Staining a deck

[Djgb13 2,338]

Anyone here got experience with this? Is it better to just hire someone for it or do it yourself. Never done it before so trying to get some info on it. Thanks in advance 

[Cdub100 3,380]

I've only done the kids playset. Not hard at all just time consuming and messy work.

[Cdub100 3,380]

Also depending on how long between coats you may have to do it twice because the wood can soak that sh1t up

[Hardcore troubadour 12,640]

1 minute ago, Djgb13 said:

Anyone here got experience with this? Is it better to just hire someone for it or do it yourself. Never done it before so trying to get some info on it. Thanks in advance 

Why are you staining your landlords deck? That’s on them. 

[edjr 5,564]

Did your parents ask you to get off your ass and do something around the house?

[edjr 5,564]

Just now, Hardcore troubadour said:

Why are you staining your landlords deck? That’s on them. 

:d  mine was better.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,640]

Just now, edjr said:

:d  mine was better.

Yes.  I rushed into it. 

[Djgb13 2,338]

Just now, edjr said:

Did your parents ask you to get off your ass and do something around the house?

Nope. We are buying a house but trying to determine which one. One of them is really nice but had a god awful red stained deck in the backyard. Pretty big deck a built in porch swing so I’m trying to see how much of a hassle it’ll be to stain it or just have someone else do it 

[Djgb13 2,338]

8 minutes ago, Cdub100 said:

I've only done the kids playset. Not hard at all just time consuming and messy work.

 

7 minutes ago, Cdub100 said:

Also depending on how long between coats you may have to do it twice because the wood can soak that sh1t up

The deck is pretty damn big. And imagine someone painted it Apple red and it faded over time. Nice deck. Color is just awful. Rest of the house is immaculate

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

I have done it with my decks several times over the last 25 years. Just finished painting it with Behr Deckover for the last time. Next year, we switch to composite decking. 

For me, it is a ton of work since I have one deck that is 8x10 and another that is 20x24 with 3 different sets of stairs. Used to stain it for the first 15 years or so, but switched probably about 10 years ago to the Deckover stuff. It lasts for maybe 2-3 years before it starts peeling and then you have to do it again. 

[Mike Honcho 4,028]

"Staining the deck", that wouldn't happen if you used a sock or some tissue paper.

[Djgb13 2,338]

Just now, Mike Honcho said:

"Staining the deck", that wouldn't happen if you used a sock or some tissue paper.

I would but your mom would rather swallow

[Djgb13 2,338]

8 minutes ago, Patriotsfatboy1 said:

I have done it with my decks several times over the last 25 years. Just finished painting it with Behr Deckover for the last time. Next year, we switch to composite decking. 

For me, it is a ton of work since I have one deck that is 8x10 and another that is 20x24 with 3 different sets of stairs. Used to stain it for the first 15 years or so, but switched probably about 10 years ago to the Deckover stuff. It lasts for maybe 2-3 years before it starts peeling and then you have to do it again. 

This is a pretty big deck. Would probably just have to hire someone then. Sounds very time consuming and I won’t have a whole lot of time to do it

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

Just now, Djgb13 said:

This is a pretty big deck. Would probably just have to hire someone then. Sounds very time consuming and I won’t have a whole lot of time to do it

With the millions you make, just hire someone. 

[Cdub100 3,380]

11 minutes ago, Djgb13 said:

 

The deck is pretty damn big. And imagine someone painted it Apple red and it faded over time. Nice deck. Color is just awful. Rest of the house is immaculate

As I said it's not hard it's just very time-consuming.

1. Sweep the deck

2. powerwash the deck

3. clean the deck with a deck cleaner

4. Let dry

5. Replace wood that is damaged and sand where needed

6. Stain using a staining broom or power sprayer (You do not want to do a large deck by hand)

[Djgb13 2,338]

Just now, Patriotsfatboy1 said:

With the millions you make, just hire someone. 

The rich stay rich cause we try not to spend it

[Mike Honcho 4,028]

Best method.

