No. 10 · Decks, porches, doors
Wood staining, by hand, in season.
Decks, porch floors, doors and trim, inside and out. The wood is cleaned and dried, the stain is matched to how the surface is used and how much sun it gets, and it is brushed in by hand.
About wood staining
A stain either soaks into wood or sits on top of it, and that difference decides how a deck ages. A penetrating stain wears away slowly and is renewed with a cleaning and a fresh coat; a solid stain forms a film like paint, and on a deck that film tends to peel.
Horizontal wood has the hardest life on a house. Rain sits on it, sun bakes it and feet wear it, so decks, steps and porch floors need attention long before the siding does.
Most of the work is preparation: cleaning without tearing up the grain, letting the wood dry, and putting on only as much stain as the wood will take. The same care goes into stained doors and trim indoors, where the finish is seen up close.
When it’s called for
When wood needs it
Water soaks in
Sprinkle water on the boards. If it darkens the wood and soaks in instead of beading, the finish has stopped protecting it.
The color has gone gray
Gray wood has been weathered by the sun. A penetrating stain takes to it well once the loose gray fibers are cleaned off.
The finish is peeling
Peeling means a film formed on wood that moves and stays damp. The loose finish has to come off before anything new goes on.
New wood
New decking should be finished once it has dried, not left bare for a season. Sun degrades bare wood quickly, and the old advice to let it weather first is now known to shorten a finish’s life.
Clear, semi-transparent, solid
Clear water repellents, often sold as sealers, keep water out but do little against sunlight. Wood grays beneath them, and they need renewing often, sometimes every year.
Semi-transparent stains carry enough pigment to shield the wood from sun while the grain still shows. The oil-based kind soaks in rather than forming a film, so it wears away slowly instead of peeling, and recoating is simple.
Solid-color stains are opaque and form a film, like a thin paint designed to wear away. They resist abrasion poorly, and manufacturers generally don’t recommend them for decks, where they tend to peel. On siding and trim they behave much like paint.
The work
How the work goes
The walkthrough
Randy looks at the wood with you: what finish is on it now, how it has weathered, which boards take the full sun. The walkthrough is complimentary, and so is the written estimate.
Cleaning
Dirt, mildew and loose gray fibers come off with a cleaner and gentle washing; too much pressure furs and gouges the soft grain. On cedar, redwood and oak, no steel wool or steel brushes, which leave dark iron stains in the wood.
Old film removed
Where solid stain or paint has peeled on a deck, the loose film is stripped or sanded away. A penetrating stain cannot soak through an old film, and a new film over a failing one peels with it.
Drying
The wood dries fully before any stain goes on, usually a couple of dry days after washing, longer in shade. Stain on damp wood soaks in unevenly and fails sooner.
Brushed in by hand
Penetrating stain goes on by brush, a few boards at a time with a wet edge to avoid lap marks, out of hot sun where possible. The wood gets only what it will absorb, and any excess left on the surface is wiped off.
Recoating
A penetrating finish is renewed with a cleaning and a fresh coat, no stripping. Shaded parts of a deck can go longer between coats than the boards in full sun.
From the job sites
“Randy and his crew were very professional, and did a beautiful job. They were even very sweet to my sometimes annoying doggies. Looking forward to the Spring when they can come back and stain the deck. Highly recommend.”
Questions
Asked at the walkthrough.
How late is too late to stain a deck?
It depends on the weather, not the date. Many stain labels ask for about 50°F or warmer while the finish dries, a dry day after application, and no heavy dew overnight. In the Lehigh Valley, average lows fall to about 44°F in October and 34°F in November, so fall staining means waiting for a mild, dry stretch, and late in the year the better answer is often spring.
Is it better to seal or stain a deck?
Stain, if you want the wood to keep its color. Clear sealers shed water but block little sunlight, so the wood grays beneath them and they need frequent renewing. The pigment in a stain is what protects wood from the sun, and more pigment generally means a longer-lasting finish.
Does solid color stain penetrate wood?
Very little. Solid-color stain forms a film on the surface, much like paint, which is why it can peel. On decks and other surfaces you walk on, a penetrating semi-transparent stain usually lasts as long and is far easier to renew.
Can a deck go from solid stain back to semi-transparent?
Only once the old film is completely gone. A penetrating stain cannot soak through an existing film, so the deck has to be stripped or sanded back to bare wood first, which is a bigger job than a recoat. On a deck that keeps peeling, it is often worth it.
How often does a deck need restaining?
When water stops beading and starts soaking in, or when the color fades on the sunny boards. Decks wear faster than siding because they hold water and take full sun, and the sunny sections usually need a coat before the shaded ones.
Should a new deck weather before it is stained?
Not for long. Letting new wood weather for a season was once common advice, but sun degrades bare wood quickly and shortens the life of the finish. The exception is pressure-treated lumber still wet from treatment, which has to dry before any finish will take; then a penetrating stain is the better choice.
Do you stain porch floors and doors too?
Yes: porch floors, steps and rails, entry doors, and doors and trim inside the house. Porches take windblown rain and constant foot traffic, so on a porch floor the preparation and the sealing of end grain matter as much as the color.
Where
Wood staining, town by town.
Randy works from Easton across the Lehigh Valley and Bucks County. Choose your town for what wood staining involves in its houses.
Lehigh Valley
Related
Often done together.
Consultation
Request a private consultation.
Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.
- Hours
- Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
- Service area
- Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.