# Staining new deck



## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

I've been told that pressure treated wood has to weather for a year before it will properly accept stain.

People call me and ask me to stain their brand new deck, and they tell me that the deck guy said go ahead and stain it, or that another company said it's ok to stain.

I've seen deck stain fail on brand new wood. the chemicals in the pressure treated wood need to dry out.

What are your experiences or thoughts?


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

Oil it in 2 weeks. Its best to hydrate the wood rather than let the weathering damage the wood. Also realize that it will not absorb as much stain and will need another coat by 24months. The chemicals in the wood are not the same as yester-year and the stains are much more tolerant of moisture.

Personally, I would rather not do a deck that is older than 3months until it has aged more. I just don't get the same result but if you protect it right away the wood is preserved before any damage sets in. Think of putting lotion on your skin to prevent it from drying out. That is much better than waiting till the skin is cracked and damaged before you protect it.


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## Slopmeyer (Aug 2, 2009)

Tonyg said:


> Oil it in 2 weeks. Its best to hydrate the wood rather than let the weathering damage the wood. Also realize that it will not absorb as much stain and will need another coat by 24months. The chemicals in the wood are not the same as yester-year and the stains are much more tolerant of moisture.
> 
> Personally, I would rather not do a deck that is older than 3months until it has aged more. I just don't get the same result but if you protect it right away the wood is preserved before any damage sets in. Think of putting lotion on your skin to prevent it from drying out. That is much better than waiting till the skin is cracked and damaged before you protect it.


Tony is right


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

+2 in agreement here


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

PressurePros said:


> +2 in agreement here


Ken, I thought you just said in another post a couple weeks ago you like to wait at least 3 months for a pressure treated deck to seal it?


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

oops, that is what I thought Tony was saying. Skimmed too quickly. 

We stain PT with less than a month dry-time because of customer wishes, but the finish generally does not hold up and the customer signs a disclaimer to that effect since I offer a two year warranty on deck jobs. It also depends on time of year. People having decks built in Sept and Oct are better off putting something on there than letting it go through a northeast winter.


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## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

Does this also apply to water based stain, or just oil?


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

I've never used water bornes, so from my perspective.. oil.


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## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

knowing what I know now, I'd only use waterbornes on brand new pressure treated


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

http://www.trex.com/

Don't know why people still build wooden decks.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

TJ Paint said:


> http://www.trex.com/
> 
> Don't know why people still build wooden decks.


Because south american decks look a bazillion times better than anything man made.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

straight_lines said:


> Because south american decks look a bazillion times better than anything man made.


True, but to keep in line with the OP and PT crap wood, they are two separate things. 

Now you're talking turkey.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Not in the same price range though. Trex is high end, and still looks like arse compared to ipe which depending on location is similar in cost.


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

straight_lines said:


> Not in the same price range though. Trex is high end, and still looks like arse compared to ipe which depending on location is similar in cost.


Not to mention real wood doesn't smell like melting 2 liter plastic bottles melting in the sun at the dump. Also, if you ever thought sand at the beach gets hot try walking across a composite deck with anything but platform shoes. Plan to start drinking warm beer because the heat that radiates off the composite for hours after the sun is gone is like sitting on a bun warmer.

Sorry, I'm just tired of plastic. Plastic decks, plastic fences, plastic houses, plastic trim, plastic floors. I'll take the beauty of wood - even if its painted the architecture is even better

Just Say No to Plastic


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## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

Thanks for everyone's replies. I haven't looked into it, but seeing that we can't get exterior oil paint in my state anymore, we probably can't get exterior oil stain either.


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

One Coat Coverage said:


> Thanks for everyone's replies. I haven't looked into it, but seeing that we can't get exterior oil paint in my state anymore, we probably can't get exterior oil stain either.


Though Dan doesn't like it, I use the Armstrong Clark Stain (www.armclark.com). It is made in CA and is VOC compliant everywhere.

I added a PT deck done 60 days from new construction and the same deck at 24 months. The steps did have some fading but other than that I was happy with it.

The first and fourth are after first oiling and the others are at the 24 month mark


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## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

Tonyg said:


> Though Dan doesn't like it, I use the Armstrong Clark Stain (www.armclark.com). It is made in CA and is VOC compliant everywhere.


It's not that I don't like it - I am disappointed in mildew growth in the finish and the lack of hardness at the surface.

I just feel like the stain is formulated with other regions in the country in mind. You make a stain without much in the way of driers - you can get away with it in Arizona, Southern California, Utah, Texas, etc. And it's actually preferable.

But you use that same stain in the northeast particularly a 'monsoon' year - and you will have drying issues, mold getting in the finish issues, and no ability to wash the mold off because the stain curing rate takes a year to reach the same hardness it would in Tucson in a week.

If Jake Clark was in Boston - he'd be brewing a different formulation that I am sure would work great. But being at polar diagonal opposites of the country - I don't know if he will ever consider the issues we have. I am hoping that since TWP is in Michigan - a similar climate to mine, that they will have thought this through. But since they aren't in a 350 VOC corridor - they haven't had to worry since the bulk of what they make is still the 550 VOC stuff - I know that stuff would work like a charm. But there 350 products are still experimental.


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## One Coat Coverage (Oct 4, 2009)

Tonyg said:


> Though Dan doesn't like it, I use the Armstrong Clark Stain (www.armclark.com). It is made in CA and is VOC compliant everywhere.
> 
> I added a PT deck done 60 days from new construction and the same deck at 24 months. The steps did have some fading but other than that I was happy with it.
> 
> The first and fourth are after first oiling and the others are at the 24 month mark


Judging from your pics, it's looks like decks should be refinished about every two years.

That's the same experience I have had.

But I have seen actual peeling when people have stained them too soon.


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

One Coat Coverage said:


> Judging from your pics, it's looks like decks should be refinished about every two years.
> 
> That's the same experience I have had.
> 
> But I have seen actual peeling when people have stained them too soon.


Its a semitransparent penetrating stain that does not peel. I took the 24 month pictures when I went back to stain it again. Although staining new PT will wear off faster, by sealing it early it preserved the wood from unnecessary drying, cracking, or checking. I believe in ten years when I have stained the deck 4 times their 10yr old deck will look better than most 3yr old decks because it has been hydrated and preserved from the start. We'll keep this thread active and in ten years, God willing I'm still here, I will post pictures 

Here's a couple of good articles: 

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/finlines/willi95a.pdf
http://fwrc.msstate.edu/housing/images/decks.pdf
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/finlines/willi95a.pdf

"One good quote: "If the decking material was given a factory applied WR finish or if recently finished with a WRP, a semitransparent stain may not absorb properly. In these situations, the wood should be allowed to weather for 2 to 3 months before finishing. This is the only situation where it is beneficial to wait this long before applying a penetrating finish. Note that lumber should not be left unfinished for 6 to 12 months"

I usually keep a number of pdf article such as these that I email prospective clients. I know I had one from the US Forest Service that recommended sealing in 2 weeks but I think I lost it somewhere. I do nothing close to the volume others do on decks but I do enough. The average new deck for me is between $900-$1200 and I know they will want to keep their deck looking good and most likely will be glad to have it done in two years. The customer from the pictures above sent me this in an email afterward - “My wife and I are so pleased with the outcome - what a fantastic job. The color is just what we were looking for and it matches our gazebo so very close. Both our son's said that* it looks better now than it did when it was new just a few short months ago*. We agree and are so glad that we called you and had you do the job"

Besides, although less stain penetrates and the job will need to be done again in 18-24 months, it looks great when it's stained and will protect it sooner. Oh, and I can make money selling the job!


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