# Sealing my deck



## hypox (Jan 23, 2000)

I rebuilt my decks last year. The frame was solid, so I replaced the top boards and built a new railing. The railing is cedar and the top boards are standard treated lumber. I did all this about a year ago.

Is it time to seal the new wood? I've been told around a year is the amount of time to wait, but a few knots still seem a little sticky, so I'm thinking I should wait a little longer. 

Also, what do you guys recommend for the sealer? I just want a good quality natural or clear sealer. I'd rather pay more and not have to do it as often if that is an option. Pet friendly would be a plus too if something like that even exists.


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## STEINFISHSKI (Jan 30, 2001)

A good quality semi transparent stain in a natural color is what I was recommended to, stay away from the low VOC styles as they take a long time to dry, and some claim they never dry.


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## Greenbush future (Sep 8, 2005)

I haven't seen a stain or sealer that didn't require a clean and recoat every year if you want the deck to look great. Has the deck (cedar) turned grey yet? The natural look isnt what most people want, they want to see that cedar look and that is what will dissapper w/o cleaning it every year, especially if you have trees overhanging. 
I have used Penofin (sp) in the past and had good results. Not cheap! but they have all kinds of choices. I ripped my wood deck out and went with Syntetic deck boards. Got tired of that spring project every year.


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## Richard Cranium (Feb 27, 2008)

Something i had real good luck with was FLOODS CWF UV. They make it natural as well as different pigmentations. I've had it last about 5 years before having to re-coat.


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

I believe a search would find you many past threads on this subject. I have yet to find regardless the manufacturer a transparent or semi-transparent product that the horizontal surfaces don&#8217;t require maintenance and recoating after two years.

Since cedar has its own distinct properties and is itself an oily type wood I have found that using an oil based product such TWP yields favorable results for ease in future maintenance or recoating as it does not crack or peel as other latex or encapsulating type products do.

On treated wood I have tried more than a few products and have come to the same conclusion as with the cedar. However, treated wood will hold an encapsulating product much better and longer. With everything that out there, dollar for dollar I have had very favorable results with Home Depots Behr 401 cedar tone/transparent latex waterproofing.


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## GrizzlyHunter (Jun 17, 2005)

Richard Cranium said:


> Something i had real good luck with was FLOODS CWF UV. They make it natural as well as different pigmentations. I've had it last about 5 years before having to re-coat.


I've had good luck with it also.

Ironically I'm in the middle of removing all of the cedar decking from my deck and installing treated lumber. I installed the cedar 15 years ago and it's now rotting badly and the ants love it! I have treated lumber on my place up north and it's holding up much longer than my cedar did.

I did consider using the composite decking, but it is almost exactly 325% the cost of treated lumber. I can take me savings and hire out resealing my deck every other year for the next ten years at least.

Regarding the Penafin sealer...it's a wax (like parafin). And I've heard it's impossible to strip when you go to reseal.

Anyway, good luck!


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

GrizzlyHunter said:


> I've had good luck with it also.
> 
> Ironically I'm in the middle of removing all of the cedar decking from my deck and installing treated lumber. I installed the cedar 15 years ago and it's now rotting badly and the ants love it! I have treated lumber on my place up north and it's holding up much longer than my cedar did.
> 
> ...


That's probably a good plan. I've built a number of composite decks and they all came out very nice and are holding up very well. But I would not recommend using composite if you're just simply re-decking an existing deck. If the deck has been around long enough that the deck boards need replacement, the structure has already already seen its better days. I wouldn't spend the big bucks on composite for a re-deck. 

A friend of my wife's asked me to redeck her small probably 200 s.f. deck and she wanted to do it with composite. I told her what I just said above basically and priced it out using just pressure treated. That's what she decided to do. I haven't started it yet but unfortunately, I may not end up doing it anyway due to some health issues that I'm dealing with. It looks like I may end up being out of the deck/home improvement all together soon. 

John


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## Chromedoggy (Mar 25, 2007)

My company has serviced in excess of 1000 decks.
One thing I can tell you for sure is a year is plenty long for a deck to dry out. As long as the wood is below 12% moisture, it is fine to seal. This is a process of weeks under most conditions. The more time a deck remains uncoated, the more UV damage sets in. Cedar can have mill glaze which can prohibit the penetration of sealer, but can be remedied with light sanding, or a thorough washing with oxalic acid.

My preferred stains, with more than 200 jobs on each.

Wolman F&P preservative grade natural tone-3 year failure warranty

Olympic Maximum Toner Honey Gold- 4 year failure and anti gray warranty

TWP- my all time favorite, applies best, great look, but a 2 year product

Sikkens Cetol Dek- furniture grade look, very difficult in application. Will fail if directions are not followed exactly. Very expensive and not recommended for amatuers.


