Not sure if this is the forum I should be posting this on or not, close as I could get. I’m having a new deck put on out of the second story walk out in the kitchen. Other details – I live in SE lower peninsula of Michigan. Deck boards will be pressure-treated pine, fascia and trim will be western red cedar, and am going with the Deckorator aluminum balusters. Deck is on the east side of the house, therefore will not get the hot afternoon sun.
The deck contractor building it said I do not (actually he recommended I do not) stain or put anything on it until spring. He said the wood needs to thoroughly dry. From what I’ve been reading online, this is fine and recommended by most. Agree?
My questions are:
1) When spring does arrive, what is the procedure? How thorough of a cleaning/prep work is recommended on a 6-7 month old deck that hasn’t had anything done to it? Power wash or just a simple cleaning with a solution and some kind of brush?
2) Staining– I’ve decided on a semi-transparent stain. I’ve read too many bad things about solid and clear stains so I think the one in the middle will be best. From what I understand, semi allows you to still see the grain while providing a higher degree of protection than a clear. So the question is, oil or latex? I’ve read oil penetrates the wood better than latex and generally provides longer protection. But oil based products are a pain to deal with compared to latex based. Someone also told me there are latex based products now that absorb and perform like an oil based. Is this true?
3) Brand – Good thing I’ve done a little research. Here I thought Behr was a great product (probably because I spend way too much time in Home Depot). Everything I read in these contractor forums says their product is junk. I’ve read to stay away from the big box stores and the products they sell, but Lowe’s sells Cabot. And I’ve read they have a good product. What about Flood , Ben Moore, or Wolman products? I’ve also heard the name Sikkens and Ready Seal quite a bit as quality products.
4) Underneath the deck and support beams – do these areas need protection? If so, what kind of product?
The deck contractor building it said I do not (actually he recommended I do not) stain or put anything on it until spring. He said the wood needs to thoroughly dry. From what I’ve been reading online, this is fine and recommended by most. Agree?
My questions are:
1) When spring does arrive, what is the procedure? How thorough of a cleaning/prep work is recommended on a 6-7 month old deck that hasn’t had anything done to it? Power wash or just a simple cleaning with a solution and some kind of brush?
2) Staining– I’ve decided on a semi-transparent stain. I’ve read too many bad things about solid and clear stains so I think the one in the middle will be best. From what I understand, semi allows you to still see the grain while providing a higher degree of protection than a clear. So the question is, oil or latex? I’ve read oil penetrates the wood better than latex and generally provides longer protection. But oil based products are a pain to deal with compared to latex based. Someone also told me there are latex based products now that absorb and perform like an oil based. Is this true?
3) Brand – Good thing I’ve done a little research. Here I thought Behr was a great product (probably because I spend way too much time in Home Depot). Everything I read in these contractor forums says their product is junk. I’ve read to stay away from the big box stores and the products they sell, but Lowe’s sells Cabot. And I’ve read they have a good product. What about Flood , Ben Moore, or Wolman products? I’ve also heard the name Sikkens and Ready Seal quite a bit as quality products.
4) Underneath the deck and support beams – do these areas need protection? If so, what kind of product?