Stain
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Stain
- Stain: Behr semi transparent oil based stain from Home Depot
- Color: Custom color. Took us a while to find a color we liked. The predefiend color we started with didn't do it for us so we mixed and matched until we came up with something that we liked.
- Amount of Stain: 4 gallons. 2 coats were required
- Stain Application: I applied all stain with brushes. I found the brushes really worked the stain into the wood well
Tough decision
It was tough for me to decide when to stain the deck. The deck gets a lot of sun and it also had time to weather through several spring/summer thunderstorms. The deck floor was about 6 weeks old when I decided to stain while some other parts of the deck were newer (such as the skirting and railings).
When to stain?
There is a lot of conflicting information out there as to when it is best to stain a pressure treated deck. I wanted to get some stain on before hosting our first deck party so I decided to go for it. The deck took the stain well. I ended up adding 2 coats. It took 4 gallons of stain in all to complete and 1 day of work.
Stain prep
Before staining I gave the deck a good pressure washing. I have a 3000psi gas pressure washer and it did a great job. Need to be careful when pressure washing a deck to prevent lap marks. Pressure washer should be moved in an overlapping sweeping motion and always with the grain to prevent lap marks and damage to the wood fibers.
The future
I'm still not sure if I stained the deck too early. I'm going to see how it holds up over the winter and then figure out what to do next year. I might be fine for a few years or if I notice it peeling next year I will strip/stain again.