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## hypox (Jan 23, 2000)

Chromedoggy said:


> My company has serviced in excess of 1000 decks.
> One thing I can tell you for sure is a year is plenty long for a deck to dry out. As long as the wood is below 12% moisture, it is fine to seal. This is a process of weeks under most conditions. The more time a deck remains uncoated, the more UV damage sets in. Cedar can have mill glaze which can prohibit the penetration of sealer, but can be remedied with light sanding, or a thorough washing with oxalic acid.
> 
> My preferred stains, with more than 200 jobs on each.
> ...


Thank you for the excellent information!!

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

I have done many with Sikkens. Mostly with SRD (user friendly version) although I have also used cetol dek. We get at least 3-4+ years out of it. They also make a maintenance product to rejuvenate it, so you can avoid the blotchy or darkening effect of re-staining.


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## hypox (Jan 23, 2000)

Chromedoggy - Are all those Natural color or clear? or just the Wolman F&P preservative grade natural tone? 

Would anyone not suggest going clear or natural for any reason?

Also, any suggestions for application? or do they all have different instructions? I'm assuming a good cleaning is in order, but then do you just spray it? Maybe brush it after?

I had my log home professionally restored and the people sanded it with an osborn brush, power washed it, let it dry, applied a wood conditioner, let it dry, stained it (2) coats, then went over it with a brush. I won't tell you what that bill was!:yikes:


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

It depends on the product, but I just cleaned and re-stained a deck for my neighbor's daughter last week. It's only about 200 square feet, but I power washed it then let it dry for a couple days. Then brushed on a coat of Cabot's deck stain. It's good stuff. I did the original stain about three years ago and it still looked pretty good but she wanted to freshen it up. I didn't use any cleaners or strippers, just plain water. I have a 2000 psi power washer but I crank the pressure down a bit and don't use it on full. Then I use a fairly wide tip so it doesn't damage the wood. It came out looking very good and she's happy!
*
EDIT:*
I just read this post again and it's not very clear. We built the deck and when it was ready for stain, I used Cabot's stain the first time. It held up very well and still looked pretty good this year. She just wanted to freshen it up a bit and the re-coat came out great!


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## KalamazooKid (Jun 20, 2005)

I live in a cedar house with a cedar deck and have tried a few different high end products. I stained it last year with Cabot (Redwood color) and absolutely love it - very impressed. They make both a "Semi-solid" and "Semi-transparent" (probably what you'd like). I've got a little left over if you'd like to try it on a board (we could make the handoff over a brewski).

Semi-transparent colors:
http://www.cabotstain.com/colors-and-finishes/families/Semi-Transparent-Colors.html 

Good luck Andy! Get those projects out of the way before hunting season!


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## Chromedoggy (Mar 25, 2007)

hypox said:


> Chromedoggy - Are all those Natural color or clear? or just the Wolman F&P preservative grade natural tone?
> 
> Would anyone not suggest going clear or natural for any reason?
> 
> ...


They are all a toner, natural cedar type color.
Clear just does not have adequate UV protection. I have not found a clear that will last over 14 months under typical conditions.
Clean the deck well with a non bleach deck cleaner, neutralize and brighten with an oxalic acid wash, use a powerwasher or deck brush to clean. A light sanding with 60-80 grit paper on a random orbit will make a HUGE difference.
Pick one of the high quality finishes in a color you like, you will want to continue servicing the deck with the same product every few years.
Taking shortcuts makes for much more work to get a deck back to it's natural beauty in the future.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Cabots.......Forgot that one, We use cabots on solid color projects. Very good stuff.


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

Has anyone had any experiance with this product? I was thinking about putting in on the dock and maybe the floor of our boat. 

http://www.synta.com/synta_store/index.php?p=catalog&parent=3&pg=1


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

Never tried it, but I came close. My wife has a friend who wanted to replace her decking. She wanted composite, but she changed her mind when she found out how much it was going to cost. Her deck really isn't in that bad of condition and I told her about this stuff and she considered trying it. But when I told her how much it would cost for me to just replace the deck boards with new PT, she decided to go that way. 

I think that stuff would be great for a dock and/or floor of a boat due to its slip resistance.

I'd go for it if I were you.

John


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## Chromedoggy (Mar 25, 2007)

I have done 7 decks with this product.
One has had some peeling issues, the rest are fine.


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## GrizzlyHunter (Jun 17, 2005)

Question for anyone regarding staining pressure treated lumber...How long should I let it dry out before I try to stain it. It's brand new and really wet (like usual). When I screw it down moisture comes out of it.

My goal is to let it dry out enough, then stain it.

Thanx for any input!


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

If it's "brand new" as in installed this summer, with this heat it should dry out pretty quickly. I'd probably wait until September or October. Then hit it with a sealer or stain. Should be fine by then.


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