1. Find some skinny nerdy high school student who is getting his ass kicked by local bullies.

2. Promise to teach him Karate,  but he mustn't ever question your methods.

3. Show him 'Sand the Deck".

4. Show him 'Paint the Deck".

5. Tell him to fock off, cause what's he going to do, he's just a skinny high school kid who doesn't know Karate.

[Hawkeye21 1,853]

I live in a log cabin with a porch on it.  We stain everything about every 5 years or so. We just stained it this summer.  First we try to sweep off any dirt and cobwebs then we power wash.  After it's dry we start to stain.  That's pretty much it.

[KSB2424 3,083]

It’s expensive to hire a company.  I’ve done it a couple times.  It’s not to bad, the spindles are the worst, tedious.  It’s to hot right now though, I’d wait till September.  
 

I power wash and brush the day before, let it dry out. 

[Fireballer 2,381]

19 minutes ago, Djgb13 said:

This is a pretty big deck. Would probably just have to hire someone then. Sounds very time consuming and I won’t have a whole lot of time to do it

Ive cleaned and stained well over 100 decks. 

Is is a solid color stain, or does it have  transparency to it?

[Djgb13 2,338]

1 minute ago, KSB2424 said:

It’s expensive to hire a company.  I’ve done it a couple times.  It’s not to bad, the spindles are the worst, tedious.  It’s to hot right now though, I’d wait till September.  
 

I power wash and brush the day before, let it dry out. 

Yea there’s no way I’m doing it for the next 3 months lol. Couple other houses we are looking at don’t have decks. Just this house a beautiful wrap around porch which both my wife and I fell in love with. Deck has enough room for a hot tub, grill, patio set, and still enough room for people to hang around comfortably 

[Djgb13 2,338]

1 minute ago, Fireballer said:

Ive cleaned and stained well over 100 decks. 

Is is a solid color stain, or does it have  transparency to it?

Solid red. Just a little faded. Not sure why they did it that color 

[KSB2424 3,083]

Just now, Djgb13 said:

Solid red. Just a little faded. Not sure why they did it that color 

Ugh, man if it was me I’d hire somebody to totally redo it’s. Power wash, brush, and sand it then try to go brown if they can. 

[MDC 5,890]

This thread is 100% Digby.  

[Djgb13 2,338]

1 minute ago, KSB2424 said:

Ugh, man if it was me I’d hire somebody to totally redo it’s. Power wash, brush, and sand it then try to go brown if they can. 

That’s what I’ll prob have to do if we buy that one. Seems to be a bigger pain in the ass than it’s worth. 

[Fireballer 2,381]

Just now, Djgb13 said:

Solid red. Just a little faded. Not sure why they did it that color 

Heres the possible situations...

-Its a solid color acrylic stain.  If it is, youve got a huge PIA ahead if you.  Trying to strip it, it involves harsh chemicals and you will end up having to sand some too.  Having a contractor do it will be expensive.  

-Its an oil based (hopefully) solid color stain.  Its not as difficult to strip it,  but still expensive and needs  commercial chems that usually arent cost effective for homeowners and difficult to use.  

If it was mine and wanted the cheapest route, clean it with bleacb and Dawn and cover it with a solid oil based stain.  

If using a pressure washer.  Keep in mind that pressure doesnt clean wood, chems do.

 

[Djgb13 2,338]

1 minute ago, Fireballer said:

Heres the possible situations...

-Its a solid color acrylic stain.  If it is, youve got a huge PIA ahead if you.  Trying to strip it, it involves harsh chemicals and you will end up having to sand some too.  Having a contractor do it will be expensive.  

-Its an oil based (hopefully) solid color stain.  Its not as difficult to strip it,  but still expensive and needs  commercial chems that usually arent cost effective for homeowners and difficult to use.  

If it was mine and wanted the cheapest route, clean it with bleacb and Dawn and cover it with a solid oil based stain.  

If using a pressure washer.  Keep in mind that pressure doesnt clean wood, chems do.

 

Ball park estimate how much you thinking? Was thinking about doing it right away if we get it but might hold off depending on price 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,640]

I’ve worked hard and saved my money.  I went with Trex. 

