Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[nickwm21]

My local HD sells Preservawood. Which finish carp dorks will scoff at - but I think it’s perfectly fine.


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[Buster Highmen]

I built a cedar deck like, balcony cover. I get a lot of rain. Should I stain it, seal, it or leave as is and pressure wash every year?

Home depot has:

Oil waterproofing wood finish
Waterproofing wood stain
Stain + sealant

What's the difference?

Get Cabot. Transparent or solid, but spend the extra $.

Here in the PNWet foothills we have a big doug fir deck 20 years old, religiously stained with Cabot and it's still solid as a rock.

[yeahman]

I built a cedar deck like, balcony cover. I get a lot of rain. Should I stain it, seal, it or leave as is and pressure wash every year?

Home depot has:

Oil waterproofing wood finish
Waterproofing wood stain
Stain + sealant

What's the difference?

I'm using this stuff on my new doug fir deck. Formerly called Sikkens but it's always been made by PPG I think. Oil based and has "that smell" of a good product. But I can't vouch for longevity yet. Goes on easy IMO.

I would use transparent or semi trans on new wood. Solid stain is for a deck's last gasp I've always felt. The Cabot's solid which I've used a lot will peel like paint after a year or two. You don't want anything that coats the deck like paint at this point.

Even this "Natural" color has some pigments. The pigments are really what provide UV protection so be leary of anything completely clear and transluscent.

[Buster Highmen]

The Cabot's solid which I've used a lot will peel like paint after a year or two. You don't want anything that coats the deck like paint at this point.

Ours hasn't, but we put it on thin during heat spells.

[yeahman]

Ours hasn't, but we put it on thin during heat spells.

Yeah there are a lot of factors at play. I've generally had really good luck with the Cabot's solid acrylic deck stain over the years, but nothing lasts forever. At first it won't peel but will instead kind of wear off, but if you recoat several times over a lot of years (10-15) eventually it builds enough to peel. Last time I did our old deck I took a before and after. Some of the peeling is also a result of the wood being old, and also us shoveling snow off the deck. Decks take a lot of abuse obviously. Second pic is the natural PPG on our recently completed back deck. Definitely repels water I'll say that for it. I'm going to use it on the front deck too, I've decided. I looked at a lot of different brands and read a lot of reviews before deciding to use this product, but I can't say I necessarily came away with any definitive answers to the question "what to put on my deck."

[::: :::]

Sikkens/PPG or Mesmers are the best out there
Cabot's is good too

[406]

You guys use the same stuff for wood deck furniture? Gets lots of sun and some rain in winter.

[::: :::]

I’ve used teak oil with good results, but it does require recoating every year

[BCMtnHound]

I do the same treatment with a couple adirondack chairs on the deck. Generous application of double-boiled linseed oil, then a Sikkens penetrant like SRD or Cetol1, followed by a coat of Cetol23. Good for about a decade out in the elements. It’s time for me to redo mine. FWIW, my father just does a linseed oil treatment followed by the Cetol23 coat, but I don’t think it lasts quite as long.

[Buster Highmen]

I think our deck has at least 20 coats of Cabot semi solid on it. But I pressure wash it each summer and am careful to spread the new layers thinly when it's relatively hot.
Maybe we have a wetter and cooler environment? Anyway, it's been good for us.

Regarding wood deck furniture, I've done teak oil and Watco tung oil and the tung oil is hands down the winner. Again, I'm pretty careful about putting on a thin coat in hot weather and we get a shitload of rain here, but the protection of the tung oil is much better. It's a teak table and chairs.

[yeahman]

I think our deck has at least 20 coats of Cabot semi solid on it.

Sorry, I got confused and thought you were using Cabot solid stain, not semi-solid. Big difference in how they behave. You won't get the same build up and peeling with a semi-solid (aka semi-transparent) as you will with a solid stain, which is more closely related to a coat of paint. Anyway glad you've had good results.

[Djongo Unchained]

I think our deck has at least 20 coats of Cabot semi solid on it. But I pressure wash it each summer and am careful to spread the new layers thinly when it's relatively hot.

