocol when staining a deck whether the wood is old or new. If the deck has previously been stained we will strip the old stain before cleaning. We want you to have the best result and taking the deck back down to raw wood is the best way to achieve that goal. Our next step is cleaning with a special chemical designed by paint manufacturers to remove stains, algae, mildew, and other contaminants. It won’t remove all discoloration, but does a great job cleaning and preparing the wood to receive stain. If your wood is newer then this process also removes mill glaze, which prevents the stain from penetrating. These two steps are much more involved than the typical pressure washing most painters do before applying a product, but provides a superior result. We prefer this process to sanding because it’s more cost effective and cleans in between the boards.
All in all, there is much to consider when staining your deck. You must weigh the pros and cons of each type of stain and it’s very important to prep your deck properly to achieve a longer lasting result. Once the stain is applied, maintenance is key to the longevity of all of your hard work. If you have any questions about staining your deck or would like to learn more about our process, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We offer free estimates.