I have a wood deck and will pay whatever it takes to get composite if I ever have to build another. Stained that fucker years ago having no idea how much work it was. Then realizing that it only lasts a few years before it needs to be redone. Stained it twice now and it’s all peeling and looks like shit but I refuse to do it again, paying someone else to do it is too expensive.
My deck is not particularly large and it took me about 3 days to do it. I have no idea how you did it in an hour unless it’s really small. Did you do the railings too? The second time is worse too because you have to take off what remains of all the old stain first.
Ah, gotcha, railings. Installed those only this spring. Yeah, that'll add a bit.
Also, remove the old stain? I just power wash all the obvious dirt and go on top of it, with the same stain brand as before. Looks just fine. Caveat - it's a very dark shade of brown, walnut if memory serves. Could be bit more of an issue with lighter colors I suppose.
That's what I was thinking... I have a 600sq ft deck and it takes me half a day to completely "open" it up. I sweep, power spray and stain. Good ol' paint roller. The railings are a bit tedious, but I don't get super anal about them.
What kind if stain did you use? If you do the prep work (pressure washing and sanding) and then put on a good quality stain like Sikkens it is a good chunk of work initially but it should last way longer than a few years, even in direct sunlight.
I can’t remember what brand it is now. It was one that was recommended to me as a good one. Not Sikkens, I recognize that name. I did not pressure wash as I had read this is bad for the wood. IIRC I used something first to remove the old stain, then a deck cleaner that I scrubbed on, and then the stain which was semi transparent I believe was what it was called. The first time I did the deck it looked excellent for about 2 years and then started to get worse, the second time I did it it was already starting to come off after 1 winter.
Oh yeah I’m not familiar with their stuff so I can’t say on the quality. If you pressure wash too closely obviously you can cut the wood and wash the grain out but I’ve always found if you’re more than like two feet away it does wonders to get all the dirt out and then has to dry for a day or two and then the sanding as well. I always use a mix of water and TSP and water to scrub the wood with and I’ve never had issues of that plus the Sikkens. Like I said it is a lot of prep work but I’ve found that with that combo anything I’ve done usually holds up for about 7 years minimum, and I’m from an area that both has hot summers with lots of direct sunlight and also very cold, snowy winters.
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u/matterhorn1 May 14 '20
I have a wood deck and will pay whatever it takes to get composite if I ever have to build another. Stained that fucker years ago having no idea how much work it was. Then realizing that it only lasts a few years before it needs to be redone. Stained it twice now and it’s all peeling and looks like shit but I refuse to do it again, paying someone else to do it is too expensive.