Cringe.

[::: :::]

semi-solid (aka semi-transparent)

Semi-solid =//= semi-transparent

[yeahman]

Semi-solid =//= semi-transparent

Well not exactly but pretty close. Would you categorize as follows?

Transparent
Semi-transparent
Semi-solid
Solid

[nickwm21]

I would use transparent or semi trans on new wood. Solid stain is for a deck's last gasp I've always felt. The Cabot's solid which I've used a lot will peel like paint after a year or two. You don't want anything that coats the deck like paint at this point.

This. IME any horizontal wood that is exposed to weather… any “coating” is not going to last. A solid or semisolid stain is more like a coating than a stain.

For vertical wood or indoor wood - do whatever you want.


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[dan_pdx]

Has anyone used Waterlox exterior products? I've had good luck with them inside (other than the god-awful smell) and they're tung oil based. I have a newish tongue and groove fir porch that needs to get sanded down and recoated this summer.

[::: :::]

Well not exactly but pretty close. Would you categorize as follows?

Transparent
Semi-transparent
Semi-solid
Solid

yep

[Buster Highmen]

Cringe.

What would you suggest? I'm not up to a complete strip and sand refinish, so I thought that maintenance would be the best way to preserve the deck. It's still solid, no rotten wood yet.

[XXX-er]

pressure treated 1x5 not sure what wood with the milled rounded edge, its a 12 ft wide deck so it could be done in a single plank with no edge seams, at least 15yrs old and gets no maintenance looks ok, seems to be a good choice of materials/ finish/ design for where I live

[BCMtnHound]

pressure treated 1x5 not sure what wood with the milled rounded edge, its a 12 ft wide deck so it could be done in a single plank with no edge seams, at least 15yrs old and gets no maintenance looks ok, seems to be a good choice of materials/ finish/ design for where I live

Same. 5/4X6” pressured treated. I’ve done additional treatment to them before, current house/deck is untreated, doesn’t seem to make a difference. Where water/snow pools always deteriorates faster anyway. And pet/foot traffic is hard on the finish regardless. So now I just do the railings and leave the deck alone.

[XXX-er]

Same. 5/4X6” pressured treated. I’ve done additional treatment to them before, current house/deck is untreated, doesn’t seem to make a difference. Where water/snow pools always deteriorates faster anyway. And pet/foot traffic is hard on the finish regardless. So now I just do the railings and leave the deck alone.

OK I was wondering if I should be doing anything but I like your answer ^^ the boards have a 3/4" spacing so the water just falls thru & doesn't pool, I just remove the snow and don't do anything else, I had some old tin roofing headed for the dump which I screwed loosely up under the deck rafters so that area is now completely water proof for mowers and stuff and I didn't have to do a dump run

From my completely un-maintained/ untreated deck I've watched neighbors fighting Mom nature a few times only to lose

altho fresh solid stain does look really nice, especialy if someone else is doing it

[BCMtnHound]

3/4” spacing seems a bit large. I’d worry about catching a toe when walking on it barefoot.

I try for 1/4”, but often end up with some spacing up to 3/8”. Shrinkage on a pallet of fresh treated wet boards is significant and I never seem to have space or time to let it dry prior to installation. I hear that you can install flush when fresh/wet and they’ll achieve proper spacing on their own.

[RootSkier]

The best finish for cedar decks is no finish and I will die on this hill. Lightly sand (like w/220 in an orbital) if it gets "fuzzy" and embrace the gray.

[XXX-er]

3/4” spacing seems a bit large. I’d worry about catching a toe when walking on it barefoot.

I try for 1/4”, but often end up with some spacing up to 3/8”. Shrinkage on a pallet of fresh treated wet boards is significant and I never seem to have space or time to let it dry prior to installation. I hear that you can install flush when fresh/wet and they’ll achieve proper spacing on their own.

yeah probably why some of it is 3/4 and some is 1/2

[Garbowski]

Also a proud member of the no maintenance cedar deck crew.