[FlyinHeadlock 459]

Cheaper to buy new boards and start over. The man hrs involving removing it not worth it. Either that or flip the boards over. Sounds ugly as fvck though.

[Djgb13 2,338]

3 minutes ago, FlyinHeadlock said:

Cheaper to buy new boards and start over. The man hrs involving removing it not worth it. Either that or flip the boards over. Sounds ugly as fvck though.

Yea not a fan of the color at all. Person who owned it before must’ve liked red. Just not me. 

[Mookz 1,287]

Everything I've ever stained has been by accident. 

[Fireballer 2,381]

8 minutes ago, FlyinHeadlock said:

Cheaper to buy new boards and start over. The man hrs involving removing it not worth it. Either that or flip the boards over. Sounds ugly as fvck though.

 

11 minutes ago, Djgb13 said:

Ball park estimate how much you thinking? Was thinking about doing it right away if we get it but might hold off depending on price 

Whats the square footage?  Im guessing to strip and stain you would be around $4-5 a square foot.  I havent done decks in several years due to most people balking at the price. Its not cheap and a lot of man hours to restore. 

Headlock brings up another option I see alot of...keep the framing and replace the floor.

 

[Alias Detective 1,179]

1 minute ago, Fireballer said:

 

Whats the square footage?  Im guessing to strip and stain you would be around $4-5 a square foot.  I havent done decks in several years due to most people balking at the price. Its not cheap and a lot of man hours to restore. 

Headlock brings up another option I see alot of...keep the framing and replace the floor.

 

With Trex.

[FlyinHeadlock 459]

Have two large decks. What I found that really preserves them:

1. Good quality dark stain. Darker last longer.

2. Light pressure wash/ dry / steam / stain 

By steam I mean one of those Wagner steamers. This kills all bacteria then immediately stain. I get no more mold are green scum or if I do it takes a long long time and it's usually not much. I have a lot of trees so it can get nasty without this step.  

 

 

 

[Djgb13 2,338]

7 minutes ago, Fireballer said:

 

Whats the square footage?  Im guessing to strip and stain you would be around $4-5 a square foot.  I havent done decks in several years due to most people balking at the price. Its not cheap and a lot of man hours to restore. 

Headlock brings up another option I see alot of...keep the framing and replace the floor.

 

Not gonna lie it’s a lot of square footage. It’s making me rethink that house. Cause I would HAVE to change the color. Don’t like the color at all but love the deck. 

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

7 minutes ago, Alias Detective said:

With Trex.

That is what I am doing next year. I redid my railings (which were originally wood) about 6 years ago. Next up is replacing the decking, which I am not looking forward to. Lots of galvanized screws that a pretty well rusted and not coming up easily.

I will replace that decking with 20" long pieces so that there are no joints. Hopefully get another 25 years out of that.

[Alias Detective 1,179]

3 minutes ago, Djgb13 said:

Not gonna lie it’s a lot of square footage. It’s making me rethink that house. Cause I would HAVE to change the color. Don’t like the color at all but love the deck. 

Bwahahahahahaha

[Fireballer 2,381]

3 minutes ago, FlyinHeadlock said:

Have two large decks. What I found that really preserves them:

1. Good quality dark stain. Darker last longer.

2. Light pressure wash/ dry / steam / stain 

By steam I mean one of those Wagner steamers. This kills all bacteria then immediately stain. I get no more mold are green scum or if I do it takes a long long time and it's usually not much. I have a lot of trees so it can get nasty without this step.  

 

 

 

Not bad advice.  Im no fan of dark stain but it does hold up to UV better.  I clean my own each year with bleach solution, lightly power wash, and re-coat with the same color semi-trans stain (every 2 years on balusters/rails).

[Fireballer 2,381]

13 minutes ago, Alias Detective said:

With Trex.

Yep.  I see more of it all the time.  Once a year, mix bleach/water at 4:1 with a squirt of Dawn and spray it on with a pump-up sprayer.  Scrub if necessary and rinse with hose.  All done.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,640]

For the ones here that actually own a home and aren’t playing make believe, Trex is difficult to get right now. If you want it for next year you might want to order early.